■:i,:i*>    ...   . 


4^i^JLiS^M^ 


■**fc 


L  I  B  M  A  Tl  Y 

Theological     Seminary, 

PRINCETON,     N.    J 


Shelf 

Bool.- 


Div.s,on.J&.S.^4.S-.Q. 
Sectl9n»Gr3'..2/ , 

.:....v.^ 


THE  LIFE  AND   WORDS  OF   CHRIST. 


^ 

(^ 


VJ 


^ 


THE 


LIFE  AND  WOKDS 


CHEIST. 


CUNNINGHAM '^GEIKIE,    D.D 


'The  life  was  the  Light  op  Men." — John  i.  4. 


VOL.  II. 


NEW    YORK: 
D.     APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

549    &    561    BEOADWAT. 
1877. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEK  PAGES 

XXXin.   Capernaum 1  — 17 

XXXrV.  Light  AND  Darkness 18  —  39 

XXXV.  The  Choice  or  the  Twelve,  and  the  Sermon 

ON  the  Mount             40  —  57 

XXXVI.   The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (continued)      .        .  58  —  72 

XXXVII.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (concluded)      .        .  73  —  90 

XXXVIII.  Open  Conflict 91—108 

XXXIX.  Galilee 109—121 

XL.  Darkening  Shadows — Life  in  Galilee     .        .  122 — 13G 

XLI.  The  Bursting  of  the  Storm               .         ,         .  137 — 152 

XLII.  After  the  Storm 153 — 169 

XLIII.  Dark  and  Bright 170—189 

XLIV.  The  Turn  of  the  Day        .....  190—212 

XLV.  The  Coasts  of  the  Heathen     ....  213 — 230 

XLVI.  In  Flight  once  more 231 — 247 

XLVII.  The  Transfiguration 248—262 

XL VIII.  Before  the  Feast 263 — 277 

XLIX.  At  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  ....  278 — 295 

L.  After  the  Feast         ......  296 — 308 

LI.  The  last  Month  of  the  Year   ....  309 — 324 

LII.  A  Wandering  Life 325 — 343 

LIII.  InPerea 344—366 

LIV.  In  Perea  (continued) 367 — 392 

LV.  Palm  Sunday 393—415 

LVI.  .Jerusalem          ......  416 — 432 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

LVII.  The  Interval    .... 
LVIII.  Farewell  to  Friends 
LIX.  The  Farewell  .... 
LX.  The  Arrest        .... 
LXI.  The  Jewish  Trtat. 
LXII.  Before  Pilate    .... 
LXIII.  Judas — The  Crucifixion  . 
LXIV.  The  Resurrection  and  the  Forty  Days 
Notes  to  Volume  II.  ... 

Index  of  Subjects    .... 
Index  of  Texts        .... 


pages 
433—453 
454—476 
477—499 
500—515 
516—530 
531—554 
555—579 
580—608 
609—643 
645—658 
C59— 670 


THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

CAPERNAUM. 

THE  final  "  call  "  addressed  to  Peter  and  his  brother,  cHAP^xxxra. 
and  to  James  and  John,  at  the  Lake  of  Galilee, 
apparently  insignificant  as  an  event,  proved  to  have  been, 
in  reality,  one  of  the  turning  points  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  The  "  call "  of  Abraham  had  given  the  world,  as 
an  everlasting  inheritance,  the  grand  truth  of  a  Living  Per- 
sonal God  ;  that  of  ]\Ioses  had  created  a  nation,  in  which  the 
active  government  of  human  affairs  by  one  God  was  to  be 
illustrated,  and  His  will  made  known  directly  to  man- 
kind ;  but  that  of  the  poor  Galilajan  fishermen  was  the 
foundation  of  a  society,  for  which  all  that  had  preceded  it 
was  only  the  preparation ;  a  society  in  which  all  that  was 
merely  outward  and  temporary  m  the  relations  of  God  to 
man,  should  be  laid  aside,  and  all  that  was  imperfect  and 
material  replaced  by  the  perfect,  spiritual,  and  abiding.  The 
true  theocracy,  towards  which  mankind  had  been  slowly  ad- 
vancing, through  ages,  had  received  its  first  overt  establish- 
ment, when  Peter  heard,  on  his  knees,  the  summons  of  Jesus 
to  follow  Him,  and  had,  with  the  others,  at  once,  from  the 
heart,  obeyed.  Henceforth,  it  only  remained  to  extend  the 
kingdom  thus  founded,  by  winning  the  consciences  of  men 
to  the  same  devotion,  by  the  announcement  of  the  Father- 
hood of  God ;  the  need  of  seeking  His  favour  by  repent- 
ance ;  and  faith  in  His  divine  Son,  leading  to  a  holy  life, 
of  which  that  of  Jesus,  as  the  Saviour-Messiah,  was  the 
reahzed  ideal. 

VOL.  II.  40 


THE  LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


CHAP.  XXXUL 


Ewald, 
Geschichte, 
T.  366. 


From  the  shores  of  the  Lake,  Christ  went  to  the  house  of 
Peter,  accepting  his  invitation  to  share  his  hospitahty. 

The  little  town  itself,  with  its  two  or  three  thousand  in- 
hil)itants,  was  surrounded  by  a  wall,  and  lay  partly  along  the 
shore  ;  some  of  the  houses  close  to  the  water  ;  others  with  a 
garden  between  it  and  them.  The  black  lava,  or  basalt,  of 
which  all  were  built,  was  universally  whitewashed,  so  that 
the  town  was  seen  to  fine  effect,  from  a  distance,  through 
the  green  of  its  numerous  trees  and  gardens.  Peter's  house- 
hold consisted  of  his  wife,  and  her  mother — doubtless  a 
widow — whom  his  kindly  nature  had  brought  to  this  second 
home,  Andrew,  his  brother,  and,  now,  of  Jesus,  his  guest. 
James  and  John,  hkely,  still  lived  with  their  father,  in 
Capernaum,  and  the  whole  four  still  followed  their  calling 
in  the  intervals  of  attending  their  new  Master. " 

It  appears  to  have  been  on  a  Friday  that  Jesus  summoned 
Peter  and  his  companions.^  The  day  passed,  doubtless, 
in  further  work  for  the  kingdom.  As  the  sun  set,  the 
beginning  of  the  Sabbath  Avas  announced  by  three  blasts 
of  a  trumpet,  from  the  roof  of  the  spacious  synagogue 
of  the  town,  which  the  devout  commandant  of  the  garrison, 
though  not  a  Jew,  had  built  for  the  people.  The  first  blast 
warned  the  peasants,  in  the  far-stretching  vineyards  and 
gardens,  to  cease  their  toil ;  the  second  was  the  signal  for 
the  townsfolks  to  close  their  business  for  the  week,  and  the 
third,  for  all  to  kindle  the  holy  Sabbath  light,  which  was 
to  burn  till  the  sacred  day  was  past.^  It  was  the  early 
spring,  and  the  days  were  stiU  short,  for  even  in  summer 
it  is  hardly  morning  twilight,  in  Palestine,  at  four,  and  the 
Tag,in Winer,  light  is  gonc  by  eiglit.^  Jesus  did  not,  however,  go  that  night 
to  Peter's  house,  but  spent  the  hours  in  solitary  devotion.^ 
We  can  fancy,  from  what  is  elsewhere  told  us,  that  the  day 
closed  while  He  still  spoke  to  a  hstening  crowd,  under  some 
palm-tree,  or  by  the  wayside.  As  the  moon  rose  beyond 
the  hills,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Lake,  He  would  dismiss 
His  hearers,  with  words  of  comfort,  and  a  greeting  of  peace, 
and  then  turn  to  the  silent  hills  behind,  to  be  alone  with 
His  Heavenly  Father.  On  their  lonely  heights,  the  noise  of 
men  lay  far  beneath  Him,  and  He  could  find  rest,  after 


Talmad ; 
quoted  by 
Sepp,  u.  2; 


IN  THE   SYNAGOGUE.  3 

the  toils  of  tlie  day.  A  wide  panorama  of  land  and  water  cHAP.xsxtu. 
stretched  away  on  all  sides,  in  the  white  moonlight.  He 
was  Himself  its  centre,  and  gazed  on  it  with  inexpressible 
sjTapathy  and  emotion.  We  can  imagine  Him,  spreading 
out  His  arms,  as  if  to  take  it  all  to  His  heart,  and  then  pros- 
trating Himself,  as  it  w^ere  with  it,  before  God,  to  intercede 
for  it  with  the  Eternal;  His  brow  touching  the  earth  in 
lowly  abasement,  while  he  pleaded  for  man  as  His  friend 
and  brother,  in  words  of  infinite  love  and  tenderness. 
"  Rising,  erelong,  in  strong  emotion,  it  would  seem  as  if  He 
held  up  the  world  in  His  lifted  hands,  to  offer  it  to  His 
Father.  He  spoke,  was  silent,  then  spoke  again.  His 
prayer  was  holy  inter-communion  with  God.  At  first  low, 
and  almost  in  a  whisper.  His  voice  gradually  became  loud 
and  joyous,  till  it  echoed  back  from  the  rocks  around  Him. 
Thus  the  night  passed,  till  morning  broke  and  found  Him, 
once  more  prostrate  as  if  overcome,  in  silent  devotion,  but 
the  daAvn  of  day  was  the  signal  for  His  rising,  and  passing 
down  again  to  the  abodes  of  men."  *  '  c^e^iSi, 

The  morning  service  in  the  synagogue  began  at  nine,  and 
as  the  news  of  the  great  Rabbi  being  in  the  neighbourhood  ■ 
had  spread,  every  one  strove  to  attend,  in  hopes  of  seeing 
Him.  Women  came  to  it  by  back  streets,  as  was  required 
of  them;  the  men,  with  slow  Sabbath  steps,  gathered  in 
great  numbers.  The  elders  had  taken  their  seats,  and  the 
Reader  had  recited  the  Eighteen  Prayers — the  congi-ega- 
tion  answering  vnth  their  Amen, — for  though  the  prayers 
might  be  abridged  on  other  daj-s,  they  could  not  be 
shortened  on  the  Sabbath.*  The  first  lesson  for  the  day  ^  Taimnd,in 
followed,  the  people  rising  and  turning  reverently  towards 
the  Shrine,  and  chanting  the  words  after  the  Reader. 
Another  lesson  then  followed,  and  the  Reader,  at  its  close, 
called  on  Jesus,  as  a  Rabbi  present  in  the  congi-egation,  to 
speak  from  it  to  the  people. 

His  words  must  have  sounded  strangely  new  and  attrac- 
tive, for,  apart  from  their  vi\-idness  and  force,  they  spoke  of 
matters  of  the  most  vital  interest,  which  the  Rabbis  left  wholly 
untouched.  He  had  founded  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  now 
sought  to  build  it  up  by  realizing  its  conditions  in  the  souls 


THE   LIFE   or   CHRIST. 


CHAP,  xsxin  of  men,  -who  should  each,  forthwith,  be  living  centres  of 
influence  on  others.  But  a  coui'se  so  retired,  and  unknown 
to  the  Avorld  at  large,  as  that  which  He  followed,  of  speaking 
to  modest  assemblies  in  local  synagogues,  makes  it  easy  to 
understand  how  His  life  might  be  overlooked  by  the  public 
writers  of  the  age.  Yet,  in  the  little  world  in  which  He 
moved,  the  noiseless  words  by  which  He  carried  on  His 
work  created  an  intense  impression.  He  gave  old  truths 
an  unwonted  freshness  of  presentation,  and  added  much 
that  sounded  entirely  new,  on  His  own  authority,  instead  of 
confining  Himself,  like  the  Rabbis,  to  lifeless  repetitions  of 
traditional  commonplaces,  delivered  with  a  dread  of  the 
least  deviation  or  originality.  They  claimed  no  power  to 
say  a  word  of  their  own ;  He  spoke  with  a  startling  inde- 
pendence. Their  synagogue  sermons,  as  we  see  in  the  Book 
of  Jubilees,  were  a  tiresome  iteration  of  the  minutest  Rab- 
binical  rules,  with  a  serious  importance  which  regarded 
them  as  the  basis  of  all  moral  order.  The  kind,  and  quality 
of  wood  for  the  altar;  the  infinite  details  of  the  law  of 
tithes ;  the  moral  deadliness  of  the  use  of  blood ;  or 
the  indispensableness  of  circumcision  on  the  eighth  day, 
were  urged  with  passionate  zeal  as  momentous  and  fun- 
damental truths.  The  morality  and  religion  of  the  age  had 
sunk  thus  low,  and  hence,  the  fervid  words  of  Jesus,  stirring 
the  depths  of  the  heart,  created  profound  excitement  in 
Capernaum.  Men  were  amazed  at  the  phenomenon  of  novelty, 
in  a  rehgious  sphere  so  unchangeably  conservative  as  that 
of  the  synagogue.  "  New  teaching,"  said  one  to  the  other, 
"and  with  authority — not  like  other  Rabbis.  They  only 
repeat  the  old :  this  man  takes  on  Him  to  speak  without 
reference  to  the  past."     But  if  they  were  astonished  at  His 

«  Mark  1.22.  teaching,^  they  wei'e  still  more  so  at  the  power  which  He 
revealed  in  connection  with  it.  Among  those  who  had  gone 
to  the  synagogue  that  morning  was  an  unhappy  man,  the 
victim  of  a  calamity  incident  apparently  to  the  age  of  Christ 
and  the  Apostles  only."     He  was  "possessed  by  a  spii'it  of 

»  Luke  4. 33.  an  unclean  demon."  "'  Our  utter  ignorance  of  the  spiritual 
world  leaves  the  significance  of  such  words  a  mystery,  though 
the  popular  idea  of  the  time  is  handed  down  by  the  Rabbis. 


CtTRE    OF   ONE   POSSESSED.  5 

An  unclean  demon,  in  the  language  of  Christ's  day,  was  an  chap.  xxxm. 
evU.  spirit  that  drove  the  person  possessed,  to  haunt  burial- 
places,  and  other  spots  most  unclean  in  the  eyes  of  Jews. 
There  were  men  who  affected  the  black  art,  pretending,  like 
the  witch  of  Endor,  to  raise  the  dead,  and,  for  that  end, 
lodging  in  tombs,  and  macerating  themselves  with  fasting, 
to  secure  the  fuUer  aid  and  inspiration  of  such  evil  spirits ; 
and  others  into  whom  the  demons  entered,  driving  them  in- 
voluntarily to  these  dismal  habitations.^  Both  classes  were  •  Ligiitfoot,ui. 
regarded  as  under  the  power  of  this  order  of  beings,  but  it 
is  not  told  us  to  which  of  the  two  the  person  present  in  the 
synagogue  belonged. 

The  ser\'ice  had  gone  on  apparently  without  interruption, 
till  Jesus  began  to  speak.  Then,  however,  a  paroxysm  seized 
the  unhappy  man.  Rising  in  the  midst  of  the  congrega- 
tion, a  wild  howl  of  demoniacal  fi'enzy  burst  from  him,  that 
must  have  frozen  the  blood  of  all  with  horror.  "  Ha !  " 
yelled  the  demon.  "  What  have  we  to  do  with  Thee,  Jesus, 
the  Nazarene  ?  Thou  comest  to  destroy  us !  '^  I  know  Thee, 
who  Thou  art,  the  Holy  One  of  God  1  "  Among  the  crowd 
Jesus  alone  remained  calm.  He  woidd  not  have  acknow- 
ledgment of  His  Messialiship  from  such  a  source.  "Hold 
thy  peace,"  said  He,  indignantly,  "  and  come  out  of  him." 
The  spirit  felt  its  Master,  and  that  it  must  obey,  but,  demon 
to  the  last,  threw  the  man  down  in  the  midst  of  the  congre- 
gation, tearing  him  as  it  did  so,  and,  then,  with  a  wild  howl, 
fled  out  of  him.  Nothing  could  have  happened  better  fitted 
to  impress  the  audience  favourably  towards  Jesus.  This 
new  teaching,  said  they  amongst  themselves,  is  with  autho- 
rity.   It  carries  its  warrant  with  it." 

So  startling  an  incident  had  broken  up  the  service  for  the 
time,  and  Jesus  left,  with  his  four  disciples,  and  the  rest  of 
the  congi'egation.  But  His  day's  work  of  mercy  had  only 
begun.  Arriving  at  His  modest  home,  he  found  the  mother 
of  Peter's  wife  struck  down  with  a  violent  attack  of  the  local 
fever  for  which  Capernaum  had  so  bad  a  notoriety.  The 
quantity  of  marshy  land  in  the  neighbourhood,  especially  at 
the  entrance  of  the  Jordan  into  the  Lake,  has  made  fever 
of  a  very  malignant  type  at  times  the  characteristic  of  the 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


CHAP,  xxsni, 


"  Matt.  8.15. 
Mark  1.  32. 
Luke  4.  40. 


locality,^  so  tliat  the  physicians  would  not  allow  Josephus, 
when  hurt  by  his  horse  sinking  in  the  neighbouring  marsh, 
to  sleep  even  a  single  night  in  Capernaum,  but  hurried  him 
on  to  Taricha3a.^''  It  was  not  to  be  thought  that  He  who 
had  just  sent  joy  and  healing  into  the  heart  of  a  stranger, 
would  withhold  His  aid  when  a  friend  required  it.  The 
anxious  relatives  forthwith  besought  His  help,  but  the  gen- 
tlest hint  would  have  sufficed.  It  mattered  not  that  it  was 
fever :  He  was  forthwith  in  the  chamber,  bending  over  the 
sick  woman,  and  rebuking  the  disease  as  if  it  had  been  an 
evil  personality.  He  took  her  by  the  hand,  doubtless  with  a 
look,  and  with  words,  which  made  her  His  for  ever,  and 
gently  raising  her,  she  found  the  fever  gone  and  health  and 
strength  returned,  so  that  she  could  prepare  their  midday 
meal  for  her  household  and  their  wondrous  guest. 

The  strict  laws  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  gave  a  few  hours  of 
rest  to  all,  but  the  blast  of  the  trumpet  which  announced  its 
close  was  the  signal  for  a  renewal  of  the  popular  excitement, 
now  increased  by  the  rumour  of  a  second  miracle.  ^^  With 
the  setting  of  the  sun  it  was  once  more  lawful  to  move  be- 
yond the  two  thousand  paces  of  a  Sabbath  Day's  journey, 
and  to  carry  whatever  burdens  one  pleased.  Forthwith, 
began  to  gather  from  every  street,  and  from  the  thickly 
soAvn  towns  and  \dllages  round,  the  strangest  assemblage. 
The  child  led  its  blind  father  as  near  the  enclosure  of  Simon's 
house  as  the  throng  permitted :  the  father  came  carrying 
the  sick  child  ;  men  bore  the  helpless  in  swinging  hammocks-; 
"all  that  had  any  sick,  with  whatever  disease,"  brought 
them  to  the  Great  Healer.  The  whole  town  was  in  motion, 
and  crowded  before  the  house.  What  the  sick  of  even  a 
small  town  implied  may  be  imagined.  Fevers,  convulsions, 
asthma,  wasting  consumption,  swollen  dro^^sy,  shaking  i:)alsy, 
the  deaf,  the  dumb,  the  brain-affected,  and,  besides  all, 
"  many  that  were  possessed  A\'ith  devils,"  that  last,  worst, 
symptom  of  the  despairing  misery  and  dark  confusion  of 
the  times. 

Would  He  leave  them  as  they  were  ?  They  had  taken  it 
for  granted  that  He  would  pity  them,  for  was  He  not  a 
Prophet  of  God,  and  was  it  not  natural  that,  like  Elijah  or 


THE   SICK   HEALED.  7 

Elisha,  tlie  greatest  of  the  prophets,  the  power  of  God  might  oHAP.xxxm. 
be  present  to  heal  those  who  were  brought  to  Him  ?  Already, 
moreover,  His  characteristics  had  won  the  confidence  of  the 
simple  crowd.  There  must  have  been  a  mysterious  sym- 
pathy and  goodness  in  His  looks,  and  words,  and  even  in 
His  bearing,  that  seemed  to  beckon  the  wretched  to  Him 
as  their  friend,  and  that  conquered  all  uncorrupted  hearts. 
It  had  drawn  His  disciples  from  the  interests  of  gain,  to 
foUow  Him  in  His  poverty;  it  melted  the  woman  that  was  a 
sinner  into  tears ;  it  softened  the  hard  nature  of  publicans ; 
and  drew  hundreds  of  weary  and  heavy-laden  to  Him  for 
rest.  Those  who  could,  gathered  wherever  they  might  hope 
to  find  Him,  and  as  it  was  this  evening,  those  who  could  not 
come,  had  themselves  carried  into  His  presence.  As  many  as 
could,  strove  to  touch,  if  it  were  possible,  even  His  clothes  ; 
others  confessed  aloud  their  sins,  and  o-v\Tied  that  their 
illness  was  the  punishment  from  God.  One  would  not 
venture  to  ask  Him  to  come  to  his  house  ;  another  brought 
Him  in  that  He  might  be,  as  it  were,  constrained  to  help. 
The  bhnd  cried  out  to  Him  from  the  road-side,  and  the 
woman  of  Canaan  followed  Him  in  spite  of  His  hard  words. 
When  He  came  near,  even  those  possessed  felt  His  divine 
greatness.  Trembhng  in  every  hmb,  they  would  fain  have 
fled,  but  felt  rooted  to  the  spot,  the  evil  spirits  owning,  in 
wild  shrieks,  the  presence  of  one  whose  goodness  was  torment, 
and  before  whose  will  they  must  yield  up  their  prey. 

The  sight  of  so  much  misery  crowding  for  rehef  touched 
Jesus  at  once,  and,  erelong.  He  appeared  at  the  open  door, 
before  the  excited  crowd.  With  a  command,  "Hold  thy 
peace,  and  come  out  of  him,"  a  poor  demoniac  was  presently 
in  his  right  mind.  The  helpless  lame  stood  up  at  the  words 
"  I  say  unto  thee.  Arise."  The  paral}i:ic  left  his  couch,  at  the 
sound  of  "  Take  up  thy  bed  and  walk."  To  some.  He  had 
a  word  of  comfort,  that  dispelled  alarm  and  drove  off  its 
secret  cause.  "  Be  it  to  thee  according  to  thy  faith."  "Wo- 
man, thou  art  loosed  from  thine  infirmity."  "  Be  of  good 
cheer,  my  son,  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee,"  was  enough  to 
turn  sorrow  and  pain  into  joy  and  health.  Erelong  He  had 
spoken  to  all  some  word  of  mercy.     The  blind  left  with 


8  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  xxsin.  their  sight  restored ;  the  possessed  thanked  God  for  their 
restoration ;  the  fever-stricken  felt  the  glow  of  returning 
vigour ;  the  dumb  shouted  His  praises  ;  and  thus  the  strange 
crowd  went  off  one  by  one,  leaving  the  house  once  more  in 
the  silence  of  the  night.  No  wonder  the  Evangelist  saw  in 
such  an  evening  a  fulfilment  of  the  Avords  of  the  prophet, 

12  From  the      "  Himsclf  took  our  infirmities  and  bore  our  diseases."  •'- 

Hebrew,  not 

i^iSiTs'!^"'  It  was  not,  however,  by  popular  excitement  and  mere  out- 
ward heahng  that  the  kingdom  of  God  was  to  be  spread, 
but  by  the  still  and  gentle  influence  of  the  Truth,  work- 
ing conviction  in  individual  souls.  The  noisy  crowd,  the 
thronging  numbers  of  diseased  and  suffering ;  the  curiosity 
that  ran  after  excitement,  and  the  yearning  for  help  which 
looked  only  to  outward  healing,  troubled,  and  almost 
alarmed  Him.  He  had  come  to  found  a  Spiritual  Society, 
of  men  changed  in  heart  towards  God,  and  filled  with  faith 
in  Himself  as  its  Head ;  and  the  merely  external  and  mostly 
selfish  notions  of  the  multitude,  could  not  escape  His  keen 
eyes.  His  divine  love  and  j^ity  sighed  over  the  bodily  and 
mental  distress  around.  But,  as  a  rule,  the  sufferers  thought 
only  of  their  outward  misery,  in  melancholy  ignorance  of 
its  secret  source  in  their  own  sin  and  guilt  before  God,  and 
had  all  their  felt  wants  relieved  when  their  bodily  troubles 
were  removed. 

In  one  aspect,  indeed,  these  miraculous  cures  furthered 
the  great  purpose  of  Jesus.  They  might  prove  no  doctrine, 
for  mere  power  could  not  establish  moral  and  spiritual  truth. 
Miracles  might  possibly  be  wrought  by  other  influences 
than  divine,  and  left  religious  teaching  to  stand  on  its  own 
merits,  for  they  appealed  to  the  senses ;  not,  like  truth,  to  the 
soul.  The  display  or  overwhelming  power  might  almost 
seem  to  endanger,  rather  than  promote,  the  higher  aim  of 
Jesus,  to  win  those  whom  He  addressed.  It  awes  and  repels 
men  to  find  themselves  in  the  presence  of  forces  which  they 
can  neither  resist  nor  understand.  In  nature,  untutored 
races  tremble  before  powers  which  may  be  used  to  destroy 
them,  and  seek  to  win  their  favour  hj  the  flattery  of  worship, 
surrounding  even  human  despotism  with  awful  attributes, 
before  which  they  cower  in  terror. 


THE   MIRACLJIS   OF   CHRIST.  9 

Jesus,  however,  could  ai^peal  to  His  miraculous  powers  chap. xxxhl 
as  evidences  of  His  divine  mission,  and  often  did  so.  Their 
value  lay  in  the  grandeur  they  added  to  His  character.  Even 
in  the  wilderness,  He  had  refused  to  exert  them,  vmder  any 
circumstances,  either  for  His  natural  wants,  or  for  His  per- 
sonal ends,  and  He  adhered  to  this  amazing  self-restraint 
through  His  whole  career.  It  was  seen  from  the  first,  that  His 
awful  powers  were  uniformly  beneficent;  that  He  came,  not 
to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save  them ;  that  He  used  omni- 
potence to  bless,  but  never  to  hurt.  His  words,  His  bearing, 
and  His  looks  of  divine  love  and  tenderness,  doubtless  pre- 
disposed men  to  expect  this,  and  His  uniform  course  soon 
confirmed  it.  They  saw  that  nothing  could  disturb  His 
absolute  patience,  or  rouse  Him  to  vindictiveness.  They 
heard  Him  endure  meekly  the  most  contemptuous  sneers, 
the  bitterest  criticism,  and  the  most  rancorous  hostility.  No 
one  denied  His  miraculous  powers,  though  some  affected  to 
call  them  demoniac,  in  direct  contradiction  to  their  habitual 
exercise  for  the  hohest  ends.  But  they  were  so  invariably 
devoted  to  the  good  of  others,  and  so  entirely  held  in 
restraint,  as  regarded  personal  ends,  that  men  came,  erelong, 
to  treat  Him  with  the  reckless  boldness  of  hatred,  notwith- 
standing such  awful  endo'^Tnent. 

Round  one  so  transcendently  meek,  self-interest  found  no 
motive  for  gathering.  He  who  would  do  nothing  with  such 
possibihties,  for  Himself,  could  not  be  expected  to  do  more 
for  the  personal  ends  of  others.  Hypocrisy  had  nothing  to 
gain  by  seeking  His  favour.  Only  sincerity  found  Him 
attractive.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  with  the  uncorrupted 
and  worthy,  this  characteristic  gave  Him  unlimited  moral 
elevation.  No  more  subhme  spectacle  can  be  conceived 
than  boundless  power,  kept  in  perfect  control,  for  ends 
wholly  unselfish  and  noble.  Condescension  wins  admiration 
when  it  is  only  from  man  to  man ;  when  it  showed  itself 
in  veiled  omnipotence,  ever  ready  to  bless  others,  but  never 
used  on  its  own  behalf,  it  became  a  divine  ideal.  Men  saw 
Him  clothed  with  power  over  disease,  and  even  over  death ; 
able  to  cast  forth  spirits,  or  to  still  the  sea,  and  yet  accessible, 
fuU  of  sympathy,  the  lofty  patriot,  the  tender  friend,  the 


10  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

^m.  patient  counsellor ;  shedding ,  tears,  at  times,  from  a  full 
heart,  and  ever  ready  with  a  wise  and  gentle  word  for  all ; 
so  unaffected  and  gentle  that  children  drew  round  Him 
■with  a  natural  instinct,  and  even  worldly  hardness  and  vice 
were  softened  before  Him ;  and  this  contrast  of  transcendent 
power,  and  perfect  humility,  made  them  feel  that  He  was 
indeed  the  Head  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  amongst  men.  The 
secret  of  His  amazing  success,  as  the  founder  of  a  new 
rehgious  constitution  for  mankind,  lay  in  the  recognition 
of  this   perfect   sacrifice    of  one   so  transcendently  great, 

Qo,  culminating  in  "the  death  of  the  cross." ^^  It  Avas  the 
perfect  realization,  in  Himself,  of  the  life  He  urged  on  others. 
It  implied  the  ideal  fulfilment  of  all  human  duties,  and  no 
less  so,  of  all  divine,  for  the  heavenly  love  which  alone 
could  dictate  and  sustain  such  a  career,  was,  in  itself,  the 
most  perfect  transcript  of  the  nature  of  God.  A  life  in 
which  every  step  showed  kingly  gi'ace  and  divinely  bound- 
less love,  condescending  to  the  lowliest  self-denial  for  the 
good  of  man,  proclaimed  Him  the  rightful  Head  of  the 
New  Kingdom  of  God. 

The  night  which  followed  this  busy  and  eventful  Sabbath 
brought  no  repose  to  His  body  or  mind.  The  excitement 
around  agitated  and  disturbed  Him.  It  was  His  first 
tiiumphaht  success,  for,  in  the  south.  He  had  met  with 
little  sympathy,  though  He  had  attracted  crowds.  But 
curiosity  was  not  progress,  and  excitement  was  not  conver- 
sion. Lowliness  and  concealment,  not  noisy  throngs,  were 
the  true  conditions  of  His  work,  and  of  its  firmest  establish- 
ment, and  lasting  glory.  Mere  popularity  was,  moreover, 
a  renewed  temptation,  for,  as  a  man.  He  was  susceptible  of 
the  same  seductions  as  His  brethren.  He  might  be  dra-\\ni 
aside  to  think  of  Himself,  and  to  His  holy  soul  the  faintest 
approach  to  this  was  a  surrender  to  evil.  Rising  from  His 
couch,  therefore,  while  the  deep  darkness  which  precedes 
the  dawn  still  rested  on  hill  and  valley.  He  left  the  house  so 
quietly  that  no  one  heard  Him,  and  went,  once  more,  to 
the  solitudes  of  the  hills  behind  the  town.  Passing  through 
groves-  of  palms,  and  orchards  of  fig  and  olive  trees,  inter- 
mixed  with   vineyards   and  grassy    meadows,    with   their 


LONELY   PRAYER.  11 

tinkling  brooks,  so  deliglitful  in  the  East,  and  their  unseen  chap,  sxxin 
glory  of  lilies  and  varied  flowers.  He  soon  reached  the 
heights,  amongst  which,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  town, 
were  lonely  ravines  where  He  could  enjoy  perfect  seclusion. 
In  the  stillness  of  nature  He  was  alone  with  His  Father, 
and  far  from  the  temptations  which  troubled  the  pure 
simplicity  of  His  soul,  and  His  lowly  meekness  before  God 
and  man.  We,  now,  see  the  glory  of  the  path  He  chose, 
but  while  He  lived,  even  His  disciples  would  have  planned 
a  very  different  course.  AVhy  not  take  advantage  of  the 
excitement  of  the  peo2)le  to  rouse  the  whole  nation,  as 
John  had  done  ?  Was  not  His  miraculous  power  a 
means  of  endless  benefit  to  men,  and  should  it  not, 
therefore,  be  made  the  great  feature  of  His  work  ? 
Vanity  would  have  suggested  plausible  grounds  for  His 
using  His  gifts  in  a  way,  that,  in  reality,  was  not  in 
harmony  with  the  great  end  of  His  mission.  But  His 
soul  remained  unsullied,  like  the  stainless  light.  He  came 
to  do  the  will  of  His  Father,  and  nothing  could  make  Him 
for  a  moment  think  of  Himself  In  lonely  communion  with 
His  own  soul,  and  earnest  prayer,  the  rising  breath  of  temp- 
tation passed  once  more  away.^ 

Peter  and  Andrew,  finding  Him  gone  when  they  awoke, 
were  at  a  loss  what  to  think.  More  sick  persons  were 
gathering,  and  the  crowds  of  yesterday  promised  to  be  larger 
to-day.  Hasting  to  the  hills,  to  which  they  rightly  sup- 
posed He  had  retired,  and  having  found  Him  at  last,  they 
fancied  He  would  at  once  return  with  them,  on  hearing  that 
the  whole  people  were  seeking  Him.  But  He  had  a  wider 
sphere  than  Capernaum,  and  higher  duties  than  mere  bodily 
healing.  "  I  have  not  come  to  heal  the  sick,"  said  He,  "  but 
to  announce  and  spread  the  kingdom  of  God.  AU  I  do  is 
subordinate  to  this.  Let  us,  therefore,  go  to  the  neigh- 
bouring towns,  for  I  must  preach  the  kingdom  of  God  to 
other  cities,  as  well  as  to  Capernaum."  ^  Nor  would  He  be 
persuaded  to  return  for  a  time,  though  some  of  the  people 
had  already  found  out  His  retreat,  and  joined  with  the 
disciples  in  beo;o;ino;  Him  to  do  so. 

The  circuit  now  beg;un  was  the  first  of  a  series,  m  which 


12  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP.sssiii.  Jesus  visited  every  part  of  Galilee,^*  j^i'^^ching  and  teaching 
"  Kiila:  ill  the  synagogue  of  each  town  that  had  one,  and  often, 
doubtless,  in  the  ojien  air.  It  was  the  briglit  and  sunny 
time  of  the  year,  when  the  harvest  was  quickly  ripening.*^ 
The  heat  was  already  oppressive  at  noon,  but  the  mornings 
and  evenings  permitted  more  easy  travelling.  It  was  a  time 
of  intense  labour  for  the  Saviour,  of  which  the  day's  work 
in  Capernaum  was  only  a  sample.  The  bounds  of  Galilee 
embraced  the  many  villages  and  towns  of  the  Plain  of 
Esdraelon,  and  the  whole  of  the  hilly  country  north  of  it, 
almost  to  Lebanon.  Day  by  day  brought  its  march  from 
one  village  or  town  to  others,  over  the  thirsty  limestone 
uplands,  where  the  wanderer  thankfully  received  the  cup 
of  cold  water,  as  a  gift  to  be  recompensed  in  the  kingdom  of 
God,  or  through  glowing  ^dneyards,  or  among  the  corn- 
fields whitening  to  the  harvest,  or  falling  under  the  sickle 
of  the  reaper.  "  Every  day,"  said  Jesus  to  His  disciples, 
"  has  its  own  troubles ;  "  for  Aveariness ;  possibly,  at  times,- 
hunger ;  the  dependence  on  hospitality  for  shelter;  the  pres- 
sure of  crowds ;  the  stohd  indifference  of  too  many ;  the  idle 
curiosity  of  more ;  the  ever-present  misery  of  disease  in  all  its 
forms ;  and,  it  may  be,  even  thus  early,  the  opposition  of 
some,  must  have  borne  heavily  on  a  nature  like  His.  The 
news  of  His  miracles  had  spread  like  running  fire  through 
the  whole  country,  and  attracted  crowds  from  all  parts. 
Beyond  Palestine,  on  the  north,  they  had  become  the  com- 
mon talk  of  S}Tia;  on  the  east,  they  had  stirred  the 
"  TheDe-  populatiou  of  the  wide  district  of  the  ten  cities,^^  and  of 
■^pois.  Pei'ca^  and,  on  the  south,  His  name  was  on  all  lips  in 
Jerusalem  and  Judea.  Erelong,  it  seemed  as  if  the  scenes 
of  John's  preaching  were  returning,  for  numbers  gathered 
to  Him  from  all  these  parts,  and  followed  Him,  day  by  day, 
in  His  movements  through  the  land.  His  progress  was, 
indeed,  worthy  of  such  an  attendance,  for  no  king  ever 
celebrated  such  a  triumph.  Conquerors  returning  from 
victory  over  kingdoms  and  emjiires  had  led  trains  of 
trembling  captives  in  their  train.  But,  at  every  resting- 
place,  a  sad  crowd  of  sufi"erers  from  all  diseases  and  painful 
afi^ections,  and  of  demoniacs,  lunatics,  and  paralytics,  was 


LEPROSY.  13 

gathered  in  the  path  of  Jesus,  and  He  healed  them  by  a  chap^^xhl 
word  or  a  touch.  Escorted  into  each  town  by  those  whom 
He  had  thus  restored— the  lately  sick  and  dying  whom 
He  had  instantaneously  cured, — it  is  no  wonder  that  the 
whole  land  rang  with  the  story.  The  enemies  over  whom 
He  triumphed  were  pain,  and  sickness,  and  death,  and  the 
rejoicings  that  greeted  Him  were  shouts  of  gratitude  and 
blessing  as  the  Prince  of  Life. 

Only  one  incident  of  this  wondrous  journey  is  recorded 
at  any  length.i'^     jn  one  of  the  cities  He  visited,  He  was  sud-  ■»  Jg«^B.2_4, 
denly  met'by  a  man  "  full  of  leprosy,"  a  disease  at  all  times    '^,t,,_,,. 
terrible,  but  aggravated,  in  the  opinion  of  that  day,  by  the 
belief  that  it  was  a  direct  "stroke  of  God,"  as  a  punishment 
for  special  sms.i"     It  began  mth  little  specks  on  the  eyelids,  -  b.m:mx. 
and  on  the  palms  of  the  hand,  and  gradually  spread  over 
different  parts  of  the  body,  bleaching  the  hair  white  wher- 
ever  it   showed   itself,    crusting    the   affected   parts   with 
shining  scales,  and  causing  swellings  and  sores.     From  the 
skin  it  slowly  ate  its  way  through  the  tissues,  to  the  bones 
and  joints  and  even  to  the  marrow,!^  rotting  the  whole  body  -  ^^^r^^- 
piecemeal.     The  lungs,  the  organs  of  speech  and  hearing, 
and  the  eyes  were  attacked  in  turn,  till,  at  last,  consumption 
or  dropsy  brought  welcome  death.     The  dread  of  infection 
kept  men  aloof  from  the  sufferer,  and  the  Law  proscribed 
him,  as,  above  all  men,  unclean.    The  disease  was  heredi- 
tary to  the  fourth  generation.     No  one  thus  afflicted  could 
remain  in  a  waUed  town,  though  he  might  Uve  in  a  viUage.i^  „  ^^^_^ 
There    were   different   varieties    of  leprosy,    but    aU    were    g;;^^^^ 
dreaded  as  the  saddest  calamity  of  life.      The  leper   was 
required  to  rend  his  outer  garment,  to  go  bareheaded,  and 
to  cover  his  mouth  so  as  to  hide  his  beard,  as  was  done  in 
lamentation  for  the  dead.     He  had,  further,  to  warn  passers 
by  away  from  him  by  the  cry  of  "  Unclean,  unclean  ;"^o »  Lev.  13. 4.5. 
not  without  the  thought  that  the  sound  would  call  forth 
a  prayer  for  the  sufferer,  and  less  from  the  fear  of  infection, 
than  to  prevent  contact  with  one  thus  visited  by  God,  and 
unclean.-     He  could  not  speak   to   any  one,  or  receive  or 
retvuTi  a  salutation.     In  the  lapse  of  ages,  however,  these 
rules  had  been  in  some  degree  relaxed.     A  leper  might  live 


14  THE  LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP.sxsin.  in  an  open  village,  with  any  one  willing  to  receive  him  and 
to  become  unclean  for  his  sake,  and  he  might  even  enter 
the  synagogue,  if  he  had  a  part  specially  partitioned  off  for 

2'AMeciiiza.  himself,  "^^  aud  was  the  first  to  enter  the  building,  and  the 
last  to  leave.  He  even  at  times  ventured  to  enter  a  town, 
though  forbidden  under  the  penalty  of  forty  stripes.  But 
it  was  a  living  death,  in  the  slow  advance  of  which  a  man 
became  daily  more  loathsome  to  himself,  and  even  to  his 
dearest  friends.  "These  four  are  counted  as  dead,"  says 
the   Talmud,    "  the  blind,    the   leper,  the   poor,   and   the 

a  ughtfoot,6i8.  childless."  ^'^ 

The  news  of  the  wondrous  cures  wrought  on  so  many  had 
reached  ,the  unfortunate  man,  who  now  dared  the  Law,  to 
make  his  way  to  the  healer.  Falling  at  His  feet  in  humble 
reverence,  he  delighted  the  spirit  of  Jesus  by,  perhaps,  the 
first  open  confession  of  a  simple  and  lowly  faith — "  Lord,  if 
Thou  wilt.  Thou  canst  make  me  clean."  His  kneeling  before 
Him,  and  addressing  Him  by  such  a  title,  was,  indeed,  only 
what  he  would  have  done  to  any  one  greatly  above  him,'' 
but  his  frank  belief  in  His  power,  and  his  implicit  submission 
to  His  will,  touched  a  heart  so  tender.  Moved  with  com- 
passion for  the  unfortunate,  there  was  no  delay — a  touch  of 
the  hand,  and  the  words,  "  I  will :  be  thou  clean,"  and  he 
rose,  a  leper  no  longer.  To  have  touched  him,  Avas,  in  the 
eyes  of  a  Jew,  to  have  made  Himself  unclean,  but  He  had 
come  to  break  through  the  deadly  externalism  that  had  taken 
the  place  of  true  religion,  and  could  have  shown  no  more 
strikingly  how  He  looked  on  mere  Rabbinical  precepts  than 
by  making  a  touch  which,  tiU  then,  had  entailed  the  worst 
uncleanness,  the  means  of  cleansing.  Slight  though  it 
seemed,  the  touch  of  the  leper  was  the  proclamation  that 
Judaism  was  abrogated  henceforth. 

The  popular  excitement  had  already  extended  widely,  and 
a  cure  like  this  was  certain  to  raise  it  still  higher.  With 
the  Baptist  in  prison  on  a  pretended  political  charge,  and 
the  people  full  of  political  dreams  in  connection  with  the 
expected  Messiah,  all  that  might  fan  the  flame  was  to  be 
dreaded.  Excitement,  moreover,  was  unfavourable  to  the 
great  work  of  Jesus.     He  needed  a  thousrhtful  calm  in  the 


CEREMONY  OF  CLEANSING  THE  LEPER.         15 

mind,  for  lasting  effects.  The  kingdom  of  God  which  He  chap.sxxiu. 
proclaimed  was  no  mere  appeal  to  the  feelings,  but  sought 
the  understanding  and  heart.  Turning  to  the  newly  cured, 
therefore,  He  spoke  earnestly  to  him,  not  to  tell  any  one 
what  had  happened,  threatening  him  with  His  anger,  if  he 
should  disobey.-^  "  Go  to  Jerusalem,"  said  He,  "  and  show  °  ^Mep'/xio^iu. 
yourself  to  the  priest,  and  make  the  offerings  for  j^our  cleans- 
ing, required  by  the  Law,  as  a  proof  to  your  neighbours,  to 
the  priests,  the  scribes,  and  the  people  at  large,  that  you  are 
really  clean." 

A  certificate  of  the  recovery  of  a  leper  could  only  be 
given  at  Jerusalem,  by  a  priest,  after  a  lengthened  exami- 
nation, and  tedious  rites,  and,  no  doubt,  these  were  didy 
undergone  and  performed.  It  will  illustrate  the  "  bondage  " 
of  the  ceremonial  law,  as  then  in  force,  to  describe  them. 
With  his  heart  full  of  the  first  joy  of  a  cure  so  amazing,  for 
no  one  had  ever  before  heard  of  the  recovery  of  a  man 
"full  of  leprosy,"  he  set  off  to  the  Temple  for  the  requisite 
papers  to  authorize  his  return,  once  more,  to  the  roll  of 
Israel.  A  tent  had  to  be  pitched  outside  the  city,  and  in 
this  the  priest  examined  the  leper,  cutting  off  all  his  hair 
with  the  utmost  care,  for  if  only  two  hairs  were  left,  the  cere- 
mony was  invalid.  Two  sparrows  had  to  be  brought  at  this 
first  stage  of  the  cleansing ;  the  one,  to  be  kiUed  over  a 
small  earthen  pan  of  water,  into  which  its  blood  must 
drop  :  the  other,  after  being  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  its 
mate, — a  cedar  twig,  to  which  scarlet  wool  and  a  piece  of 
hyssop  were  bound,  being  used  to  do  so, — was  let  free  in 
such  a  direction  that  it  should  fly  to  the  open  country. 
After  the  scrutiny  by  the  priest,  the  leper  put  on  clean 
clothes,  and  carried  away  those  he  had  worn  to  a  running 
stream,  to  wash  them  thoroughly,  and  to  cleanse  himself  by 
a  bath.  He  could  now  enter  the  city,  but  for  seven  days 
more  could  not  enter  his  ovm  house.  On  the  eighth  day 
after,  he  once  more  submitted  to  the  scissors  of  the 
priest,  who  cut  off  whatever  hair  might  have  grown  in  the 
interval.  Then  followed  a  second  bath,  and  now  he  had 
only  carefuUy  to  avoid  any  defilement,  so  as  to  be  fit  to 
attend   in   the  Temple  next  morning,  and    complete    his 


16  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xxxm.  cleansing.  The  first  step  in  this  final  purification  was  to  ofier 
three  lambs,  two  males  and  a  female,  none  of  which  must  be 
under  a  year  old.  Standing  at  the  outer  edge  of  the  court 
of  the  men,  which  he  was  not  yet  Avorthy  to  enter,  the  leper 
waited  the  longed-for  rites.  These  began  by  the  priest 
taking  one  of  the  male  lambs  destined  to  be  slain  as  an 
atonement  for  the  leper,  and  leading  it  to  each  point  of  the 
compass  in  turn,  and  by  his  swinging  a  vessel  of  oil  on  all 
sides,  in  the  same  way,  as  if  to  present  both  to  the  universally 
present  God.  He  then  led  the  lamb  to  the  leper,  who  laid 
his  hands  on  its  head,  and  gave  it  over  as  a  sacrifice  for 
his  guilt,  which  he  now  confessed.  It  was  forthwith  killed 
at  the  north  side  of  the  altar,  two  priests  catching  its  blood, 
the  one  in  a  vessel,  the  other  in  his  hand.  The  first  now 
sprinkled  the  altar  with  the  blood,  while  the  other  went  to 
the  leper  and  anointed  his  ears,  his  right  thumb,  and  his 
right  toe  with  it.  The  one  priest  then  poured  some  oil  of 
the  leper's  ofi'ering  into  the  left  hand  of  the  other,  who,  in 
his  turn,  dipped  his  finger  seven  times  into  the  oil  thus  held, 
and  sprinkled  it  as  often  toAvards  the  Holy  of  Holies.  Each 
part  of  the  leper  which  before  had  been  touched  Avith  the 
blood,  Avas  then  further  anointed  Avith  the  oil,  what  remained 
being  stroked  on  his  head. 

The  leper  could  noAV  enter  the  men's  court,  and  did  so, 
passing  through  it  to  that  of  the  priests.  The  female  lamb 
Avas  next  killed,  as  a  sin-off'ering,  after  he  had  put  his  hands 
on  its  head,  part  of  its  blood  being  smeai'ed  on  the  horns  of 
the  altar,  while  the  rest  Avas  poured  out  at  the  altar  base. 
The  other  male  lamb  AA-as  then  slain  for  a  burnt  sacrifice  ;  the 
leper  once  more  laying  his  hands  on  its  head,  and  the  priest 
sprinkling  its  blood  on  the  altar.  The  fat,  and  all  that  was 
fit  for  an  ofi'ering,  was  noAv  laid  on  the  altar,  and  burned  as 
a  "  SAveet-smelling  savour  "  to  God.  A  meat-ofi^ering  of  fine 
Avheat  meal  and  oil  ended  the  Avhole ;  a  portion  being  laid 
on  the  altar,  Avhile  the  rest,  Avith  the  tAvo  lambs,  of  Avhich 
only  a  small  part  had  been  burned,  formed  the  dues  of  the 

21  Dnrch         priest.-*     It  Avas  not  till  all  this  had  been  done  that  the  full 

S!^.?;1l    ceremony  of  cleansing,  or  shoAving  himself  to  the  priest,  had 

been  carried  out,'  and  that  the  cheering  words,  "  Thou  art 


POPULAR   EXCITEJIENT.  17 

pure,"  restored  the  sufferer  once  more  to  the  rights  of  citizen-  cmu'.xssm. 
ship  and  of  intercourse  with  men.     No  wonder  that  even  a 
man  hke  St.  Peter,  so  tenderly  minded  to  his  ancestral  reli- 
gion, should  speak   of  its  requirements  as   a  yoke  which 
"neither  our  fathers  nor  we  are  able  to  bear."-^  "  Acta  15.10. 

Of  the  after-history  of  the  leper  thus  cleansed  we  are  not 
informed.  It  appeal's,  however,  that  his  joy  at  being  healed 
was  too  great  to  be  repressed  even  by  Christ's  grave  impo- 
sition of  silence.  The  multitudes  around  Jesus  would  soon, 
of  themselves,  spread  news  of  the  miracle,  but  the  healed 
man  widened  and  heightened  the  excitement  by  telling 
everywhere  on  his  road  to  Jerusalem  what  had  befallen 
him.  The  result  was  that  Jesus  could  no  longer  enter  a 
town  or  city,  so  great  was  the  commotion  His  presence  ex- 
cited. Nor  was  it  of  any  avail  that  He  retired  to  the  open 
country,  for  even  when  He  betook  Himself  to  the  upland 
solitudes,  great  multitudes  continually  sought  Him  out,™ 
either  to  hear  His  words,  or  to  be  healed  of  their  various 
diseases. 

In  such  busy  and  exhausting  scenes  the  days  of  early 
autumn  passed.  But,  whatever  the  returning  toils  of  each 
morning,  the  Saviour  still  craved  and  secured  hours  of 
lonely  calm,  for  we  read  in  St.  Luke  that,  during  all  these 
weeks.  He  was  wont  to  withdraAv,  doubtless  by  night,  into 
lonely  places  to  pray.^^  -"  ^^ 


Imperfect  of 
custom. 
Winer,  252. 


VOL.   IL  41 


18  THE   LIFK    OF   CHEIST 


p.  xxsrv.  rj^ 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

LIGHT  AND  DAEKlSrESS. 

HE  cure  of  the  leper  seems  to  have  resulted  in  Jesus 
returning,  for  a  moment,  to  Capernaum.  He  had 
acted  with  the  greatest  caution  during  His  mission,  to  avoid 
giving  offence,  and  thus  raising  opposition,  Avhich  would  be 
fatal  at  the  very  opening  of  His  ministry.  From  many  a 
hill-top  on  His  journeyings,  He  and  His  disciples  had, 
doubtless,  often  looked  to  the  mountains  in  the  south-east, 
amidst  which  John  lay,  a  helpless  prisoner ;  and  they  must 
have  felt  that  the  prince  who  had  thus  cut  short  the  work 
of  the  great  Reformer,  might  be  readily  moved  to  the 
same  violence  towards  themselves.  Jesus  had,  therefore, 
shunned  notoriety  ;  and  though  He  never  hesitated  to  accept 
homage,  where  it  was  sincere  and  spontaneous,  He  had 
never  demanded  it,  and  had  kept  even  His  miraculous 
powers  in  strict  subordination  to  the  great  work  of  pro- 
claiming the  advent  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  appeals 
of  pain  and  misery  had,  indeed,  constrained  Him  to  relieve 
them,  but  He  had  accompanied  His  miracles  by  a  strict  pro- 
hibition of  their  being  made  pubhcly  known,  further  than 
was  inevitable. 

In  spite  of  every  precaution,  however,  the  report  of  His 
wonderful  doings  spread  far  and  wide,  and  drew  ever  in- 
creasing attention.  Political  circles,  as  yet,  did  not  con- 
descend to  notice  Him,  but  the  sleepless  eyes  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical authorities  were  already  watching  Him.  It  was  enough 
that  He  acted  independently  of  them.  Not  to  be  with  them 
was,  in  their  eyes,  to  be  against  them,  for  they  claimed,  as 
the  spiritual  leaders  of  the  nation,  the  sole  direction  of  its 
religious  teaching.      The  more  wonderful  His  works,  the 


DANGEE   IN   PROSPECT.  19 

greater  their  excitement,  and  the  keener  their  jealous}-.  In  chap.ssxit. 
any  case,  therefore,  the  words  which  accompanied  sucli  ex- 
traordinary manifestations,  woukl  have  been  watched  with 
the  closest  scrutiny,  for  any  chance  of  -vindicating  their  care 
of  the  religious  interests  entrusted  to  them.  In  an  age  of 
such  rigid  literalism  and  unchanging  conservatism,  no  teacher 
with  the  least  indiv-iduahty  of  thought  or  expression  could 
hope  to  escape,  where  the  determination  to  condemn  was 
already  fixed.  Far  less  was  it  possible  for  one  hke  Jesus — 
so  sincere ,  amidst  general  insincerity;  so  intense  and  real 
amidst  what  was  hollow  and  outward ;  so  pure  and  elevated 
amidst  what  was  gross  and  worldly ;  so  tenderly  human, 
amidst  what  was  harsh  and  exclusive — to  avoid  giving  pre- 
text for  censure.  The  priests  and  Rabbis,  through  the 
whole  land,  felt  instinctively  that  their  influence  was  im- 
perilled by  His  lightest  word.  They,  already,  were  coldly 
suspicious.  The  next  step  would  be  to  blame,  and  they 
would  seek,  before  long,  to  destroy  Him,  for  it  has,  in  all 
ages,  been  the  sad  characteristic  of  the  leaders  of  dominant 
rehgious  parties,  to  confound  the  gratification  of  the  worst 
passions  with  loyalty  to  their  office. 

Perhaps  Jesus  had  hoped  that  in  Capernaum,  at  least, 
He  would  find  an  interval  of  repose,  for  His  absence  might 
have  been  expected  to  have  allayed  the  excitement.  No 
spot  in  Palestine  seemed  less  likely  to  be  disturbed  by  the 
hostility  of  the  schools.  In  Jerusalem,  men  looked  back  to 
a  past  dating  from  Melchisedek,  and  were  its  slaves,  but 
Capernaum  was  so  new  that  its  name  does  not  occur  at  all 
in  the  Old  Testament.  But  He  soon  found  that  the  dark 
and  hateful  genius  of  Rabbinism,  with  its  puerile  customs 
and  formulas,  and  its  fierce  bigotry,  was  abroad  through 
the  whole  land. 

It  was  vain  to  expect  that  a  "city  set  on  a  hill"  could  be 
hidden.  He  had  scarcely  re-entered  the  town,  before  it  ran 
from  mouth  to  mouth  that  He  had  returned,  and  Avas  at 
home.^  Crowds  presently  gathered,  and  filled  not  only  the  ■  Jgi^^.M.^ 
house,  but  the  space  before  it.  There  was  to  be  no  rest  for  i-ukes.n-ss. 
the  Son  of  Man,  till  He  found  it  in  the  garden  grave  of 
Joseph  of  Arimathea.     The  applause,  the  gaping  wonder. 


20  THE   LIFE   OP   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  XXXIV.  the  huge  concourse  of  people,  were  only  a  grief  to  Him. 
He  had  broken  away  from  them  before,  and  sought  refuge 
from  the  temptations  they  tended  to  excite,  in  lonely  prayer 
by  night,  on  the  neighbouring  hills,  under  the  pure  and 
silent  stars.  They  had  followed  Him  on  His  journey  from 
to-\\Ti  to  town,  and,  now,  on  His  return  to  Caj^ernaum,  the 
clamour  of  voices,  and  the  pressure  of  throngs,  beset  Him 
more  than  ever.  Had  anxiety  to  hear  the  truths  of  the  new 
spiritual  kingdom  caused  this  excitement,,  it  would  have 
been  healthy,  but  it  had  been  already  shown  only  too  cleai'ly 
that,  while  men  believed  in  His  power  to  heal,  they  cared 
little  for  His  higher  claims.  Regret  for  bodily  illness,  or 
ready  sympathy  -with  the  sufferers,  simply  as  under  physical 
trouble,  were  evidently  the  only  thought,  to  the  exclusion  of 
any  sense  of  graver  spii'itual  disease  in  all  alike.  The  very 
maladies  often  revealed  moral  impurity  as  their  cause;  and 
the  selfish  struggle  for  His  favour,  and  the  too  frequent 
ingratitude  of  the  cured,  saddened  His  soul.  Of  the  multi- 
tudes whom  He  had  healed,  most  had  disappeared,  mthout 
any  signs  of  having  heeded  His  apj^eals  and  warnings. 
Even  the  leper,  Avho  had  at  least   promised  silence,  was 

s  schenkei,      hai'dly  out  of  His  presence  before  he  forgot  his  pledge.^ 
76.  He  was  already  the  !Man  of  Sorrows,  but  divine  compassion 

still  urged  Him  to  heal. 

To  make  the  trial  greater,  it  was  evident  that  mischief 
was  brewing.  The  Rabbis  were  astir.  They  had  heard  of 
the  multitudes  attracted  from  the  other  side  of  the  Jordan 

« Matt.  4. 22, 23.  ou  tlic  cast ;  from  as  far  as  Jerusalem,^  and  even  Idumea, 

•  Mark 3. 8.  on  the  south,  and  from  Phenicia  on  the  north;*  and  had 
followed  the  crowds,  and  gathered  in  Capernaum  from 
every  town  of  Gahlee  and  Judea,  and  from  Jerusalem  itself, 
to  hear  and  see  the  new  wonder.  Sensitive  in  their  own 
interest,  they  came  with  no  friendly  motive,  but  cold  and 
hostile;  to  criticize,  and,  if  possible,  to  condemn. 

Even  in  Galilee  the  influence  of  the  order  was  great.  It 
had  done  immense  service  to  the  nation  in  earlier  days  in 
kindling  an  intense  feeling  of  nationality,  and  an  enthu- 
siasm, at  first  healthy  and  beneficial,  though  now  perverted, 

»  pressei,  in      for  thclr  faltli.^     The  Rabbis  were  the  heads  of  the  nation, 


PO^VER   OF   THE    RABBIS.  21 

in  the  ■widest  sense,  for  the  religion  of  tlie  j)eople  was  also  chap,  ssxt.^ 
their  politics.  They  were  the  theologians,  the  jurists,  the 
legislators,  the  politicians,  and,  indeed,  the  soul  of  Israel.*^ «  schnft- 
The  priests  had  sunk  to  a  subordinate  place  in  the  public  Herzo&'xiii. 
regard.  The  veneration  which  the  people  felt  for  their 
Law  was  willingly  extended  to  its  teachers.  They  were 
greeted  reverently  in  the  street  and  in  the  market-place, 
men  rising  up  before  them  as  they  passed  ;  the  title  of  Rabbi 
was  universally  accorded  them ;  the  front  seats'  of  the  syna- 
gogues were  set  apart  for  them ;  and  they  took  the  place  of 
honour  at  all  family  rejoicings,  that  they  might  discourse, 
incidentally,  to  the  company,  on  the  Law.  Wise  in  their 
generation,  they .  fostei'ed  this  homage  by  external  aids. 
Their  long  robes,  their  broad  phylacteries,  or  prayer  fillets, 
on  their  forehead  and  arm,  their  conspicuous  TephiUin,  with 
the  sacred  tassels  dangling  from  each  corner,  were  part  of 
themselves,  Avithout  which  they  were  never  seen.  The 
people  gloried  in  them  as  the  crown  of  Israel,  and  its  dis- 
tinguishing honour  above  all  other  nations.^  "  Learn  where 
is  wisdom,"  says  Baruch,  "where  is  strength,  where  is  under- 
standing. It  has  not  been  heard  of  in  Canaan,  nor  seen  in 
Teman.  The  Hagarenes  seek  wisdom,  and  the  traders  of 
Meran  and  Teman,  and  the  poets  and  philosophers,  but 
they  have  not  found  out  the  way  of  wisdom,  or  discovered 
her  path.  God  has  found  out  the  whole  way  of  wisdom, 
and  hath  given  it  to  His  servant  Jacol),  and  to  Israel,  His 
beloved."'  Jerusalem  was,  naturally,  while  the  Temple  Bamchs. 
worship  continued,  the  head-quarters  of  the  wisdom  of  the 
Rabbis,  but  they  were  found  in  all  the  synagogue  towns 
both  of  Judea  and  Gahlee.  They  formed  the  members  of 
the  local,  ecclesiastical,  and  criminal  courts  over  the  country, 
and  at  Jerusalem,  virtually  controlled  the  authorities,  and 
thus  framed  the  religious  and  general  law  for  the  nation  at 
large,  so  far  as  alloAved  by  the  Romans.  Their  activity 
never  rested.  Whether  as  guests  from  the  Holy  City,  or  as 
residents,  they  pervaded  the  land,  visiting  every  school  and 
synagogue,  to  extend  their  influence  by  teaching  and  ex- 
hortations. A  Rabbi,  indeed,  could  move  from  place  to 
place  with  little  trouble,  for,  in  most  cases,  he  lived  by  trade 


22 


THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


cHAP^xsiv.  or  handicraft,  and  could  tlius  unite  business  and  religion  in 
his  missionary  journeys.  Tlieir  ceaseless  circuits  are  painted 
in  the  Targum  on  Deborah's  song.  It  makes  the  prophetess 
say — "  I  am  sent  to  praise  the  Scribes  of  Israel,  who  ceased 
not,  in  the  evil  times,  to  expound  the  Law.  It  was  beau- 
tiful to  see  how  they  sat  in  the  synagogues,  and  taught  the 
people  the  words  of  the  Law ;  how  they  uttered  the  bless- 
ings, and  confessed  the  truth  before  God.  They  neglected 
their  own  affairs,  and  rode  on  asses  round  the  whole  land, 
and  sat  for  judgment."  The  paraphrase  is  an  anachronism 
when  applied  to  the  age  of  the  Judges,  bvit  it  vividly  illus- 

•  Hausroih,!.    ti'atcs  Rabbinical  zeal  in  the  days  of  Christ.^ 

Soon  after  His  return  to  Capernaum,  an  incident  occurred 
which  led  to  the  first  open  difference  between  Jesus  and 
this  all-powerful  order.  The  crowds  had  gathered  in  such 
numbers  at  Peter's  house,  that  not  only  the  house  itself, 
but  the  sjiace  before  it,  was  once  more  full.  Among  the 
audience  were  Scribes  from  all  parts,  to  see  if  they  should 
unite  Avith  the  new  movement,  and  turn  it  to  their  own 
purposes,  or  take  measures  against  it.  If  we  may  judge 
from  the  ruins  on  the  site  of  the  town,  the  house  was  only 
a  single  very  low  story  high,  with  a  flat  roof,  reached  by  a 
stairway  from  the  yard  or  court,^  and  Jesus  may  have  stood 
near  the  door,  in  such  a  position  as  to  be  able  to  address  the 
crowd  outside,  as  well  as  those  in  the  chamber.*'  Possibly, 
however,  there  were  two  stories  in  this  particular  house,  as 
there  nmst  have  been  in  some  in  the  town,  and  in  that  case 
the  upper  one  would  likely  be  a  large  room — the  "  upper  " 
and  best  chamber — such  as  was  often  used  elsewhere  by 
Rabbis,  for  reading  and  expounding  the  Law  to  their  dis- 

w  Lightfoot,      ciples,^''  and  Jesus  may  have  stood  near  the  open  window, 

Mark,  U.  400.  \       ,        ,  i    i         ,  .  ^  t         •    i  •       11 

Deutzsch.Ein  SO  as  to  06  iieard  both  outside  and  within. ^^ 
Capernaum,  From  soiue  favourablc  spot  He  was  addressing  the  thickly 
crowded  audience  about  the  kingdom  of  God,  so  long 
prophesied,  and  now,  at  last,  in  their  midst,  when  four  men 
approached  bearing  a  sick  person,  on  a  hammock  slung 
between  them.  It  proved  to  be  a  man  entirely  paralyzed. 
Unable  to  make  their  way  through  the  throng,  the  bearers 
went  round  the  house  to  see  what  should  be  done.     They 


•  Matt.  24. 1' 
Ijand  and 
Book,  358. 


11  Ewald, 
Geschichte, 
V.  S75. 


THE   P^UiALYTIC    MAN.  23 

had  likely  come  from  a  distance,  and  thus  were  too  late  to  chap.sxsu-. 
get  at  once  near  the  great  Healer.  The  outside  stairs  to  the 
roof,  however,  offered  them  a  solution  of  their  difficulty. 
The  sick  man  was  bent  on  getting  to  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and 
willingly  let  them  raise  him,  which  they  were  able  to  do 
by  fastening  cords  to  the  hammock,  and  pulling  it  up,  after 
they  themselves  had  got  to  the  top  by  the  narrow  and 
ladder-like  stej^s. 

Their  trembling  burden  once  safely  on  the  roof,  the  rest 
was  easy.  Eastern  houses  are,  in  many  ways,  very  different 
from  ours,  but  in  none  more  strikingly  than  in  the  lightness 
of  the  roof.  Rafters  are  laid  on  the  top  of  the  side  walls, 
about  three  feet  apart,  and  on  these  short  sticks  are  put,  till 
the  whole  space  is  covered.  Over  these,  again,  a  thick  coating 
of  brushwood,  or  of  some  common  bush,  is  spread.  A  coat  of 
mortar  comes  next,  burying  and  levelling  all  beneath  it,  and 
on  this  again  is  spread  marl  or  eaith,  which  is  rolled  flat 
and  hard.^^  Many  roofs,  indeed,  are  much  slighter — earth  12  Land  ana 
closely  roUed  or  beaten  down,  perhaps  mixed  with  ashes, 
lime,  and  chopped  straw, — being  all  the  owners  can  afford,  and 
thus,  even  at  thi^  day,  it  is  common  to  see  grass  growing  on 
the  house-top  after  the  rains,  and  repairs  of  cx'acks  made  by 
the  sun's  rays  are  often  needed  in  the  hot  season,  to  prevent 
heavy  leakafje.^^      It  is  thus  easy  to  break  up  a  roof  when  «  Am. 

*/  <^  J  L  "Haiiser/'and 

necessary,  and  it  is  often  done.  The  earth  is  merely  scraped  Bj^f^jj^ty 
back  from  a  part,  and  the  thorns  and  short  sticks  removed,  a^d^^^^. 
till  an  opening  of  the  required  size  is  made.^*  '        "  B^ok's^s. 

Through  some  such  simple  roofing  the  four  beai'crs  now 
opened  a  space  large  enough  to  let  down  the  sick  man  into 
the  chamber  where  Jesus  stood."  Cords  tied  to  the  couch 
made  the  rest  easy,  and  the  paralytic  was  presently  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus.  He  lay  there,  the  living  dead,  but  his  outward 
troubles  were  not  his  greatest.  Looking  on  his  calamity 
as  a  punishment  from  God  for  past  sins, — perhaps  feeling 
that  it  had  been  brought  upon  him  by  a  vicious  life, — he  was 
even  more  sorely  stricken  in  spirit  than  in  body.  No  one, 
he  felt,  could  help  him  but  He  to  reach  whom  had  been 
his  deepest  wish.  To  be  healed  within,  was  even  more  vdih 
him  than  to  be  restored  to  outward  health.    He  had  nothing 


24  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  sxxry.  to  say ;  perhaps  he  could  not  speak,  for  palsy  often  hinders 
articulation.  But  his  eyes  told  his  whole  story,  and  He 
before  whom  he  had  thus  strangely  come  read  it  at  a  glance. 
He  was  still  a  young  man,  which  in  itself  awakened  sjnnpathy, 
but  he  had,  besides,  in  his  anxiety  to  get  near,  by  whatever 
means,  and  the  humiUty  which  sought  cleansing  from  guilt 
more  than  restoration  to  health,  shown  a  recognition  of  Christ's 
higher  dignity  as  the  dispenser  of  spiritual  blessings.  With 
an  endearing  word  used  by  teachers  to  disciples,  or  by 
superiors  in  age  or  rank,  Jesus  flashed  the  light  of  hope  on 
his  troubled  spirit.  "My  child,"  said  He,  "thy  sins  are 
forgiven  thee." 

It  was  a  wondrous  utterance,  and  must  have  sounded  still 
more  strangely,  when  thus  first  heard,  than  to  us,  Avho  have 
been  familiar  with  it  from  childhood.  No  one  had  ever 
heard  Him  admit,  even  by  a  passing  word.  His  own  sinful- 
ness ;  He  showed  no  humility  before  God  as  a  sinner ;  never 
sought  pardon  at  His  hands.  Yet  no  Rabbi  approached 
Him  in  opposition  to  all  that  Avas  wrong,  for  He  went  even 
beyond  the  act  to  the  sinful  desire.  The  standard  He 
demanded  was  no  less  than  the  awful  pai-fection  of  God. 
But  those  round  Him  heard  Him  now  rise  above  any  mere 
tacit  assumption  of  this  sinless  purity  by  His  setting 
Himself  in  open  contrast  to  sinners,  in  His  claim  not  only 
to  announce  the  forgiveness  of  sins  by  God,  but.  Himself,  to 
dispense  it.  He  pai'dons  the  sins  of  the  repentant  creature 
before  Him  on  His  OAvn  authority,  as  a  King,  which  it  would 
be  contradictory  to  have  done  had  He  Himself  been  con- 
scious of  having  sin  and  guilt  of  His  own.  It  was  clear 
that  He  could  have  ventured  on  no  such  assumption  of  the 
prerogative  of  God,  had  He  not  felt  in  Himself  an  absolute 
harmony  of  spiritual  nature  with  Him,  so  that  He  only 
>=■  Diimanii,  uttcred  what  He  knew  was  the  divine  will.^''  It  was  at 
GsTe^."^'^''*"'  once  a  proclamation  of  His  o■\\^l  sinlessness,  and  of  His 
kingly  dignity  as  the  Messiah,  in  whose  hands  had  been 
placed  the  rule  over  the  new  theocracy. 

The  Rabbis  felt,"in  a  moment,  all  that  such  words  imjjlied. 
Their  only  idea  of  a  religious  teacher  was  that  he  should 
never  venture  a  word  on  his  ovm  authority,  but  slavishly 


FORGIVENESS   OF   SINS.  25 

follow  other  earlier  Rabbis.  They  had  all  the  conservatism  cm^p.  xssry. 
of  lawyers.  One  Beth-din  could  not  put  aside  the  decision 
of  another,  unless  it  was  superior  in  wisdom  and  numbers,^® '"  Derenbourg, 
and  how  little  likely  it  was  that,  even  in  such  a  case,  any 
decision  should  be  superseded,  may  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that  for  any  one  to  dispute  with  a  Rabbi  or  murmur  against 
him,  or  to  hesitate  in  accepting  and  obeying  his  every  word, 
was  no  less  a  crime  than  to  do  the  same  towards  God  Himself. ^'^ "  Eisenmpngcr, 
Even  the  people  had  caught  the  spirit  of  changeless  con- 
servatism from  their  teachers,  for,  when  John  Hyrcanus,  with 
a  kindly  view  to  reheve  them  from  an  almost  intolerable 
burden,  ventured  to  prohibit  some  trifling  Rabbinical  rules 
of  the  Pharisees,  his  well-meant  liberality,  instead  of  gaining 
him  favour,  excited  hatred  against  him  as  an  intruder  and 
innovator.^*  The  type  of  a  strict  Rabbi  found  its  ideal  in  n  Derenbom-g, 
Schammili,  the  rival  of  Hillel,  and  founder  of  the  school 
which  was  most  bitter  against  Jesus.  It  was  not  enough 
that  he  sought  to  make  even  young  childi-en  fast  through 
the  whole  day  of  Pardon :  during  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles 
he  had  the  roof  taken  from,  the  room  in  which  lay  his 
daughter-in-law  and  her  new-born  son,  to  have  a  tent  raised 
over  them,  that  the  baby  might  be  able  to  keep  the  feast. ^'^     19  Derenbonrg, 

The  lofty  words  of  Jesus  at  once  caught  the  ears  of  the 
lawyers  on  the  watch.  They  sounded  new,  and  to  be  new 
was  to  be  dangerous.  Nothing  in  Judaism  had  been  left 
unfixed ;  every  religious  act,  and  indeed,  every  act  whatever, 
must  follow  minutely  prescribed  rules.  The  Law  knew 
no  such  form  as  an  official  forgiving  of  sins,  or  absolution. 
The  leper  might  be  pronounced  clean  by  the  priest,  and  a 
transgressor  might  present  a  sin-offering  at  the  Temple,  and 
transfer  his  guilt  to  it,  by  laying  his  hands  on  its  head  and 
owning  his  fault  before  God,  and  the  blood  sprinkled  by  the 
pi'iest  on  the  horns  of  the  altar,  and  towards  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  was  an  atonement  that  "  covered  "  his  sins  from  the 
eyes  of  Jehovah,  and  pledged  his  forgiveness.  But  that 
forgiveness  was  the  direct  act  of  God  ;  no  human  lips  dared 
pronounce  it.  It  was  a  special  prerogative  of  the  Almighty,-" '"  f"*- 1^/; 
and  even  should  mortal  man  venture  to  declare  it,  he  could  sfi^'''*' 
only  do  so  in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  and  by  His  immediate 


26  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  xsxiv.  authorization.  But  Jesus  had  sj^oken  in  His  o-^-n  name.  He 
had  not  hinted  at  being  empowered  by  God  to  act  for  Him. 
The  Scribes  were  greatly  excited ;  whispers,  ominous  head- 
shakings,  dark  looks,  and  pious  gesticulations  of  alarm,  showed 
that  they  were  ill  at  ease.  "  He  should  have  sent  him  to  the 
priest  to  present  his  sin-offering,  and  have  it  accepted :  it  is 
blasphemy  to  speak  of  forgiving  sins,  He  is  intruding 
on  the  divine  rights."  The  blasphemer  was  to  be  put  to 
death   by   stoning,   his  body  hung   on   a    tree,  and  then 

21  Lev. 24. 16.    burlcd  witli  shame.^^      "Who   can  forcrive   sins   but  One, 

Ant.  It.  8. 6.  O  ) 

God  ?" 

It  was  the  turning   point  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  for  the 
accusation  of  blasphemy,  now  muttered  in  the  hearts  of  the 
Rabbis  present,  was  the  beginning  of  the  process  which  ended, 
after  a  time,  on  Calvary ;  and  He  knew  it.     The  genius  of 
Rabbinism  was  in  direct  antagonism  to  that  of  His  "  new 
teaching."     Christ  required  a  change  of  heart;  the  Rabbis, 
instruction  ;  He  looked  at  the  motive  of  an  act ;  they,  at  its 
strict  accordance  to  legal  forms ;  He  contented  Hhnself  with 
implanting  a  j^rinciple  of  pure  and  loving  obedience  in  the 
breast,  which  should  make  men  a  law  to  themselves :  they 
taught  that  every  detail  of  religious  observance,  from  the 
cradle  to  the  gi'ave, — to  the  very  smallest, — should  be  pre- 
scribed, and  rigidly  followed  in  every  formal  particular.    He 
promised  the  Divine  Spirit  to  aid  His  followers  to  a  perfect 
obedience  ;  the  Rabbis  enforced  obedience  by  the  terrors  of 
=2  pressei,        thc  Church  courts,  which  they  controlled.^^     Resting  thus 
Herzog,  xii.    on  wholly  diffcrcut  conceptions ;  the  Rabbi,  self-satisfied  in 
the  observance  of  external  rites  and  requirements;    Jesus 
repudiating  merit,  and  basing  His  kingdom  on  the  willing 
service  of  humble  and  grateful  love,  the  only  question  was 
how  long,  in  an  intolerant  theocracy,  active  hostihty  might 
be  averted.     The  lowly,  wandering,  Galila^an  teacher,  who 
despised  long  robes  and  phylacteries,  and  associated  with  the 
rude  and  ignorant,  from  whom  the  Rabbis  shrank  as  accursed 
for  not  knowing  the  Rabbinical  law ;  who  had  no  license  as 
teacher  from  any  Beth-din ;  who  had  attended  no  Beth-ha- 
Midrasch,  or  Rabbis'   School  of  the  Law,  and  was  thus  a 
mere  untrained   layman,  usurjiing   clerical  functions,  was 


THE   RABBIS   AROUSED. 


27 


instinctively  suspected  and  bated,  tliougli  they  covild  not  ch-vp^siv. 
afFect   to  despise   Him.      The  kingdom  of  God  which  He 
preached  was,  moreover,  something  new  and  irregular.    In  the 
words  of  Baruch,^^  they  expected  that  all  who  kept  the  Law«  i!aruch4.2. 
in  their  sense,  would,  in  return,  have  eternal  life  as  a  right, 
as  indeed,  one  of  their  proverbs  plainly  put  it, — "  He  who 
buys  the  words  of  the  Law,  buys  everlasting  life."-*  Esteeming '»  p-  Aboth. 
themselves  blamelessly  righteous,^^  they  not  only  despised  «  ™'^3g% 
others,  but  claimed  Heaven,  as  the    special   favourites   of    Matt.  23. 23. 
God.    It  must,  therefore,  have  been  galling  in  the  extreme, 
to  hear  Jesus  demand  humiUty  and  repentance,  and  faith  in 
Himself,  as  the  universal  conditions  of  entrance  into  the 
new  kingdom  of  God ;  to  be  confounded  with  the  crowd  on 
whom  they  looked   as    Brahmins  on    Sudras ;    and   to   be 
stripped   of  their  boasting,  and   even    of    their  hopes   of 
future  political  glory,  by  the  proclamation  of  a  new  and 
purely   spiritual  theocracy,  in   the   place    of  the   national 
restoration  of  which  they  dreamed,  with  themselves  at  its 
head.^^     Only  a  spark  was  wanting  to  set  their  hostility ««  scMftge- 
ablaze,  and  this  had  now  been  supplied. 

For  the  time  they  were  helpless,  in  the  presence  of  so 
much  enthusiasm  for  Jesus,  but  this  only  increased  their 
bitterness,  on  their  finding  that  He  had  kept  His  eyes  on 
them,  and  knew  their  thoughts.  They  were  now  still  more 
confused  by  His  openly  asking  them,  "  Why  they  were 
thinking  evil  in  their  hearts  ?"  He  had  long  felt  that  He 
could  not  hope  to  make  any  healthy  impression  on  a  class 
who  affected  to  regard  Him  as  half  beside  Himself  on 
religious  matters,-"  and  as  one  who  had  set  Himself  up  as  a"  ^^Y^j^?^; 
Rabbi,  and  excited  the  people  against  their  teachers.  He 
knew  that  they  put  the  worst  construction  on  all  He  said, 
and  were  laying  up  matter  for  future  open  attack.  But  no 
passing  thought  of  fear  disturbed  Him.  He  had  come  to 
witness  to  the  truth,  and  at  once  accepted  the  challenge 
which  their  hostile  looks  and  bearings  implied.  Without 
waiting  to  be  assailed,  He  suddenly  asked  them,  "Which 
is  easier  ?  To  say  to  this  paralytic,  Thy  sins  are  forgiven,  or 
to  say.  Rise,  and  take  up  thy  bed  and  go  ?  "  There  might  be 
deception  about  the  forgiveness,  for  no  one  could  tell  if  the 


lehrte. 
Hera 
7-10. 


2  Cor.  6. 13. 


28  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST, 

CHAP.  xxsiY.  absolution  were  of  any  avail,  bnt  there  could  be  none  respect- 
ing tlie  cure  of  a  helpless  living  corpse.  Turning  to  the  bed 
without  waiting  an  answer,  He  continued — in  irresistible 
self- vindication — "  That  ye  may  knoAV  that  the  Son  of 
Man  has  authority  on  the  earth  to  forgive  sins, — Rise,  poor 
man,  take  up  the  mat  on  which  you  have  been  lying,  and  go 
home."  It  was  enough ;  sensibihty  and  power  of  motion 
returned  to  the  helpless  limbs ;  muscles  and  nerves  lost  their 
torpor ;  strength  poured  once  more  through  the  veins. 
Slowly,  scarce  realizing  what  it  meant,  he  rose,  little  by 
little,  his  eyes  fixed  on  his  deliverer,  till,  at  last,  he  stood  erect 
before  Him,  to  sink  at  His  knees  again  in  grateful  adoration. 
But  he  could  not  be  allowed  to  stay.  Stepping  back,  with- 
out saying  a  Avord,  Jesus,  by  a  look,  motioned  him  to 
retire,  and  lifting  the  m'at,'^  he  did  so,  his  eyes  still  fixed  on 
his  helper,  as  he  made  his  way  backward  through  the  awe- 
stricken  crowd. 

The  eff'ect  was  electric.  The  Scribes  were,  for  the  time, 
discomfited.  Amazement  and  fear  mingled  with  religious 
awe.  "  We  never  saw  it  thus,"  cried  some,  while  others, 
with  true  Eastern  demonstrativeness,  broke  out  into  pi'aise 
of  God  who  had  given  such  power  to  men.  Meanwhile, 
Jesus  glided  out  of  the  apartment,  sad  at  heart,  for  the 
shadow  of  the  cross  had  fallen  on  His  soul. 

A  number  of  disciples  must,  by  this  time,  have  been 
gained  in  different  parts,  but  the  inner  circle  gathered  by 
Jesus,  as  His  personal  followers,  was  as  yet  limited  to  the  few 
whom  he  had  first  "called."  Another  Avas,  now,  however, 
to  be  added  to  their  number.  Capernaum,  as  a  busy  trad- 
ing town,  on  the  marches  between  the  dominions  of  Philip 
and  those  of  Antipas,  and,  from  its  being  on  the  high  road 

a  Acre.  between   Damascus   and  Ptoleraais,^^  had  a  strong  staff"  of 

custom-house  officers,  or  publicans,"  to  use  the  common  name. 
The  traffic  landed  at  Capernaum  from  across  the  Lake,  or 
shipped  from  it,  had  to  pay  dues,  and  so  had  all  that 
entered  or  left  the  town  in  other  directions.  There  were 
tolls  on  the  highways,  and  on  the  bridges,  and  at  each 
place  the  humbler  grades  of  publicans  were  required,  while 
a  few  of  a  higher  rank  had  charge  of  the  aggregate  receipts 


PUBLICANS. 


29 


of  the  minor  offices  of  the  district.      These  officials  were  chap^xiv. 
often  freemen,  or  even  slaves  of  the  larger  farmers  of  the 
local   imposts;    sometimes   natives   of  the  part,  and  even 
poor   Roman   citizens.     The  whole   class,  however,  had  a 
bad  name  for  greed  and  exaction.^^     So  loud,  indeed,  and »  ^y-^-^i^^ 
serious,  did  the  remonstrances  of  the  whole  Roman  world    adVint.!!" 
become  at  the  tyranny  and  plunderings  thus  suffered,  that,     ll^ol'^"' 
a  generation  later,  Nero  proposed  to  the  Senate  to  do  away 
with  taxes  altogether,  though  the  idea  resulted  only  in  an 
official  admission  that  the  "greed  of  the  publicans  must 
be  repressed,  lest  they  should  at  last,  by  new  vexations, 
render  the  public  burdens  intolerable."  ^^     The  underlings,  30  ^.  Ann. 
especially,  sought   to   enrich   themselves   by  grinding   the 
people:    and   the    checks   they    caused  to   commerce,    the 
trouble  they  gave  by  reckless  examination  of  goods,  and  by 
tedious  delays ;    by  false  entries,  and  illegal  duties ;   made 
them  intensely  hated.     "  Bears  and  lions,"  said  a  proverb, 
"  might  be  the  fiercest  wild  beasts  in  the  forests,  but  publi- 
cans and  informers  were  the  worst  in  the  cities."  ^^     The  31  stob.  s,rm. 
Jews,  who  bore  the  Roman  yoke  with  more  impatience  than 
any  other  nation,  and  shunned  all  contact  with  foreigners, 
excommunicated  every  Israehte  who  became  a  pubhcan,  and 
declared  him  incompetent  to  bear  witness  in  their  courts, 
and  the  disgrace  extended  to  his  whole  family.      Nobody 
was  allowed  to  take  alms  from  one,  or  to  ask  him  to  change 
money  for  them.     They  were  even  classed  with  highway  rob- 
bers and  murderers,^^  or  with  harlots,  heathen,  and  sinners.  ==  m.  Nedar 
No  strict  Jew  would  eat,  or  even  hold  intercourse,  with 
them.33  "  .ISr 

With  a  supreme  indifference  to  the  prejudices  of  the  day,     '^""•i'-- 
Jesus  resolved  to  receive  one  of  this  proscribed  order  into 
the  inner  group  of  His  followers.     With  a  wide  and  generous 
charity  He  refused  to  condemn  a  whole  class.     That  they 
were  outcasts  from  society  was  a  special  reason  why  He,  the 
Son  of  I^Ian,  should  seek  to  win  them  to  a  better  life.     He  ^ 
refused  to  admit  anything  wrong  in  paying  tribute  to  Cffisar, 
and  hence  saw  no  sin  in  its  collection.     There  was  no  neces- 
sity for  a  pubhcan  not  being  just  and  faithful,  ahke  to  the 
people  and  to  the  State,  and  He  had  seen  for  Himself  that 


30  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP. xssiv  there  were  some  against  whom  nothing  could  be  justly 
urged.'  It  was,  moreover,  a  fundamental  principle  with  Him, 
that  the  worst  of  men,  if  they  sincerely  repented,  and  turned 
to  God,  should  be  gladly  received,  as  prodigal  sons  who 
sought  to  regain  the  favour  of  their  Father  in  heaven.  He 
had  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost,  and  He 
sought  to  proclaim  to  mankind  that  He  despaired  of  none, 
by  recognizing,  in  the  most  hopeless,  the  possibility  of  good. 
Looking  abroad  on  the  world  with  a  divine  love  and  com- 
passion that  knew  no  distinction  of  race  or  calling,  He 
designed  to  show,  at  its  very  birth,  that  the  kingdom  He  came 
to  establish  was  open  to  all  humanity,  and  that  the  only 
condition  of  citizenship  was  spiritual  fitness. 

Among  the  publicans,  at  one  of  the  posts  for  collecting 
duties,  at  Capernaum,  was  one  whom  his  name,  Levi,  marked 
as  belonging  to  the  old  priestly  tribe,  though,  perhaps,  born 
in  Galilee,  and  now  sunk  to  so  questionable  a  position.  He 
had  another  name,  Matthew,  however,  by  which  he  is  better 
known  as  one  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  author  of  the  first 
Gospel.  His  business  was  to  examine  the  goods  passing  either 
way  on  the  great  high  road  between  the  territories  of  the  two 
neighbouring  tetrarchs,  to  enter  them  on  the  official  record, 
to  take  the  duties  and  credit  them  in  his  books,  in  order, 
finally,  to  pay  over  the  gi'oss  proceeds,  at  given  times,  to  the 
local  tax-farmer.  He  seems  to  have  been  in  comfortable 
circumstances,  and  it  is,  perhaps,  due  to  his  clerkly  habits 
as  a  publican,  that  we  owe  to  him  the  earliest  of  the  Gospels. 
He  was  the  son  of  one  Alpheus,  the  name  of  the  father  of 
James  the  Less.     They  may,  however,  have  been  different 

"  Lightfoot,      persons,  as  the  name  was  a  very  common  one ;  ^^  and  we 

Acts  1.13.        1  '  . 

know   that  there  were  two   Judes,  two  Simons,  and  two 
called  James,  in  the  narrow  circle  of  Jesus. 

Doubtless  Levi,  or  JMatthew,  had  shown  an  interest  in 
the  new  Teacher,  and  had  been  among  the  crowds  that 
thronged  Him.  The  quick  eye  of  Jesus  had  read  his  heart, 
and  seen  his  sincerity.  Though  a  publican,  he  was  a  Jew, 
and  showed  repentance  and  hopeful  trust,  which  made  him 
a  true  son  of  Abraham.  The  booth  in  which,  in  Oriental 
fashion,  he  sat  at  his  duties,  was  at  the  harbour  of  the  town, 


CAU^   OF   MATTHEW.  31 

on  tlie  way  to  the  shore  where  Jesus  was  in  the  habit  of  ohap.sxxiv 
addressing  the  throngs  who  now  always  followed  Him,  and  it 
needed  only  a  look  and  a  word  of  the  JMaster,  to  make  him 
throw  up  his  office,  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  Him.  At  the 
command  of  Jesus  he  "  left  all,  rose  up,  and  followed  Him ;" 
not,  of  course,  on  the  moment,  for  he  would  have  to  take 
formal  steps  to  release  himself,  and  would  require  to  settle 
his  accounts  with  his  superior,  before  he  was  free.  Hence- 
forth, however,  he  attended  Him  who  soon  had  not  where  to 
lay  His  head.  It  was  a  critical  time  for  Jesus,  and  His 
admission  of  a  publican  as  a  disciple  could  not  fail  to 
irritate  His  enemies  stiU  more.  But  He  had  no  hesitation  in 
His  course.  Sent  to  the  lost,  He  gladly  welcomed,  to  His 
inmost  circle,  one  of  their  number  in  whom  He  saw  the 
germs  of  true  spiritual  life,  in  calm  disregard  of  all  the  pre- 
judices of  the  time,  and  all  the  false  religious  narrowness  of 
His  fellow  countrpnen,  and  their  ecclesiastical  leaders.  He 
desired,  in  the  choice  of  a  publican  as  apostle,  to  embody 
visibly  His  love  for  sinners,  and  show  the  quickening  virtue 
of  the  kingdom  of  God,  even  in  the  most  unlikely. 

An  act  so  entirely  new  and  revolutionary,  in  the  best 
sense,  was  too  momentous  in  the  eyes  of  Matthew  to  j^ass 
unnoticed.  It  was  the  opening  of  a  new  day  for  the  mul- 
titudes whom  the  narrow  self-righteousness  of  the  Rabbis 
had  bi'anded  as  under  the  curse  of  God,  and  had  condemned 
as  hopeless  before  Him.  The  new  "call  "of  Jesus  was  in 
vivid  contrast  to  that  of  Abraham  and  Moses,  for  Abraham 
had  been  separated  even  from  his  tribe,  and  JMoses  summoned 
only  the  Jews  to  found  the  theocracy  he  proposed  to  estab- 
lish. The  "  call"  which  Matthew  had  obeyed  was  as  infinitely 
comprehensive  as  the  eaiiier  ones  had  been  rigidly  exclusive. 
It  showed  that  all  would  be  admitted  to  the  society  Jesus 
was  setting  up,  whatever  their  social  position,  if  they  had 
spiritual  fitness  for  membership.  Caste  was  utterly  dis- 
allowed :  before  the  great  Teacher,  all  men,  as  such,  were 
recognized  as  equally  sons  of  the  Heavenly  Father.  Accus- 
tomed from  infancy  to  take  this  for  granted,  we  cannot 
realize  the  magnitude  of  the  gift  this  new  principle  inaugu- 
rated, or  its  astounding  novelty.     A  Brahmin,  who  should 


32  THE  LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  ssxiv.  proclaim  it  in  India,  and  illustrate  the  social  enfranchise- 
ment he  taught,  by  raising  a  despised  Pariah  to  his  intimate 
intercourse  and  friendship,  would  be  the  only  counterpart  we 
can  imagine  at  this  day. 

It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  Matthew  should  celebrate 

36  Lukes.        an  event  so  unique  as  his  call,  by  a  "great  feast ^"^  in  his 

29 39    Mark  /        ./  o 

2. 1.5-22.      house,"  in  honour  of  Jesus ;  and  no  less  so  that  he  should 

MattO.lO— 17.  '  n^   •        ^  •    •  •    l     i  • 

invite  a  large  number  of  his  class,  to  rejoice  ■with  him  at  the 
new  era  opened  to  them,  or  that  He  should  extend  the  invi- 
tation to  his  friends  of  the  proscribed  classes  generally.  A 
number  of  persons  in  bad  odour  with  their  more  correct  fel- 
low-citizens were,  hence,  brought  together  by  him,  along  with 
the  publicans  of  the  locality,  to  do  Jesus  honour :  persons 
branded  by  public  opinion  as  "  sinners,"  a  name  given  indiscri- 
minately to  usurers,  gamblers,  thieves,  publicans,  shepherds, 
»'  sanh.xiT.2.  aud  scllei's  of  fruit  gi'own  in  the  sabbath  3^ears.^''  It  might 
have  seemed  doubtful  whether  Jesus  would  sit  down  with 
such  a  company,  for,  even  with  us,  it  would  be  a  bold 
step  for  any  public  teacher  to  join  a  gathering  of  persons  in 
bad  repute.  The  admission  of  Matthew  to  the  discipleship 
must  have  seemed  to  many  a  great  mistake.  Nothing  could 
more  certainly  damage  the  prospects  of  Jesus  with  the 
influential  classes,  or  create  a  Avider  or  deeper  prejudice 
and  distrust.  But  nothing  weighed  for  a  moment  with  Him 
against  truth  and  right.  His  soul  w\as  filled  with  a  grand 
enthusiasm  for  humanity,  and  no  false  or  narrow  exclu- 
siveness  of  the  day  could  be  allowed  to  stand  in  its  way. 
He  accepted  the  invitation  with  the  readiest  cheerfulness, 
and  spent  the  evening  in  the  pleasures  of  friendly  social 
intercourse  Avith  the  strange  assembly. 

The  Rabbis  had  hardly  as  yet  made  up  tlieir  minds  how 
to  act  respecting  Hiin.  They  had  attended  John's  preaching, 
though  they  did  not  submit  to  His  baptism,  Avhich  Avould 
have  been  to  own  his  sweeping  charges  against  their  order, 
as  a  brood  of  serpents.  But  Jesus  had  not  as  yet  attacked 
them.  He  Avould  fain  have  Avon  them,  as  Avell  as  the  people, 
to  the  kingdom  of  God.  He  had  preached  this  kingdom, 
and  the  need  of  righteousness  :  had  honoured  Moses  and  the 
prophets :   had  pressed,  as  His  great  precepts,  the  love  of 


THE   KAEBIS   AXT)   JESTJS.  33 

God  and  our  neighbour ;  and  in  all  these  matters  the  Pharisees  chap,  xxxiy. 

could  support  Him.     He  had  enforced  moderation  on  His 

disciples,  and  had  sought  intercourse  with  the  Rabbis,  rather 

than  shunned  it.     His  reply  to  their  earher  opposition  was 

gentle,  though  unanswerable.     No  doubt  He  knew  from  the 

first  that  they  would  reject  His  overtures,  but  it  was  none 

the  less  right  to  seek  to  woo  them  to  friendship,  that  they 

might  enter  His  kingdom  if  they  would.^^     Had  they  joined  ss  Matt.  9.6,1a; 

Him,  their  influence  would  have  aided  His  work  :  if  they 

refused,  He  had  done  His  part.     He  did,  indeed,  win  some. 

Here  and  there  a  Rabbi  humbled  himself  to  follow  Him 

though  He  did  not  belong  to  the  schools,  and  was  the  deadly 

opponent  of  their  cherished  traditions.     Others  hesitated, 

but  some  even  of  the  leading  Pharisees,  as  at  Capernaum, 

invited  Him   to   their   houses  and  tables,  listened  to   His 

teaching,   reasoned  modestly  with  Him,  and  treated  Him, 

every  way,  with  respect.     He  was  looked  upon  by  them  as 

a  friend  of  the  nation,  and  the  title  of  Rabbi  was  willingly 

criven  Him  ^^  "Matt,  a  19; 

But  it  became  clearer,  each  day,  that  there  could  be  no     Mark  12. 28. 
alliance  between  views  so  opposed  as  His  and  theirs.    Where 
action  was  needed  He  would  not  for  a  moment  conceal  His 
difference  from  them,  and  ^latthcAv's  feast  was  an  occasion 
on  which  a  great  principle  demanded  decisive  expression. 

To  the  Rabbis,  and  the  Pharisees  at  large,  nothing  could 
be  more  unbecoming  and  irregular  than  the  presence  of 
Jesus  at  Matthew's  feast.  To  be  Levitically  "  clean,"  was 
the  supreme  necessity  of  their  rehgious  lives.  They  re- 
garded themselves  as  true  friends  of  their  race,  and  they 
were,  in  fact,  the  leaders  of  the  nation.  But  they  looked  at 
men  not  simply  as  such,  but  through  the  cold  superficial 
medium  of  an  artificial  theologj',  which  dried  up  their 
sympathy.  Their  philanthropy  was  narrowed  to  the  limits 
of  Levitical  purity.  Publicans  and  sinners,  and  the  mass 
of  the  lower  classes,  were,  to  a  Pharisee,  hopelessly  lost, 
because  of  their  "  uncleanness,"  and  he  shrank  from  all  con- 
tact with  them.  He  might  wish  to  save,  but  he  dared  not 
touch,  or  come  near  them,  and  so  left  them  to  their  misery 
and  sin.    No  Pharisee  Avould  receive  a  person  as  a  guest  if  he 

VOL.  II.  42 


34 


THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


CHAP.  XXXIV. 


«  MechUta,  f. 
37.  2. 

«  Sepp,  ii.  293. 


'  Kete,  II.  29.5. 
Godwyn's 
Aaron  and 
Moses,  41. 
Sepp,  Leben, 
&c.,  ii.  203. 
Nork,  .59, 112. 
Lighttoot, 
ii.  401. 
Buxtorf, 
IU6. 


<8  Clement, 
Pfcddg.  il.  1. 


suspected  that  he  was  a  "sinner."'*"  He  would  not  let  one 
of  the  "Amhaaretz" — the  common  people — touch  him.'*^  It 
was  unlawful  to  come  into  their  company,  even  Avith  the  holy 
design  of  inducing  them  to  read  the  Law,*"^  and  it  was 
defilement  to  take  food  from  them,  or,  indeed,  from  any 
stranger,  or  even  to  touch  a  knife  belonging  to  them.*^ 
The  thousands  "unclean"  from  mere  ignorance,  or  from 
their  callings,  or  from  carelessness,  Avere  an  "abomination," 
"vermin,"  " unclean  beasts,"  and  "twice  accursed."'"  And 
as  to  touch  the  clothes  of  one  of  the  "common  people," 
defiled  every  Pharisee  alike,  the  touch  of  those  of  a  Pha- 
risee of  a  lower  grade  of  Levitical  purity  defiled  one  of  a 
higher.  Like  the  Essenes,  one  Pharisee  avoided  the  con- 
tact of  another  less  strict,  and,  therefore,  of  a  lower  rank  of 
holiness.*'^ 

It  must,  therefore,  have  been  as  if  a  Brahmin  had  out- 
raged every  idea  of  Hindoo  religion  and  morals,  bj'  sitting 
doA\'n  at  a  meal  with  Sudras,  when  the  Rabbis  at  Capernaum 
saAV  and  heard  of  Jesus  reclining  at  table  among  a  promis- 
cuous gathering  of  publicans  and  sinners.*^ 

They  had  not  yet,  however,  come  to  open  controversy 
with  Him,  and  contented  themselves  with  contem2)tuous 
taunts  about  Him  to  the  disciples,  Avho,  as  Jews,  must  have 
at  least  formerly  sliared  the  sovereign  contempt  felt  for 
such  hated  social  outcasts.  Even  to  hold  a  religious  service 
with  them  would  have  been  a  breach  of  the  LaAv,  but  to  join 
them  on  a  footing  of  friendly  intercourse!  "Founder  of  a 
new  holy  kingdom  of  God,  and  recline  at  table  Avith 
publicans  and  sinners  !  "^  How  keenly  such  words  must  have 
wounded  men  like  Peter,  and  the  small  knot  of  disciples  as 
yet  round  Jesus,  may  be  imagined.  They  had  been  taught 
in  the  school  of  the  Baptist,  an  earnest  Jew,  Avho  had 
enforced  ultra-Pharisaic  Judaism.  The  early  scruples  of 
Peter  survived  even  to  apostolic  times.'"  James  Avas  a 
Nazarite,  if  Ave  can  trust  tradition,  till  his  death,''  and  even 
MatthcAv,  the  priesth'  publican,  for  his  name  Levi  shoAvs  him 
to  have  been  of  priestly  race,  is  said  to  have  eaten,  through  life, 
only  fruit,  vegetables,  and  bread,  but  no  flesh.^**  In  their 
perplexity  and  distress  they  appealed  to  Jesus. 


THE   GREAT   PHYSICIAN. 


35 


Hosea  6.  6. 
Matt  9.11—14. 
Mark  2.16— 18. 
LukeS.SO— 33. 


Lnko  18.  9. 
For  parallels 
in  heathen 
writers,  Sepp 


It  was  well  they  did  so,  for  theii'  distress  procured  for  all  chap,  sxxiv. 
ages  an  answer  of  divine  sweetness  and  grandeur.  "To 
whom  sJwuld  I  go  but  to  such  as  these  ?  The  whole  have 
no  need  of  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.'  Turn  to  the 
prophets  whom  you  revere,  and  think  what  the  words  of 
Hosea  mean,"*^ '  I  desire  mercy''  and  not  sacrifice,' — acts  rather 
than  offerings — practical  godliness,  not  legal  forms — divine 
sympathy  with  the  lost,  rather  than  only  the  empty  show 
of  outward  worship — for  I  have  not  come  to  call  the 
righteou.s,  but  to  call  sinners  to  repentance.  I  expect 
nothing  from  men  Avho  think  they  are  righteous  and  despise 
others.^"  They  feel  no  need  of  me.  My  help  is  needed 
for  just  such  'sinners'  as  they  would  have  me  leave  to 
perish." 

Jesus  had  not,  of  course,  the  bodily  sick  in  His  thoughts. 
He  spoke  of  the  mass  of  the  people  of  the  middle  and  lower 
ranks,  too  sadly  marked  by  religious  shortcomings  and 
unworthiness.  The  guests  at  Matthew's  table  were,  doubt- 
less, •  more  or  less  open  to  accusations  of  covetousness, 
impurity,  indifference  to  morality  and  religion,  and  trouble- 
someness  as  citizens.  John  would  have  kept  himself  aloof 
from  them,  unless  they  came  as  penitents,  for  baptism.  He 
had  lived  in  wildernesses,  apart  from  men,  shrinking  from  the 
turmoil  of  the  great  world.  He  had  even  forbidden  lawful 
enjoyments  and  pleasures.  He  had  sought  to  build  up  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  on  the  lonely  banks  of  the  Jordan, 
far  from  men,  by  sternly  commanding  the  broken  hearts 
that  sought  j^eace  and  consolation  fi'om  him,  to  hve  lives 
of  Jewish  austerity  and  rej^entance.  Jesus  required  a 
change  of  heart  no  less  than  he,  but  He  did  not  lead  men 
out  of  the  world  to  secure  it,  or  burden  life  with  the  anxiety 
and  disquiet  of  an  outward  purity. 

He  came  trustfully  to  them  into  their  little  world,  bringing 
with  Him  a  heart  full  of  divine  benevolence  and  tender  gentle- 
ness. In  His  eyes  they  were  "sick,"  and  He  treated  them 
like  a  true  physician,  entering  into  all  their  interests,  sym- 
pathizing with  their  cares  and  sorrows,  realizing  their  special 
wants,  and  bearing  Himself  as  a  friend  among  friends.  They 
were  men,  and,  as  such,  capable  of  sorrow  for  sin,  and  efforts 


36  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

OHAP.  xxxiY.  towards  a  nobler  life.  They  had  hearts  to  recognize  good- 
ness, and  might  thus  be  won  to  faith  in  Himself,  as  the  ideal  of 
the  highest  spiritual  life.  Nothing  can  mark  the  grandeur  of 
Hisenthusiasm  for  humanity,  more  than  that  He  thus  proposed 
to  lay  the  foundation  of  His  kingdom  in  a  class  on  which 
the  priests  and  theologians,  and  the  higher  ranks  of  the  day, 
looked  down  with  haughty  contempt  and  moral  aversion.  It 
shows  how  deeply  He  looked  into  things,  that  He  recognized 
the  greater  openness  for  the  Truth,  of  castes  thus  discredited ; 
their  franker  and  more  decisive  bearing  towards  the  startling 
innovations  of  His  teaching ;  their  deeper  longing  for  peace  of 
conscience  and  reconciliation  to  God.  It  was  the  sense  of 
this  that  had  led  to  the  choice  of  His  first  disciples  from 
the  ranks  of  the  people ;  and  it  was  this,  in  part,  that  led  to 
that  of  Matthew.  In  his  case,  however,  there  was,  also,  the 
proclamation  of  His  indifference  to  outward  distinctions,  or 
rules,  afterwards  formulated  by  Peter,  who  had  never  for- 
gotten the  lesson,  into  the  memorable  words — "  Of  a  truth 
I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  but,  in  every 
nation,  he  that  feareth  Him,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is 

"Acta  10.85.  accepted  of  Him."''^  A  truth  evident  enough  to-day,  but 
carrying  with  it,  when  inaugurated  by  Jesus,  an  entire 
revolution  in  the  religious  history  of  mankind. 

The  divine  charity  that  ran  so  counter  to  the  narrow  pride 
of  the  Rabbis  was  no  less  startling  to  the  disciples  of  John, 
but  there  were  other  difficulties  to  both.  No  open  bi'each 
had  yet  taken  place,  and  a  friendly  conference  might  explain 
much.  Jesus  had  silently  left  the  harsh  discipline  of  fasting 
behind,  and  had  prescribed  no  formal  rules  for  prayer,'  such 
as  were  common  to  the  Rabbis  and  their  disciples,  and  to 
those  of  the  Baptist;  and  now  a  deputation  came  to  ask 
Him  for  an  explanation.""  The  law  of  Moses  had  appointed 
only  one  fast  in  the  year,  on  the  Day  of  Atonement,  but  the 
Rabbis  had  added  many,  both  public  and  private.  They 
enjoined  one  for  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chal- 
deans, and  others  for  various  incidents  connected  with 
the  siege,  or  the  troubles  of  the  first  period  after  the  Cap- 
tivity. There  was  another  to  lament  the  day  on  which  the 
translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  Greek  had  been  finished, 


JEWISH   IDEAS   OF   PRAYER.  37 

and  every  public  calamity  or  emergency  was  signalized  by  chap.xxsiv. 
a  fast  specially  enjoined  by  the  authorities.  It  was  rather 
to  private  fasts,  however,  that  allusion  was  made.  Strict 
Pharisees,  aiming  at  the  highest  degree  of  merit,  fasted 
voluntarily  every  Monday  and  Thursday,  to  commemorate, 
respectively,  the  going  up  of  Moses  to  the  Mount  on  the 
fifth  day,  to  receive  the  renewed  tables  of  the  Commandments, 
and  his  descent  on  the  second.  They  often  added  other 
fasts, ^^  to  have  lucky  dreams,  and  to  obtain  their  interpre-  '^  ^^^^'^^^^l^^ 
tation,  for,  like  the  Essenes,  the  Pharisees  looked  on  fasts  L^htfooi, 
as  a  prepai'ation  for  receiving  revelations.  They  fasted  also 
to  avert  evil,  or  to  procure  some  good.  Mortification  and 
self-infliction  had  become  a  formal  religious  merit,  in  the 
mercenary  theology  of  the  day,  and  was  paraded  before  the 
world  by  some,  to  heighten  their  reputation  for  holiness.^^^  Matt.6.i6. 
The  idea  had,  at  first,  risen  from  a  fancied  opposition  be- 
tween the  body  and  the  soul ;  as  if  the  latter  could  only 
be  duly  raised  by  depressing  the  former.  But  asceticism 
was  contrary  to  the  genius  of  the  new  kingdom  of  God, 
which  laid  no  stress  on  meat,  or  drink,  or  abstinence  from 
them,  but  on  "  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy,  in  the  Holy 

Ghost."  ^■^  =»  Bom.  14. 17. 

Even  prayer  had  been  reduced  to  a  mechanical  system,  as 
part  of  "the  hedge  of  the  Law,"  invented  by  the  Rabbis. 
No  one  could  lay  greater  stress  on  it  than  Jesus,  when  of- 
fered as  the  utterance  of  contrite  humility  ;  but,  as  a  part  of 
a  system  of  merit  like  the  Rabbinical  theology  of  the  day, 
He  held  it  lightly.  No  precepts  could  be  more  worthy 
than  many  found,  even  yet,  in  the  Rabbis,  respecting  the 
true  worth  of  prayer ;°  but,  in  practice,  these  higher  teachings 
had  fallen  into  -nade  disuse.  It  had  come  to  be  tedious  for 
length,  and  abounded  in  repetitions.^'  Fixed  rules  for  cor- ss  ofrorer,  a 
rect  prayer  were  taught,  with  fixed  hours,  and  prescribed  Maw-e.?. 
forms,  and  superstitious  power  was  assigned  to  the  mere 
words.  The  householder  was  to  repeat  the  Sch'ma  in  his 
house  each  evening,  to  drive  away  e\'il  spirits.  To  say  it 
when  in  bed  was  like  grasping  a  two-edged  sword,  to  slay 
the  assaulting  demons.^*^  The  mere  form  of  prayer,  if  re- "  ^^f°^ 
peated  rightly  and  often,  was  counted  as  merit  laid  up  in    ^;jff^' 


38  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  sssiv.  heaven.    To  repeat  the  Sch'ma  was,  in  fact,  in  the  phrase 
of  the  Rabbis,    "to   make  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  one's 

"  Gfrorer,  U,        OWn  "  ''^ 
•143. 

It  could  not  be  doubtful  how  Jesus  would  bear  Himself 
to  views  so  opposed  to  inner  and  spiritual  religion.  Silently 
omitting  any  reference  to  the  objection  respecting  prayer, 
He  addressed  Himself  to  the  question  of  fasting.  "  His  pre- 
sence with  His  disciples  was  like  that  of  a  bridegroom  with 
»  w'uier.Ehe,  His  compauious,  during  the  marriage  rejoicings.^^  Could 
foot,' ii.  171.    He  ask  them  to  fast  while  He  was  with  them  ?     It  would  be 

Matt.9 .1.5—17. 

Y.^l'u^o'  ti°^^  f'^1'  them  to  do  so  when  He  was  taken  away  from  them. 
They  would  fast  then !"  Seizing  the  opportunity,  and  ad- 
dressing the  disciples  of  John  especially,  He  went  even 
further.  "  John  had  sought  to  do  what  was  worse  than 
hojieless — to  renew  the  old  theocracy,  by  merely  external 
reform;  to  patch  up  the  old  and  torn  robe  of  Judaism,  and 
make  it  serve  a  new  age.  It  was  as  vain  as  a  man's  sewing 
a  piece  of  raw  unteazled  cloth  on  the  rent  of  an  old  gar- 
ment ;  the  patch  could  only  tear  off  so  much  more,  and 
make  the  rent  worse,  while  the  patch  would  itself  be  a 
mere  shred.  Or,  it  was  like  putting  new  wine  into  old 
skins,  which  must  burst  when  the  wine  fermented."  New 
teaching,  like  His,  must  be  put  into  new  bottles;  the  forms 
and  rites  that  had  sefved  till  now  were  of  no  more  use :  a 
new' dispensation  had  come,  which  these  forms  would  only 
MBibeiLei.     cumbcr.^'     New  forms  were  needed  for  the  new  religious 

schJiei,42.  life  He  came  to  introduce." 

John  the  "Words  SO  fatal  to  cherished  prejudices  must  have  struck 

Baptist,  418.  . 

BaoBrath,!.  (Jeep,  but  the  hearts  He  had  unavoidably  wounded  were  not 
left  without  tender  soothing.  *'  It  was  no  wonder  that  John 
bad  clung  to  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  even  in  its  outward 
accidents.  He  had  drunk  of  the  old  wine,  and  would  not 
change  it  for  new,  contented  to  know  that  '  the  old  was 
good.'  "  Henceforth,  however,  the  position  of  Jesus  to  the 
worn-out  forms  of  the  past  was  unmistakable.  He  had 
chosen  His  path,  and  would  lead  mankind  from  the  bondage 
of  the  letter  to  the  freedom  of  the  spirit,  and  the  worshippers 
of  the  letter  arrayed  themselves  against  Him.  As  became 
the  founder  of  the  first  religion  of  the  spirit  alone,  the  world 


EEWAEDS   OF   THE    KINGDOM.  39 

had  seen,  He  henceforth  silently  ignored  the  ceremonial  chap,  xxxiy. 
law,  avoiding  open  condemnation,  but  bearing  Himself 
towards  it  throughout,  as  He  did  in  the  matter  of  circumci- 
sion, which  He  never  enforced  on  His  disciples,  or  demanded 
from  believing  heathen,  and  never  commended,  though  He 
never,  in  words,  condemned  it.  The  whole  ritual  system,  of 
which  it  was  the  most  prominent  feature,  was  treated  as 
merely  indifferent.^"  »  schenkei,6s. 

It  was  indescribably  touching  to  see,  at  the  very  threshold 
of  our  Lord's  public  life,  that  even  when  He  uses  so  joyous 
an  image  of  Himself  as  that  of  a  bridegroom,  He  dashes- 
in  the  picture  with  shadow.  He  had  begun  His  course 
by  the  Temptation,  but  from  it  till  the  close.  His  path 
lay  through  struggle,  suffering,  and  self-sacrifice,  to  a  far 
other  glory  than  that  which  the  world  expected  in  the 
Messiah.  He  would,  indeed,  have  known  His  nation,  and 
their  Roman  masters  ;  the  dominant  Pharisees,  and  the  priest- 
hood, badly,  not  to  have  foreseen,  from  the  first,  that  He 
would  have  to  pass  through  the  fiercest  conflict,  only  to 
reach  a  tragic  end.  Thoughts  of  self-denial,  self-sacrifice, 
even  to  the  surrender  of  Ufe ;  of  losing  life  that  He  might 
gain  it ;  of  the  corn  dying  that  it  might  bring  forth  fruit,  run 
like  a  dark  thread  through  aU  His  discourses,  to  the  very  end. 
He  sends  His  apostles  forth  like  sheep  amongst  wolves ;  fore- 
tells their  suffering  the  bitterest  persecution ;  and  consoles 
them  only  with  the  one  thought  that  it  should  content  the 
disciple  to  be  on  the  same  footing  with  Himself.^^  In  the  «>  Matt.  lo. 
sermon  on  the  Mount,  He  predicts  that  all  who  believe  on  Him 
win  suffer  hatred  and  evil  treatment.®^  He  recognizes  those  « iiatt.5. 10-12. 
only  as  His  true  followers  who,  denying  themselves,  take 
up  His  cross  and  bear  it.*^^     He  has  nothino;  to  promise  His  ^s  Mark  a  34, 35 

Ma.t.f-  10. 38  39 

disciples    but    that    they  should    be   servants,    submitting 

patiently  to  the  extremest  wrong,  and  has  no  higher  vision 

even  for  Himself''*     He  may  rejoice  as  the  bridegroom  with  «  Matt. 9.  is. 

His  friends,  for  a  time,  but  will  soon  be  taken  away  from 

them.*'^     A  kingdom  founded  on  such  a  basis  of  deliberate  «=  Diimann,ii2. 

self-denial  and  self-sacrifice,  is  unique  in  the  history  of  the 

world. 


40 


THE  LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 


CHAP.  XXXV. 


t  Mark  3.  22 
llatt.  11.  24. 
Luke  11. 15. 
Mark  6.  1. 
Luke  4  29. 


'  Mark  2. 18. 
Matt.  5. 1. 
Luke  13.  26. 
Matt.  IG.  1; 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

THE  CHOICE  OF  THE  TWELVE,  AND  THE  SERMON  ON  THE 
MOUNT. 

HOW  long  Jesus  remained  at  Capernaum  is  not  told  us, 
but  Ave  may  readily  believe  that  He  was  glad  to  leave 
it,  with  its  gathering  opposition,  as  soon  as  possible.  It 
was  His  centre  of  action,  but  the  kingdom  needed  to  be 
proclaimed  over  the  whole  land.  Preaching  was  the  special 
agency  on  which  He  relied,  far  more  than  on  any  displays 
of  supernatural  power.  It  was  by  it  He  designed  to  work 
the  stupendous  spiritual  miracle  of  the  new  birth  of 
Israel  and  of  Humanity.  As  the  first  founder  of  a  religion 
which  had  no  code  of  laws,  and  repudiated  force,  addressing 
itself  solely  to  the  free  convictions  of  men,  the  living  word 
and  its  illustration  in  His  own  life,  were  alone  open  to 
Him  as  means  for  its  diffusion.  The  hearts  and  souls  must 
be  won  over  to  the  highest  truth,  by  persuading  the  con- 
science, and  thus  influencing  the  will.  In  these  earlier 
months  He  took  advantage  of  the  facilities  of  the  Synagogue 
service,  to  gain  the  ear  of  the  people,  but  His  preaching 
was  very  different  from  the  stereotyped  lifelessness  of  the 
Rabbis,  and  excited  universal  astonishment  by  its  originality, 
power,  "and  resistless  enthusiasm.^  At  a  later  time,  when 
His  "  new  doctrine "  had  roused  the  opposition  of  the 
authorities,  the  use  of  the  synagogues  was  no  longer  per- 
mitted Him."^  But,  even  from  the  first.  He  did  not  confine 
Himself  to  fixed  times  or  places.  He  addressed  the  people 
on  the  shores  of  the  lake,  on  the  lonely  slopes  and  valleys 
of  the  hills,  in  the  streets  and  market-places  of  towns  and 
villages,  at  the  crossing  points  of  the  public  roads,  and  even 
in  houses;^  any  place,  indeed,  that  offered  an  audience, 
was  alike  to  Him.     The  burden  and  spirit  of  His  preaching 


THE   KING   OF   THE   NEW   THEOCRACY.  41 

may  be  gathered  from  the  Gospels  throughout.  He  pro-  ch.vp.  xssv. 
dauned  Himself  the  "Good  Shepherd  seeking  to  bring  back 
the  lost  sheep  to  the  heavenly  fold  ;  to  quicken  and  turn 
towards  God  the  weak,  sinful  human  will,  and  to  breathe 
into  the  soul  aspirations  after  a  higher  spiritual  life,  from  the 
fullness  of  His  own  perfect  example.'*  <  Bibei  Lei.  ii. 

To  win  all,  He  moved  as  a  man  among  men,  a  friend 
among  friends ;  a  helper  amongst  all  who  needed  help, 
declining  every  outward  honour  or  flattery,  or  even  the 
appearance  of  either.^  While  advancing  the  most  amazing  =  Mark  10.17. 
pretensions  as  His  kingly  prerogative,  He  was,  personally, 
so  meek  and  lowly  that  He  could  make  this  gentle  humility 
a  ground  for  the  trust  and  unembarrassed  approach  of  all 
who  were  troubled.  Content  with  obscurity,  and  leaving 
to  others  the  struggle  for  distinction  or  place,  He  chose  a 
life  so  humble  that  the  poorest  had  no  awe  of  His  dignity, 
but  gathered  round  Him  as  their  special  friend.  His  tastes 
were  in  keeping  with  this  simplicity,  for  He  delighted  in 
the  society  of  the  lowly,  and  children  clustered  in  His  steps 
with  the  natural  instinct  that  detects  one  who  loves  them. 
He  was  never  engrossed  by  His  own  aifairs,  but  ever  ready 
to  give  Himself  up  to  those  of  others — to  counsel  them  in 
difficulties,  to  sympathize  with  them  in  their  sorrows  or  joys, 
and  to  relieve  their  sickness  or  wants.''  It  is  His  grand  pecu- "  EfceHomo, 
liarity,  that  there  is  a  total  oblivion  of  self  in  His  whole  life. 
The  enthusiasm  of  a  divine  love,  in  the  pure  light  of  which 
no  selfish  thought  could  live,  filled  His  whole  soul.  He 
showed  abiding  sympathy  for  human  weakness,^  and  to '  iiark  1*.  sa. 
cheer  the  outcast  and  hopeless.  He  announced  that  He  came 
to  seek  such  as  to  others  seemed  lost.  In  His  joy  over  a 
sinner  won  back  to  righteousness  He  hears  even  the  angels 
of  God  rejoicing. 

There  had  never  appeared  in  any  age  such  a  man,  such  a 
friend,  or  such  a  helper.  He  seemed  the  contrast  of  a  king 
or  prince,  and  yet  all  His  words  were  kingly ;  all  His  acts 
a  succession  of  the  kingliest  deeds,  decisions,  and  commands, 
and  His  whole  pubhc  life,  the  silent  and  yet  truest  founda- 
tion of  an  everlasting  kingdom.  He  must,  indeed,  have 
seemed  anything  rather  than  the  founder  of  a  new  society, 


42  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

OHAP.xxxv.  or  of  a  new  empire,  and  it  must  have  startled  men  when 
they  found  that  He  had,  by  His  works  and  life,  established 
in  the  midst  of  the  old  theocracy  the  framework  of  the  most 
impei-ishable  and  the  widest-reaching  empire  this  earth  has 
ever  seen  ;  an  empire  before  which  all  former  religious 
systems  were  to  fade  away.  But  though  His  absolute  self- 
control  was  never  intermitted,  there  were  times  when  the 
claims  of  the  truth,  or  the  service  of  His  kingdom,  brought 
out  the  full  grandeur  of  His  power  and  kingly  greatness. 
It  was  thus  when  He  had  to  meet  and  confute  prejudice  and 
error,  or  to  heal  the  sick  and  diseased.  At  times  we  shall 
see  Him  forced  to  blame  and  condemn,  but  this  was  only  a 
passing  shadow  on  the  clear  heaven  of  His  unvarying  grace 
and  love.  It  is  impossible  to  realize  such  an  appearance, 
but  we  can  imagine  it  in  some  measure.  The  stainless 
truth  and  uprightness  which  filled  His  whole  nature ;  the 
exhaustless  love  and  pity,  which  were  the  very  breath  of 
His  spirit ;  the  radiant  joy  of  the  bridegroom  wedding 
redeemed  humanity ;  the  calm  light  as  of  other  woi-lds  in 
His  every  look,  may  well  account  for  the  deathless  love 
and  devotion  He  inspired  in  those  whom  He  suffered  to 

»  Eirald,  follow  Him.^ 

?.'806,'307°'  The  widening  success  of  His  work  had  already  required 
an  addition  to  the  small  circle  of  His  immediate  attendants. 
But  a  single  accession,  like  that  of  Matthew,  was,  erelong, 
not  enough.  It  soon  became  necessary  to  select  a  larger 
number  who  might  be  constantly  in  His  company,  and 
receive  His  instructions,  that  they  might,  in  due  time,  go 
forth  to  proclaim  the  kingdom  over  a  Avider  area  than  He 
could  Himself  reach.  Its  laws,  its  morality,  its  relations  to 
the  Old  Dispensation,  must  be  taught  them,  and  they  must 
catch  His  enthusiasm  by  such  a  lengthened  intercourse  in 

»  Ewaid,v.4M.  the  familiarity  of  private  life,  as  would  kindle^  in  their  souls 
the  ideal  He  presented.  That  they  should  follow  Him  at  all 
would  be  left  to  themselves,  but  the  choice  would  be  made 

.«  Mark  3. 13.    by  Himsclf,!"  of  g^ch  as,  on  various  grounds,  He  saw  fittest. 

u  Luke 6. 13.  They  were  to  be  Apostles,"  or  missionaries,  and  would 
have,  for  their  high  commission,  the  organization  of  the  new 
kin"-domof  God,  first  in  Israel,  and  then  through  the  Avorld. 


SmCEEITT  DEMANDED. 


43 


To  accept  such  an  invitation  implied  no  little  enthusiasm,  cm^psxs 
No  earthly  reward  was  held  out,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
sacrifice  of  all  personal  claims  was  demanded.  They  were 
to  abandon  their  former  calling,  Avhatever  it  might  be,  with 
all  its  present  or  prospective  advantages,  to  give  up  all  family 
ties,  to  bear  the  worst  indignities  and  ill-treatment,  and  yet 
repress  even  just  resentment.  They  were  to  hold  their 
lives  at  His  service,  and  willingly  yield  them,  if  it  required 
the  sacrifice.-^"^  A  measure  of  self-restriction  is  implied  as  '=  Ecce  Home 
the  basis  of  any  state,  for  no  society  could  flourish  where 
its  interests,  as  a  whole,  are  not  spontaneously  considered 
before  those  of  the  indi-sddual  citizen.  But  the  self-abnegation 
required  by  Jesus  in  those  admitted  to  that  which  He  was 
now  founding,  was  without  a  parallel,  for  while  earthly 
states  return  an  equivalent,  in  many  ways,  for  the  self- 
surrender  they  impose.  He  proclaimed  from  the  first  that 
those  who  joined  His  kingdom  must  do  so  "hoping  for 
nothing  again"  to  compensate  for  any  self-sacrifice,  even  the 
greatest.  In  the  case  of  the  "  Apostles,"  the  self-surrender 
was  not  merely  contingent,  but  present  and  final,  for  He  held 
before  them  no  prospect  through  life  but  privation  and 
persecution,  and  even  possible  martyrdom.  In  the  next 
world,  indeed.  He  promised  rewards,  but  He  precluded  mere 
mercenary  hopes  even  of  these,  by  making  them  conditional 
on  unfeigned  sincerity  in  the  obedience  to  His  laws  and 
love  of  His  person.  The  mere  hypocrite — or  actor — could 
have  no  object  in  joining  Him,  and  was  indignantly  de- 
nounced. The  truest  honesty  in  word  and  deed  were  alone 
accepted,  o-nd  the  want  of  it,  in  any  degree,  was  the  one 
fatal  moral  defect.  ^^  „  ^^^^  ^^^^ 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  all  who  oflered  them-  ^^'■ 
selves  as  His  followers  were  not  accepted.  Where  He  saw 
unfitness,  he  repelled  advances.  To  a  Rabbi  who  came 
saluting  Him  as  "Teacher,"  and  professing  his  willingness 
to  follow  Him  as  His  disciple,  He  returned  the  discouraging 
answer,  that  the  foxes  had  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air 
nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man — the  iMessiah'^— had  not  where  to 
lay  His  head.^*  It  might  have  seemed  of  moment  to  secure  "  Matt.  8.19. 
the  support  of  a  Rabbi,  but  Jesus  had  seen  the  worldly  bent 


44 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


oHAP^xxxv.  of  his  thoughts,  and  thus  turned  him  aside,  by  blasting  any 
hopes  of  advantage  or  honour  in  joining  Him.  E^ven  in- 
decision or  hesitation,  whatever  the  ground,  was  fiital  to 
admittance  to  His  favour.  The  request  of  a  disciple  to  go 
first  and  bury  his  father,  before  finally  following  Him,  was 
only  met  by  the  command  to  follow  Him  at  once,  and  leave 
the  spiritually  dead  to  bury  the  corporeally  dead :  to  put  off 
decision,  even  for  so  worthy  a  cause  as  desire  to  perform 
the  last  offices  to  a  father,  was  dangerous  I  "  Go,  thou,  and 

■^  Luke  9. 60.  preach  the  kingdom  of  God."^*  The  devotion  due  to  it, 
unreservedly,  could  not  be  shared,  even  by  the  claims  of  affec- 
tion and  earthly  duties."  A  request  to  be  allowed  to  bid  his 
household  farewell,  before  finally  leaving  them,  was  met  by 
a  similar  answer — "No  man  having  put  his  hand  to  the 

"Lake9.62.  plough,  and  looking  back,  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God."i« 
The  indispensable  condition  of  admittance  into  the  inner 
circle  who  followed  and  lived  with  Him,  was  an  engrossing 
enthusiasm   for   Himself  and   His   work,  which  permitted 

•>  Ewaiiv.ssi.  concern  for  no  second  interest  whatever.^' 

He  had  determined  to  surround  Himself  with  a  small  body 
of  such  trustworthy  followers,  limiting  the  number,  by  an 
association  natural  to  His  race,  to  twelve.  They  were  to 
form  the  closest,  inmost  circle  of  His  disciples,  and  to  be, 
in  fact.  His  friends  and  companions.  He  would  give  them 
His  fullest  confidence :  open  His  mind  to  them  more  fully 
than  to  others  :  and,  by  living  among  them,  inspire  them 
with  His  own  fervour,  and  mould  them  to  His  own  likeness. 
They  would  see  how  His  soul  never  unbent  from  its  grand 
enthusiasm:  how  He  never  wearied  in  His  transcendent 
devotion  of  body  and  spirit  to  His  work.  In  seeing  and 
hearing  Him,  they  would  gain  experience  :  in  the  opposition 
and  trials  they  met  in  His  company,  their  fidelity  would  be 
put  to  the  test,  and,  in  the  end,  they  would  be  qualified  for 
the  special  work  for  which  they  had  been  chosen — to  be 
sent  forth   to  preach,  and  to  repeat  the  miraculous  -works 

'»  Marks.  14.     of  their  Master,  as  evidence  of  His  divine  authority.^* 

It  is  not  stated  definitely  where  the  selection  of  the 
Apostles  was  made.     His  preaching  had  already  gained  a 

""  USfesuitic  "  f^'^^^  multitude  ""  of  disciples,  who  followed  Him  in  His 


and  the 

Vatican  MSS. 


CHOICE   OF  APOSTLES.  45 

journey  from  town  to  town,  along  with  a  vast  crowd  drawn  chap.xxxv. 
after  Him  by  various  motives.  The  movement  was  rapidly 
assuming  an  importance  Hke  that  of  John's  ;  it  was  extend- 
ing over  the  nation.  "Withdrawing  Himself,  as  was  His 
frequent  custom,  from  the  throng,  by  night,  He  retired  once 
more  into  the  hills  to  pray,  and  continued  in  devotion  tiU 
morning.^"  Brought  up  among  hills,  He  was  ever  fond  of  2»  Lake  6.13. 
their  solitude,  their  pure  air  and  open  sky,  which  seemed  to 
bring  Him  nearer  His  Father.  It  was  somewhere,  apparently, 
in  the  hilly  background  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  for  though 
spoken  of  as  "the  mountain,"  there  are  no  means  of  deciding 
the  precise  locality.  When  the  day  broke,  instead  of  seeking 
rest,  He  showed  the  subject  of  His  night-long  communion 
with  His  Heavenly  Father,  by  proceeding  to  select  His 
future  Apostles.  The  crowd  of  His  disciples  had  returned 
with  the  new  day,  from  the  neighbouring  towns  and  villages 
where  they  had  spent  the  night,  when  Jesus,  coming  doAvn 
from  His  solitary  devotions,  gathered  them  once  more  round 
Him,  and  "  calling  to  Him  whom  He  Himself  would," 
"  appointed  twelve,  that  they  might  be  with  Him,  and  that 
He  should  send  them  forth  to  preach — to  heal  sicknesses,  and 

to  cast  out  devils."  ^^  a  Marks.  1S,I4. 

His  choice  was  necessarily  made  from  a  comparatively 
small  number,   for  the  majority  must   have   lately  joined 
Him,  and  must  thus  have  been,  as  yet,  little  knoA\ai.-'^     So  =  schenkei,76. 
far  as  possible  He  made  His  selection  from  those  who  had 
been  longest  with  Him,  and  whom  He  had,  in  some  measure, 
proved;  but  they  were  as  a  whole,  sim2)le,  unlearned,  plastic 
men  of  the  people,  for  Jesus  had  already  seen  that  the 
spiritual  regeneration  of  Israel  must  rise  from  the  humbler 
classes.-^    He  knew  that  the  educated  men  of  the  nation,  the»  Matt.  n.25. 
Rabbis  and  priests,  were  perverted  and  prejudiced,  and  He    Apostel 
could  not  look  to  the  officials  or  authorities  of  any  grade,  or 
to  the  prevailing  religious  schools.    The  commonalty  were 
sounder,  freer  from  the  erroi'S  of  the  age, — more  open  to  the 
eternal    truths  He  came  to  announce,  and  more  ready  to 
accept  the  spiritual  kingdom  He  came  to  found.-^     Yet,  it  =' Haae,  149. 
may  be,  that  had  the  choice  been  wder,  some  one  might  have 
been  available  from  the  trained  intellects  of  the  nation,  with 


46  THE  LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

cHAP.xxxY.  results  it  would  be  vain  to  conjecture.  Had  Paul  been  one 
of  the  twelve,  now  chosen  by  Christ,  how  much  might  the 
genius,  the  Rabbinical  training,  the  breadth  of  mind,  and 
the  grand  loving  enthusiasm  which  almost  founded  Westei'n 
Christianity,  have  changed,  in  the  history  told  by  the 
Gospels?  He  laid  no  stress  on  their  former  social  position, 
or  religious  party,  for  they  included,  on  the  one  side,  a  pub- 
lican, who  was  also  a  Levite,  and  on  the  other,  one  who  had 
belonged  to  the  ultra-puritan  zealots,  the  fanatical  party  of 
Judas  the  Galilasan.  Nor  did  He  require  them  to  be  unmar- 
ried, for  Peter,  we  know,  had  a  wife,  and  if  we  may  trust 
the  tradition  of  the  Armenian  Church,  the  only  Apostlea 

»  Ewaid,T.395.  who  were  single  were  the  sons,  of  Zebedee,''  and  Thomas. -'' 
The  Capernaum  circle  yielded  Him  no  fewer  than  seven  of 
the  twelve, — Peter,  and  his  brother  Andrew,  who  lived  Avith 
him;  two  sons  from  the  house  ofZabdai, — James  and  John  ; 
two  sons  of  Alphajus,'' — James  the  Little,  and  Jude,  who  is 
commonly  distinguished  as  Lebba>us,  the  stout-hearted, — or 
Ha^mihfi.'  ThaddaMis,  the  brave.-^  The  publican  Matthew  was  also 
from  Capernaum,  and  was  the  third  from  the  household  of 
Alphanis,  if  the  name  refer  to  the  father  of  James  the  Little 
and  Jude;  and  Philip  belonged  to  the  village  of  Bethsaida  in 
its  innncdiate  neighbourhood,  making  in  all,  eight  of  the 
twelve,  virtually  from  the  same  favoured  place.  Of  the 
remaining  four,  Nathanael,  the  son  of  Talmai,  the  Bar- 
tholomew of  our  version,  was  from  Cana,  on  the  north  side 
of  the  plain  of  El  Battauf,  on  which  Jesus  had  so  often 
looked  doA\ai  from  the  Nazareth  hill-top.  Thomas — ready  to 
die,  but  slow  to  beheve :  manly  and  full  of  grave  tenderness, 

«' cs*F!(isam).a — whosc  Hcbrcw  name^''  was  sometimes  turned  into  the 
(t«ma),  '  Greek  equivalent  Didymus,  the  tvan, — was  the  same  person, 
Didymual-a  — ouc  tradition  says, — as  Judas,  the   brother   of  Jesus,  as 


twin. 


if  Mary  had  had  a  double  birth,  after  bearing  her  eldest 

If  so,  one  of  the  household  amongst   whom   Our 

Saviour  had  gi'own    up,  one  son  of  His  mothei*,  redeemed 

the  general  coldness  of  the  rest.     The  name  of  Simon  the 

Zealot,  another   Galiltean,  and   that   of  the    only  Apostle 

»  rf-;-;!  o-s     from  Judea, — Judas,  the  traitor,  of  the  village  of  Kerioth,^^ 

the  ma  "of  '  in  the  south  of  Juda — close  the  list. 

Kerioth. 


SAINT   PETER.  47 

Such  was  the  band  which  Jesus  now  gathered  round  Him.  ch.\p.  xxxv. 
At  least  four, — James  and  John,  and  James  the  Little  and 
Jude, — seem  to  have  been  His  relations,  or  connections,  to 
whom,  if  we  accept  the  tradition  I  have  quoted,  we  must 
add  Thomas.'^  One,  at  least,  was  of  priestly  race, — the 
degenerate  Levite,  Matthew,  who  liad  sunk  to  an  office  held  so 
utterly  infamous  as  a  publican's.  He  and  the  sons  of  Zebedee 
seem  to  have  been  in  a  fair  position,  but  Peter,  whom  we 
see  in  the  forty  days  after  the  Resurrection,  once  more  busy 
as  a  fisherman,  in  his  boat  on  the  Lake  of  Galilee ;  naked, 
perhaps  literally,  as  the  fishermen  there  still  often  are,"  that 
he  might  the  better,  like  them,  drag  the  net  after  him 
through  the  water,  as  he  swam  with  it ;  or  casting  his  fisher's 
coat  round  him,  and  leaping  into  the  Lake  to  swim  ashore 
to  Jesus,^*'  is,  it  may  be,  a  fair  illustration  of  the  social »  John  21. 7. 
position  of  most  of  His  brethren  in  the  Apostolate. 

Li  the  lists  given  in  the   Gospels,  Peter,  the  host  of  His 
Lord,  at  Capernaum,  always  holds  the  first  place,  but  there 
are  variations  in  the  order  assigned  to  others.      A  true  Gali- 
laean — Peter  Avas  energetic  and  fiery,  rather  than  self-con- 
tained and  reflective.  Warm-hearted  and  impulsive,  he  had  at 
once  the  strength  and  weakness  of  such  a  temperament.    He 
is  always  the  first  to  speak  for  his  brethren  ;    he  craves  ear- 
nestly one  moment  what  he  as  earnestly  refused  the  moment 
before ;  he  is  the  first  to  draw  the  sword  for  Jesus,  but  also 
the  first  to  deny  Him.    John  recognizes  his  risen  Master  first 
at  the  Lake   of  Galilee,  but  Peter  throws  himself  forthwith 
into  the  Lake,  and  is  the  first  to  reach  Jesus'  feet ;   he  acts 
on  the  moment,  and  has  even  to  be  rebuked  for  being  too 
ready  mth  his  counsel.      Though  for  a  moment  he  denies 
Christ,  a  look  melts  him,  and  tradition  only  fills  up  what  we 
feel  a  true  picture,  when  it  tells  us  that  he  Tose  each  night, 
through  life,  at  the  hour  at  Avhich  he  had  sinned  so  weaklv, 
to  pray  for  forgiveness  ;  or  when  it  speaks  of  him,  at  last,  as 
crucified  \nt\i  his  head   downwards,  thinking   himself  un- 
worthy of  a  nearer  approach  to  the  death  of  his  Lord. 

In  Peter,  Jesus  had  an  apostle  who  gave  up  his  Avhole 
being  to  his  Master.  No  one  was  more  receptive  of  lofty 
impressions,   and  ■nith  this  moral  sensibility,  there  was  a 


48  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.xxsv.  ready,  quick,  happy  insight,  which  di\-ined  the  significance 
of  his  ^Master's  Avords  witli  swift  intelhgence.  Yet,  with  this 
delicacy  of  forecast,  and  true  conception  of  the  inner  and 
the  expressed  thoughts  of  Jesus  ;  with  his  quick  eye  for  the 
signs  of  the  times,  and  his  zeal  to  act  on  their  indications, 
he  was  deficient  in  sharp  logical  power  of  thought,  and  in 
tenacious  strength  of  will.  In  this  combination  of  strength 
and  weakness,  he  was  the  most  perfect  type  of  the  Galilaiau 
in  the  Apostolate,  and  became  a  special  friend  of  Jesus, 
who  found  in  him  the  most  enthusiastic  of  His  followers ; 
the  reflection,  in  some  respects,  of  His  own  nature,  and  a 
heart  than  which  none  beat  truer,  though  in  the  most  decisive 
moments  he  proved  no  firm  support,  but  a  bending  reed,  weak 

«  Keim.ii.3io.  from  momentary  trust  in  himself  rather  than  on  his  Lord.^^ 

Reynolds'  "^ 

rtop°s!"3L  James  and  John,  the  sons  of  Zabdai,  were  men  of  a 
scii.ukci,7e.  (•iifj-,.ri.nt  mould.  They  supplied  what  was  wanting  in  Peter. 
Ready  to  accept  the  new  ideas,  and  reproducing  them  for 
themselves,  with  mingled  enthusiasm  and  freshness  of 
conception,  they  had  the  same  intense  devotion  to  their 
Master  as  Peter,  with  something,  at  times,  of  the  same  art- 
less and  unconscious  self-prominence.  Their  energy  of  will, 
and  quick  flaming  up  at  any  opposition,  were  marked  features 
of  both,  and  obtained  for  them,  from  Jesus,  the  name  of 
"the  Sons  of  Thunder."  In  their  zeal  for  their  Master 
they  would  have  called  down  judgnient  from  heaven 
against  an  inhospitable  village,  and  Avished  to  silence  an 
unknown  worker  who  spoke  in  the  name  of  Christ,  without 
belonging  to  the  twelve.  In  James,  the  Apostles  had  their 
first  martyr,  but  John  lived  to  be  the  last  survivor  of  them 
all.  Hot  zeal,  based  on  intense  devotion,  was,  however, 
only  a  passing  characteristic,  at  least  of  John.  He,  of  all 
the  twelve,  drank  deepest  into  his  ]\Iaster's  Spirit,  and 
realized  it  most.  Self-contained,  meditative,  tender,  he 
thought  less  of  Christ's  acts,  than  of  the  words  which  Avere 
the  reveljitions  of  His  inner  Being.  His  Avhole  spiritual 
nature  gave  itself  up  to  loving  contemplation  of  the  won- 
drous life  passing  before  him.  We  owe  to  him,  in  his  Gospel, 
an  image  of  the  higher  nature  of  our  Lord,  such  as  only  one  to 
whom  He  Avas  all  in  all  could  have  painted.     If  perfect  love 


THE   APOSTLES. 


49 


K  Reynolds,  31. 
Schenkel,  95. 
Kenan. 
L'Antechrist, 
348. 

Nork,  117. 
Hase,  142. 
Ewald,  T.  233. 


beget  love  in  return,  it  was  inevitable  that  John  should  win  chap,  xxxv. 
the  supreme  jjlace  in  Christ's    affection.      If  the  disciple 
leaned  on  the  Master  s  bosom,  it  was  because  he  had  sho-\vn 
the  love  that  at  the  last  brought  him,  alone,  of  the  twelve, 
to  the  foot  of  the  Cross.^^ 

Of  Andrew,  the  brother  of  Peter,  we  know  very  little. 
We  have  to  trust  to  tradition,  alone,  for  his  history,  after 
Christ's  death.  He  is  said,  by  one  legend,  to  have  gone 
among  the  Scythians,  and,  on  this  ground,  the  Russians  have 
made  him  their  national  Saint.  Another  assigns  Greece, 
and  afterwards  Asia  Minor  and  Thrace,  as  the  scene  of  his 
work,  and  speaks  of  him  as  put  to  death  in  Achaia,  on  a 
cross  of  the  form  since  known  by  his  name.  The  incidental 
notices  of  the  others,  in  the  Gospels,  are  very  slight,  and  need 
not  be  anticipated.  Philip  is  said,  in  the  ecclesiastical 
legends,  to  have  been  a  chariot  driver;  Bartholomew,  a  shep- 
herd, or  gardener.  But  no  name  is  more  striking  in  the  list 
than  that  of  Simon  the  Zealot,*  for  to  none  of  the  twelve 
could  the  contrast  be  so  vivid  between  their  former  and  their 
new  position.  What  revolution  of  thought  and  heart  could 
be  greater  than  that  which  had  thus  changed  into  a  follower 
of  Jesus  one  of  the  fierce  war  party  of  the  day,  which 
looked  on  the  presence  of  Rome  in  the  Holy  Land  as  treason 
against  the  Majesty  of  Jehovah — a  party  who  were  fanatical 
in  their  Jewish  strictness  and  exclusiveness  ?  Like  many 
others  of  the  twelve,  he  is  little  more  than  a  name.  Lideed, 
even  in  the  second  century,  tlie  vaguest  traditions  were  all 
that  survived  of  any  but  two  or  three  of  them.  They  were 
men  of  no  high  commanding  powei-s,  to  make  their  names 
rise  on  all  men's  tongues,  but  they,  doubtless,  in  every  case 
but  that  of  the  betrayer,  did  their  work  faithfully,  and 
effected  results  of  permanent  value  in  the  spread  of  the 
Kingdom.  Still  more,  they  displayed  before  the  world,  for 
the  first  time,  the  then  amazing  spectacle  and  teaching  of  a 
Christian  life.  That  we  know  so  Uttle  of  men  who  were  such 
sio-nal  benefactors  of  the  race,  is  only  what  we  have  to  ponder 
in  the  cases  of  those  to  whom  the  world  has  owed  most. 
It  is  the  law,  in  the  moral  as  in  the  physical  world,  that  one 
sows  and  another  reaps,  and  the  seed  which  bears  the  golden 

VOL.  II.  43 


50  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP,  xxsv.  ears  has  long  died  away  unremembered,  before  the  gather- 
ing of  the  autumn  sheaves. 

It  is  touching  to  think  of  Jesus  surrounded  by  the  little 
band  He  had  thus  chosen — simple,  true-hearted  men,  indeed, 
but  needing  so  much  to  fit  them  for  their  amazing  honour, 
and  momentous  duties.    No  wonder  they  were  timid  and 

»  M»tt.  le.  7.     reverent  before  Him  :^*  no  wonder  that  He  was  so  sorely  tried 

John  13. 22;  •    i  i      •  i     ti  .  i  -,        ■,  , 

6.18.  With    their   dull    apprehension    and    weak    human    short- 

comings, as  to  speak  sternly  or  sadly  to  them  at  times ;  once 
indeed,   with  the  words,  "  0  unbelieving  generation,  how 
long  shall  I  be  with  you,  how  long  shall  I  suffer  you?  "e 
He    calls    them    "of    little    understanding,"    "hardened," 
«  Mark4.i3,40;  "  fcarful,"  "  worldly,"  and  "  of  little  faith."^*  But  amidst  all, 
32:i;  lo'l^?'  *^^y  "  continued  with  Him  in  His  trials  "^^  till  the  end,  and 
..  f  \^''^,";f  ■  He  forgot  their  faiUngs  in  the  tender  thought,  that  if  their 

s«  Lnko  22,  28.  "  o  P       ) 

flesh  was  weak,  their  spirit  was  Avilling.     They  were  His 
"  Matt.  25.40.    "brethren,"^'  His  "servants,"  His  "fellow-workers,"  His  "little 

John  18.  SIS.  ),  TT- 

jotoisl'sx'  children,  His  "  little  ones,'  and,  even,  as  the  end  approached, 
fohnisMis.  "  His  friends."  He  might,  at  times,  have  to  reprove  them, 
but  His  bearing  towards  them,  day  by  day,  was  a  loving  con- 
descension to  their  weakness,  and  a  patient  effort  to  draw 
them  to  Himself,  as  far  as  possible.  There  is  no  trace  of  such 
formal  instruction  as  the  Rabbis  gave  their  followers  ;  they 
had  rather  to  listen  to  His  words  to  the  people,  and  ask  Him 

B  Mark  7. 17.  in  prlvatc  for  explanation  where  needed.^*  He  rather  trained 
and  developed  their  spiritual  character,  than  indoctrinated 

B  Mark  10. 35.  thcm  in  systematic  theology.^^  Above  all.  He  lived  before 
them,  and  was  Himself  their  great  lesson.  Nor  can  there  be  a 
more  striking  illustration  of  the  completeness  -s^dth  which 
they  forgot  their  own  being  in  the  presence  of  their  Master, 
than  the  silence  of  the  writers  of  the  Gospels  respecting 
themselves  in  their  records  of  Jesus.  He,  alone,  filled  their 
eye,  their  thoughts,  their  hearts.  They  had  been  like  children 
before  Him,  while  He  was  mth  them,  and  in  the  hallowed 
reverence  of  their  remembered  intercourse.  His  image  filled 
the  whole  retrospect,  to  the  utter  subordination  of  all  things 
else.  The  months  they  had  spent  in  His  company  under 
the  palm-trees,  or  on  the  hills,  or  by  the  sea ;  when  they 
breathed  the  same  air  with  Him ;    heard  His  voice ;    saw 


SCENE   OF  THE   HILL-SERMON.  51 

His  life ;    and  wondered  at  His  miglity  acts, — raised  them,  chap,  xsxv 
in  their  o^^^l  beUef,  above  the  prophets  and  the  kings,  who  had 
longed  for  such  a  vision  of  the  Messiah,  but  had  not  had  it 
vouchsafed  them.*''  «  Luke  lo.  24. 

Of  the  preaching  of  Jesus,  the  Gospel  preserves  numerous 
fragments,  but  no  lengthened  abstract  of  any  single  dis- 
course, except  that  of  the  "Sermon  on  the  Mount."  It 
seems  to  have  been  delivered  immediately  after  the  choice 
of  the  twelve,  to  the  disciples  at  lai-ge  and  the  multitude 
who  thronged  to  hear  the  new  Rabbi.  Descending  from  the 
higher  point  to  which  He  had  called  up  His  Aj^ostles,  He 
came  towards  the  crowd,  which  waited  for  Him  at  a  level 
place  below.*^  There  were  numbers  from  every  part — from  "  Luke  e.  n. 
Judea  and  Jerusalem  in  the  south,  and  even  from  the  sea- 
coast  of  T}Te  and  Sidon ;  some  to  hear  Him,  others  to  be 
cured  of  their  diseases,  and  many  to  be  delivered  from 
unclean  spirits.  The  commotion  and  excitement  were  great 
at  His  appearance,  for  it  had  been  found  that  to  touch 
Him  was  to  be  cured,  and,  hence,  aU  sought,  either  by 
their  own  efforts,  or  with  the  help  of  friends,  to  get  near 
enough  to  Him  to  do  so.  After  a  time,  however,  the  tumult 
was  stayed,  all  having  been  healed,  and  He  proceeded,  before 
they  broke  up,  to  care  for  their  spiritual,  as  He  had  already 
for  their  physical  wants. 

Tradition  has  chosen  the  hiU  known  as  the  "Horns  of 
Hattin,"''^  two  horn-Uke  heio-hts,  risinar  sixty  feet  above  the«  Pauiussup- 

'  .  .  poses  a  hill 

plain  between  them — two  hours  west  of  Tiberias,  at  the    JhesJne^Dio 
mouth  of  the  gorge  which  opens,   past  ]\Iagdala,  into  the    ^l^^ulii. 
wild  cliffs  of  Arbela,  famous  in  the  history  of  the  Zealots  as 
their  hiding-place,  and  famous  also  for  Herod's  battles  in 
mid-air  at  the  mouths  of  their  caves,  by  means  of  great  cages 
filled  with  soldiers  let  down  the  precipices.     It  is  greatly  in 
favour  of  this  site,  to  find  such  a  WTiter  as  Dean  Stanley 
saying,  that  the  situation  so  strikingly  coincides  with  the 
intimations  of  the  Gospel  narrative,  as  almost  to  force  the 
inference,  that,  in  this  instance,  the  eye  of  those  who  selected 
the  spot  was  rightly  guided.**^     The  plain  on  which  t^^ " |^gJ^^''36o 
hill  stands  is  easily  accessible  from  the  Lake,  and  it  is  only 
a  few  minutes'  walk  from  it  to  the  summit,  before  reaching 


52 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


"  Tholuck, 
Borgprcdigt, 
in  toe. 


CHAP.  XXXV.  which,  a  broad  "  level  place  "  has  to  be  crossed — exactly 
suited  for  the  gathering  of  a  multitude  together.  It  was  to 
this,  apparently,  that  Jesus  came  dovra,  from  one  of  the 
higher  horns,  to  address  the  people.     Seated  on  some  slightly 

"  iraimonides;  clcvated  rock — for  the  teacher  always  sat  while  he  taught^^ — 

quoted  by  j  cj 

Nork,cxciiL  ij^Q  people  and  the  disciples  sitting  at  His  feet,  on  the 
grass ;  the  cloudless  Sp'ian  sky  over  them ;  the  blue  Lake, 
■with  its  moving  life,  on  the  one  hand,  and,  in  the  far  north, 
the  grand  form  of  Hermon,  glittering  in  the  upper  air ;  He 
began  what  is  to  us  the  Magna  Charta*'  of  our  faith,  and  to 
the  hearers  must  have  been  the  formal  inauguration  of  the 
new  kingdom  of  God. 

The  choice  of  the  twelve  Apostles  and  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  mark  a  turning  j^oint  in  the  public  life  of  Jesus.  A 
crisis  in  the  development  of  His  work  had  arrived.  He  had, 
till  now,  taken  no  steps  towards  a  formal  and  open  separation 
from  Judaism,  but  had  contented  Himself  with  gathering 
converts,  whom  He  left  to  follow  the  new  life  He  taught, 
without  any  organization  as  a  distinct  communion.  The 
symptoms  of  an  approaching  rupture  with  the  priests  and 
Rabbis  had,  however,  forced  on  Him  more  decisive  action. 
He  had  met  the  murmurs  at  the  healing  of  the  paralytic,  by 
the  triumphant  vindication  of  the  language  which  had  given 
offence.  The  choice  of  a  publican  as  a  disciple  immediately 
after,  had  been  a  further  expression  of  the  fundamental 
opposition  between  His  ideas  and  those  of  the  schools  and 
the  Temple,  and  His  justification  of  the  disuse  by  His 
disciples,  of  the  outward  rites  and  forms  which  were  vital  in 
the  eyes  of  the  orthodoxy  of  the  day,  had  been  another  step 
in  the  same  divergent  path.  He  had  openly  sanctioned 
the  omission  of  fasts,  and  of  mechanical  rules  for  prayer,' 
which  were  sacred  with  the  Rabbis.  He  had  even  set  the 
old  and  new  order  of  things  in  contrast,  and  had  thus 
assumed  independent  authority  as  a  religious  teacher ,  the 
sum  of  all  offence  in  a  rigid  theocracy. 

The  choice  of  the  twelve,  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
were  the  final  and  distinct  proclamation  of  His  new  jjosition. 
The  Apostles  must  have  seemed,  to  a  Jew,  the  twelve 
patriarchs  of  a  new  spiritual  Israel,  to  be  substituted  for  the 


THE   AUDIENCE.  53 

old ;  tlie  heads  of  new  tribes,  to  be  gathered  by  their  chap,  xsxv. 
teaching,  as  the  future  people  of  God.  The  old  skins  had 
been  proved  unfit  for  the  new  wine  ;  henceforth,  new  skins 
must  be  pro\dded ;  new  forms,  for  a  new  faith.  The  society  * 
thus  organized  needed  a  promulgation  of  the  laws  under 
which  it  was  to  live,  and  this  it  received  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount. 

The  audience  addressed  consisted  of  the  newly  chosen 
twelve ;  the  unknown  crowd  who  heard  Him  with  favour, 
and   were,    hence,    spoken   of  as  His    disciples  :'^^  and   the « orotius,  on 

I'll  TT-  p  1  •  1  Matt.12.49. 

promiscuous  multitude  drawn  to  Him,  tor  the  time,  by 
vai'ious  motives.  Jesus  had  no  outer  and  inner  circle,  for 
pubHc  and  secret  doctrines,  like  the  Rabbis,  for,  though  He 
explained  to  the  twelve,  in  private,  any  points  in  His  dis- 
courses they  had  not  understood,  the  discourses  themselves 
were  deUvered  to  all  who  came  to  hear  them.  This  Sermon, 
which  is  the  fullest  statement  we  have  of  the  nature  of  His 
kingdom,  and  of  the  condition  and  duties  of  its  citizenship, 
was  spoken  under  the  open  sky,  to  all  who  happened  to  form 
His  audience. 

In  this  great  declaration  of  the  principles  and  laws  of 
the  Christian  republic — a  republic  in  the  relations  of  its 
citizens  to  each  other — a  kingdom,  in  their  relations  to 
Jesus,  the  omissions  are  no  less  striking  than  the  demands. 
There  is  no  reference  to  the  priests  or  Rabbis — till  then  the 
undisputed  authorities  in  religion — nor  is  the  rite  of  circum- 
cision even  mentioned,  though  it  made  the  Jew  a  member 
of  the  Old  Covenant,  as  a  mere  theocratic  form,  apart  from 
moral  requirements.  It  is  not  condemned,  but  it  is  ignored. 
TiU  now,  a  vital  condition  of  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,  it  is  so  no  more.  Nor  are  any  other  outward  forms 
more  in  favour.  The  new  kingdom  is  to  be  founded  only 
on  righteousness  and  love,  and  contrasts  with  the  old  by 
its  spiritual  freedom,  untrammeled  by  outward  rules.  It 
opposes  to  the  nationality  and  limitation  of  the  old  theocracy 
a  universal  invitation,  with  no  restriction  except  that  of 
character  and  conduct.  Citizenship  is  offered  to  all  who 
sincerely  believe  in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  and  honestly 
repent  before  God.     Even  the  few  opening  sentences  mark 


54 


TUE   LIFE   OF   CHEIST. 


oHAP.xxsv.  the  revolution  in  religious  conceptions  Avliich  the  new  faith 
involves.  Temporal  evil,  which,  under  the  former  dispen- 
sation had  been  the  mark  of  divine  displeasm-e,  became,  in 
the  teaching  of  Jesus,  the  mark  of  fellowship,  and  pledge  of 
heavenly  reward.  The  opinion  of  the  day  regarded  poverty, 
hungei*,  trouble,  and  i^ersecution  as  punishments  for  sin : 
He  enumerates  them  as  blessings.  Throughout  the  whole 
Sermon,  no  political  or  theocratic  ideas  find  place,  but  only 
spiritual.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  religion,  a 
communion  is  founded  without  a  priesthood,  or  off"erings, 
or  a  Temple,  or  ceremonial  services ;  without  symbolical 
worship,  or  a  visible  sanctuary.  There  is  an  utter  absence 
of  everything  external  or  sensuous:  the  grand  spiritual 
truths  of  absolute  religious  freedom,  love,  and  righteousness, 
alone  are  heard.  Nor  is  the  kingdom,  thus  founded,  in 
itself  visible,  or  corporate,  in  any  ordinary  sense ;  it  is 
manifested  only  by  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  in  the  heart, 
and  by  the  power  going  forth  from  it  in  the  life.'*^  In  the 
fine  words  of  Herder, ^^  Christianity  was  founded  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  stupid  dependence  on  customs,  formuhc, 
and  empty  usages.  It  humbled  the  Jewish,  and  even  the 
Roman  national  pride:  the  moribund  Lc\'itical  worship  and 
idolatry,  however  fanatically  defended,  were  wounded  to  death. 
Nothing  can  be  more  certain  than  that  Jesus  had  never 
studied  under  the  Sopherim,  or  Scribes.  His  contempo- 
raries, the  Rabbis  of  Jerusalem,  leave  no  doubt  of  this,  for 
they  frankly  avowed  their  wonder  at  His  knoAvledge  of  their 
theology,  and  power  of  Scriptural  exposition,  though  He  had 
never  learned  theological  science  in  their  schools.''*  The 
same  minute  acquaintance  with  the  opinions  and  teachings 
of  the  day  is  seen  through  the  whole  of  the  Hill  Sermon. 
Apart  from  His  mysterious  di^^nity,  He  was  a  man  like  our- 
selves, "  growing  in  wisdom"  with  His  years,  and,  therefore, 
indebted  in  a  measure,  at  least,  to  the  influences  and  means 
around  Him,  for  His  human  knowledge  and  opinions.  It 
speaks  volumes  for  His  early  training  by  His  mother  and 
Joseph,  that  he  should  have  kno-ttii  the  Scriptures  as  He 
did,  for  it  is  in  childhood  that  the  memory  gets  the  bent 
which   marks   its    strength   in  manhood.     The   sjTiagogue 


Schenkel, 
Gome  in  lie, 
Bibel  Lex.  ii. 
376. 
'  Geist  de3 
Christon- 
thuais,  95. 


JEWISH  EELIGIOUS  TRAINING.  55 

school,  and  constantly  recurring  services,  must,  however,  chap.  x3 
have  been  the  great  seminary  of  the  wondrous  Boy.     Pas- 
sages of  the   Law  had  been   His    only   school-book,  and, 
doubtless,  the  village  teacher,  steeped  in  reflected  Rabbinism, 
had  often  flattered  his  harmless  vanity  by  a  display  before 
his  young  charge,  of  his  knowledge  of  the  traditions  and 
glosses,  which  won  so  much  honour  to  the  Scribes.     The 
Sabbath  and  week-day  homilies  of  the  Synagogue  had  made 
Him  a  constant  listener  to  local  or  travelling  Rabbis,  till,  in 
the  thirty  years  of  His  Nazareth  life,  His  mind  and  memory 
had,  doubtless,  been  saturated  with  their  modes  of  thought, 
and   the  opinions  of  all  the  different  schools.     Theology, 
moreover,  was  the  staple  of  village  conversation  in  Nazareth,  as 
elsewhere,  for  his  religion  was  also  the  politics  of  the  Jew, 
and  the  justification  of  his  haughty  national  pride.     Doubt- 
less, also,  in  Joseph's  cottage  there  was  a  manuscript  of  the 
Law,    and  a   soul   filled   with    devotion   to   His  Heavenly 
Father,  like  that  of  Jesus,  would  find  some  of  the  Prophets, 
either  there  or  among  His  family  friends.      Rabbis  from 
Jerusalem,  or  resident  in  Galilee,  must  often  have  come  in 
His  way,  dui'ing  the  thirty  private  years,  and  how  much 
would  such  a  mind  and  heart  learn  of  their  "  wisdom,"  even 
in  such  casual  intercourse  ?     His  clearness  of  intellect,  His 
transparent  innocence  of  soul.   His  freedom  of  spirit,  and 
transcendent  loftiness  of  morals  were  all  His  own,  but  they 
must  have  used,  for  their  high  ends,  the  facilities  around 
Him.     The   very  neighbourhood  of  a  heathen  population 
may  have  had  its  influence  in  breaking  down  the  hereditary 
narrowness  of  His  race,  and  who  can  tell  what  ardours  may 
have  been  kindled  by  the  wondrous  view  from  the  hill-top 
of  Nazareth  ?     Free  from   all  thought   of  Himself :  filled 
with  a  divine  enthusiasm  for  His  Father  above   and  for 
humanity,  these  mountains,  that  azure  sky,  the  sweeping 
table-land  beyond   the  Jordan,  the  wide  glory  of  heaven 
and  earth,  veiling,  above,  the  eternal  kingdoms,  and,  at  His 
feet,   revealing  the  enchanting  homes  of  wide  populations 
diff"ering  in  blood  and  in  faith,  but  all  alike  His  brethren, 
may  have  coloured  not  a  few  of  the  sacred  utterances  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount. 


56  THE   LITE   OF  CHRIST. 


CHAP.  XSX7.  This  unique  example  of  our  Saviour's  teaching  displays 
in  one  view  nearly  all  the  characteristics  presented  by  the 
more  detached  illustrations  preserved  in  the  Gospels.  Never 
sj^stematic,  the  discourses  of  Jesus  were  rather  pointed 
utterances  of  special  truths  demanded  by  the  occasion.  In 
perfect  inner  harmony  with  each  other,  these  sententious 
teachings  at  times  appear  to  conflict,  for  they  are  often 
designed  to  present  opposite  sides  of  the  same  truth,  as  the 

»  John  5. 81;  distinct  point  to  be  met  required.^"  The  external  and  sen- 
Luke9.60;  suous  in  all  His  teachings,  however,  was  always  made  the 
13*62.  ■  ''  vehicle  of  an  inner  and  heavenly  lesson.  He  necessarily  fol- 
lowed the  mode  to  which  His  hearers  were  used,  and  taught 
them  as  their  own  Rabbis  were  wont,  that  He  might  engage 
attention.  At  times  He  puts  direct  questions  ;  at  others  He  is 
rhetorical  or  polemic,  or  speaks  in  proverbs,  or  in  more 
lengthened  discourse.    He  often  uses  parables,  and  some- 

51  John  13. 4.     times  even  symbolical  actions ;  '^  is  always  spontaneous  and 

M  Matt.  4. 19;  ready^"^;  and  even,  at  times,  jJoints  His  words  by  friendly 
Luke  8. 21;     or  cutting  irony. ^^     But  while  thus  in  many  ways  adopting 

»  Lake  7. 47.  the  style  of  the  Rabbis,  His  teaching  was  very  different 
Luke  13. 33.  even  in  outward  characteristics.  They  delivered,  painfully, 
what  they  had  learned  like  children,  overlajdng  every  ad- 
dress with  citations,  in  their  fear  of  saying  a  word  of  their 
own ;  but  the  teaching  of  Christ  was  the  free  expression  of 
His  own  thoughts  and  feelings,  and  this,  with  the  weight  of 
the  teaching  itself,   gave  Him  power  over  the  hearts  of  His 

«  Matt.  7. 28.     audience.^*     With  a  minute  and  exact  knowledo^e  of  the 

Mark  1.22.  O 

teaching  of  the  schools.  He  shows,  by  repeated  use  of  Rab- 
binical proofs  and  arguments,  that  He  was  familiar,  also, 
with  the  current  modes  of  controversy.  His  fervour.  His 
originality,  and  the  grandeur  of  the  truths  He  proclaimed, 
were  enough  in  themselves  to  commend  His  words,  but  He 
constantly  supports  them  by  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
Scriptures,  which  were  familiar  to  Him  as  His  mother- 
speech.  Simple,  as  a  rule,  in  all  He  says,  He  yet  often 
opens  glimpses  into  the  infinite  heights,  where  no  human 
thought  can  follow  Him.  The  spirit  of  His  preaching  is  as 
transcendent  as  its  matter.  Tenderness  and  yearning  love 
prevail,  but  there  is  not  wanting,  when  needed,  the  stern- 


Jubn  7.  4(i. 


KINGLY  DIGNITY   OF  JESUS.  57 

ness  of  the  righteous  judge.  Thi'oughout  the  whole  of  His  chap,  sxxv 
ministry,  and  notably,  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  He 
bears  Himself  with  a  kingly  grandeur,  dispensing  the  rewards 
and  punishments  of  the  world  to  come ;  opening  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  to  those  onlj^  who  fulfil  His  requirements, 
and  resting  the  future  prospects  of  men  on  the  reception 
they  give  His  words.  Even  to  read  His  utterances  forces 
from  all  the  confession  of  those  who  heai'd  Him,  that 
"  Never  man  spake  hke  this." 


58  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT  (Continued). 

CHAP,  xsxvi.  rpHE  opening  verses  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  mark  the 
J-  Qontrast  between  the  New  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  Old. 
There  is  no  mention  of  fonns,  for  the  whole  life  of  Jesus 

'  Bibei  Lex.  li.  was- onc  unbrokcu  service  of  God.^  The  Temple  Sei'vice, 
and  the  burdensome  laws  of  sacrifices,  are  passed  over,  for 
the  Sermon  Avas  dcUvered  in  Galilee,  far  from  the  sjilendour 
of  the  one,  or  the  vexatious  minuteness  and  materialism  of 
the  other.  The  great  question  of  clean  and  unclean,  which 
divided  the  nation  within  itself;  made  life  a  slavery  to  rules; 
and  isolated  the  Jew  from  all  brotherhood  with  humanity  at 
large,  is  left  to  sink  into  indifference  before  tlie  gi'and 
spiritual  truths  enunciated.  The  LaAV  came  Avith  threats, 
prohibitions,  and  commands;  the  "  Sermon"  opens  with  bene- 
dictions,   and  moves  in   an   atmosphere   of  promises  and 

2  Lnther.qnotej  enticemcnts.^     Its  first  sentences  are  a  succession  of  lofty 

by  Meyer.  "^ 

Matt,  in  ;oc.     congratulatious  of  those  whose  spirit  and  bearing  already 
proclaim  them  fit  for  the  new  society. 

The  virtues  thus  praised  are  not  the  active  only,  but  the 
passive ;  not  those  of  doing  alone,  but  of  bearing.  "  Blessed 
are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  ; 
blessed  the  meek,  for  they  will  inherit  the  earth  ;  blessed 
they  that  mourn,  for  they  wiU  be  comforted ;  blessed  they 
that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,  for  they  will  be 
satisfied ;  blessed  the  merciful,  for  they  Avill  find  mercy ; 
blessed  the  peace-makers,  for  they  wiU  be  called  sons  of 
God';  blessed  they  that  have  been  persecuted  for  right- 
eousness sake,  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  Blessed 
are  ye,  when  they  shall  reproach  and  persecute  you,  and 
shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  My 


THE   BEATITUDES.  59 


sake.    Rejoice  and  exult,  for  your  reward  is  great  in  Heaven ;  chap,  xssvi. 
for  so  did  they  persecute  the  prophets  that   were   before 

Matt.  5.  3—12. 
I  give  the 
version  of 


y^^^"  I  give  the 


The  mission  of  Christ  was  said  by  Himself,  in  a  quotation  S^Sdorf. 
from  Isaiah,  to  be  to  preach  to  tlie  poor,  and  hence  it  is 
with  no  surprise  that  we  find  St.  Luke  substitute  simply 
"the  poor  "  for  the  "poor  in  spirit,"  for  both,  are  right.  The 
first  disciples  were  won  almost  exclusively  from  among  the 
lowly.  "  The  contented  poor,"  Jesus  would  here  say,  "  who 
bear  their  burden  meekly,  since  it  comes  from  God,  those — that 
is,  who  are  'poor  in  spirit,' — have,  in  their  very  meekness, 
the  sign  and  proof  that,  though  poor  in  outward  things,  they 
are  rich  in  higher,  for  they  will,  so  much  the  more  surely, 
be,  hereafter,  the  opposite  of  what  they  are  here.  They  are 
the  poor  who  have  nothing  and  yet  have  aU.  They  have 
nothing  of  this  world's  possessions,  and  have  not  yet  received 
the  blessing  in  the  world  to  come.  But  the  very  longing 
for  the  future,  and  hope  of  it,  are  virtually  a  present  pos- 
session. Their  devout  poverty  is  their  wealth,  for  it  secures 
treasures  hereafter.*     The  'Kingdom  of  Heaven'  is  theirs »  Bams 

1  1      »       mi   .  •        •     1  1  1         Ti       1         1  •         1  Ge3ohiohte, 2; 

au'eady.  Ihis  principle  runs  through  all  the  beatitudes. 
As  Christ's  disciples,  the  future  will  be  the  contrast  to  the 
present ;  riches  for  poverty  ;  joy  for  mourning  ;  plenty  for 
hunger;  a  heavenly  cro^vn  for  earthly  suffering  for  the 
]\Iaster's  sake.  The  contrast  of  sin  and  pardon  ;  the  lowly 
sense  of  needed  salvation,  which  ah-eady  has  in  itself  the 
assurance  that  salvation  is  granted,  are  implied  in  all  the 
states  of  heart  recounted.  Through  all,  there  runs  the 
deepest  sense  of  the  sinfubiess  and  troubles  of  the  present, 
and  springing  from  this,  the  loftiest  religious  aspirations, 
rising  far  above  the  earth,  to  eternal  reahties.  They  thus 
disclose  the  inmost  and  central  principle  of  the  new  King- 
dom ;  the  -RT-Uing  and  even  joyful  surrender  of  the  present, 
in  lowly  hope  of  the  future — and  that  from  no  lower  motive 
than  loving  obedience  and  fidelity  to  Christ.  Immediate 
self-interest  is  to  be  disregarded,  for  the  infinitely  higher 
prospects  of  the  future  world.  The  one  passion  of  the  heart 
is  to  be  for  greater  righteousness, — that  is,  for  an  ever  more 
complete   self-surrender   to   the   will   of   God,    and    active 


60  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  xssvi.  fulfilment  of  its  demands.  For  Himself  Jesus  claims  the 
most  loyal  devotion,  even  to  the  endurance  of  "  all  manner 
of  evil,"  for  His  sake.  To  seek  happiness  is  to  fail  to  obtain  it, 
but  self-surrender  to  God,  and  faith  in  Christ  as  the  Messiah, 
in  themselves  bring  it,  when  disinterested  and  sincere. 
It  is  striking  to  note  the  anticipations  of  suffering  associ- 

s  See  uiimann's  atcd  bv  Jcsus  "u'ith  truc  disciplcship.^    Sufferintj  is  assumed 

SUndlosigkeit,  ...  . 

"'■'•  as   its  inevitable  result.     He   holds   out  no  attractions  to 

insincerity  or  worldliness,  but  at  the  very  outset,  fans  the 
chaff  from  the  wheat,  and  repels  all  but  the  earnest  and 
devoted. 

Four  benedictions  are  bestowed  on  the  passive  virtues ; 
four  on  the  active.  To  bear  poverty  with  lowly  resignation 
to  God ;  to  mourn,  and  yet  trust  that  all  is  for  the  best ; 
to  reproduce  the  meekness  which  Jesus  Himself  displayed, 
and  to  endure  trials  and  persecutions  loyally  for  His  sake, 
are  the  negative  graces  demanded  as  conditions  of  member- 
ship of  the  New  Kingdom.  But  active  virtues  are  no  less 
required ;  the  hungering  and  thirsting  after  righteousness, 
which  finds  its  food  in  fresh,  joj-ful,  continuous  acts  of  good- 
ness ;  the  mercy  which  delights  to  bless  the  wretched;  the 
purity  of  heart,  which  strives  to  realize  in  the  soul  the  image 
of  God,  and  the  gentleness  which  spreads  peace  around  it.*" 

The  key-note  of  all  the  utterances  of  Christ  reveals  itself 
in  these  few  sentences.  His  kingdom  is  at  once  present  and 
future :  present  by  the  undoubting  faith  in  His  assurances 
that  it  would  hereafter  assuredly  be  attained  :  future  in  the 
fact  that  the  realization  of  its  joys  was  reserved  for  the 
life  to  come.  Unlike  John,  He  proclaims  that  the  time  of 
expectation  is  over :  that  the  New  Kingdom  has  already 
come  as  a  living  power  in  the  soul,  diffusing  its  blessings, 
at  once  within  and  around  its  members.  It  is  established 
in  its  rights  and  duties,  to  develop  and  advance,  henceforth, 
till  its  glory  cover  the  earth.  In  one  aspect,  it  is  incomplete 
till  its  full  realization  in  the  distant  future  :  in  another  it  is 
ab-eady  perfect,  for  it  reigns  in  every  single  soul  -which  has 
humbly  accepted  Jesus  as  its  King. 

After  this  introduction.  He  proceeds  to  enforce  on  His 
disciples  the  duties  of  their  new  relation  to  Him,  and  to 


THE   LAW   OF   THE    KINGDOM:.  61 

clieer  tlicm,  by  recalling  the  dignity  it  confers.     "  You  have,  chap,  sxsvi. 

indeed,  good  cause  to  rejoice,"  says  He,  "  and  to  be  brave 

of  heart,  for  you  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  ;    the  light  of  the 

world ;  a  city  set  on  a  hill."     Mere  ostentation,  or  insincere 

parade  of  virtue,  were  abhorrent  to  Him,  and  formed  His 

great  charge  against  the  acted  religion  of  the  day.     But  the 

enthusiasm  of  true  goodness,  He  tells  them,  must  of  necessity 

be   seen    and   felt.     Life  is  shown  by  its  energy ;    where 

there  is  no  active  vital  power,  there  is  only  death.     He 

presciibes  no  lengthened  code  of  duties,  but  trusts  to  the 

ardour  and  devotion  of   loyalty   to   Himself,  as  a  perfect 

equivalent.     Drawn  to  Him  by  grateful  and  lowly  affection. 

He  leaves  it  to  the   love  of  His  followers   to  exceed  all 

precise   directions,   and  outstrip    all  formal    requirements. 

His  kingdom  is  as  strictly  under  law  as  any  other,  but, 

for   the    endless    statutes    of  earthly  monarchies,   and  the 

equally  unnumbered    prescriptions  of  the  old   theocracy, 

He  substitutes  a  single  all-sufficing  law — the  law  of  love, 

which  makes  each  member  of  His  kingdom  a  law  to  himself 

All  are  to  give  themselves  up   to  Him  as  unreservedly  as 

He  has  given  Himself  up  for  them. 

Intense  sincerity  is  thus  made  the  fundamental  demand, 
and  His  own  pei"sonal  example  their  standard  and  pattern. 
To  be  the  light  of  the  world,  they  must  needs  look  to  Him, 
for  He  had  especially  applied  that  name  to  Himself.®  They  « John  a.  12. 
had  the  immense  advantage  of  example,  so  much  more 
effective  than  precept.  The  New  Kingdom  was  only  the 
reflection  of  His  oyvn  character,  and,  thus.  His  commands 
Avere  best  carried  out  by  imitating  His  life :  for  He,  Himself, 
was  the  one  perfect  illustration  of  complete  fulfilment  of 
its  laws.  No  gi'udging  or  partial  devotion  Avould  suffice. 
They  must  heartily  conform  their  inmost  being  to  His 
image,''  and  shed  round  them,  in  their  respective  spheres,  the  '  numaim,  223. 
spiritual  blessings  which  beamed  brightest  from  Himself. 
Thus  calmly,  and  as  His  natural  right  and  place.  He  consti- 
tutes Himself  the  grand  ideal  of  humanity,  and  men  feel 
that  there  is  no  rashness  or  incongruity  in  His  assumption 
of  the  stupendous  dignity. 

Failure,   however,  is    human,  and  hence  a  few  solemn 


62  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

oHAP^xsvi.  words  of  warning  are  added.  "  Salt  keeps  and  makes  sound 
what  would  else  corrupt.  But  impure  salt  may  lose  its  salt- 
ness,  and  once  lost  it  cannot  be  restored.  What  was  before  of 
blessed  use,  is,  henceforth,  worthless,  and  may  be  cast  out 
upon  the  road  to  be  trodden  under  foot.  If  you,  the  salt 
of  the  earth,"  lose  your  spiritual  worth,  by  faint-hoartedness, 
or  sloth,  or  dark  unfaithfulness,  your  needed  energy  and 
efficiency  are  irreparably  gone.  Who  will  take  your  place  ? 
You  will  be  no  longer  fit  for  the  work  I  have  assigned  you. 
If  the  salt  be  pure,  it  will  not  lose  its  power ;  it  is  the  earth 
and  impurities  mixed  with  it,  that  make  it  worthless ;  and 
so  you  must  put  away  all  that  might  make  you  go  back,  if 
you  would  be  true  disciples.     Your  lasting  Avorth  depends 

'seeLnbe  ou  your  dcvotion  to  me  being  unqualified  and  absolute.^ 
Matt.  s.  13-16.  You  are  to  enlighten  men  as  the  sun  enlightens  the  world. 
I  am  the  light  of  the  world :  you  shine  by  my  light :  see 
that,  in  turn,  you  illumine  the  darkness  round  you.  A  light 
is  to  shine,  not  to  be  hidden.  Like  a  lamp  on  its  stand,  it 
is  your  office  to  shed  light,  and  drive  off  darkness.  The 
beams  of  your  good  works  must  shine  before  men,  that  they 
may  honour  God,  your  Father,  in  Heaven.  Like  a  city 
set  on  a  hill,  you  are  to  draAv  on  you  all  eyes." 

Passing  from  general  principles  to  specific  details,  Jesus 
now  proceeded  to  show  the  relations  of  His  new  kingdom  to 

'  Matt.  5. 17-48.  thc  old  theocracy.^  The  charge  of  hostility  to  the  Law  had 
been  brought  against  Him,  and  would  be  urged    against 

"Acts  6. 11.  His  disciples.^'^  He  would  show  them  that  the  new  roots 
itself  in  the  old,  and  is  its  completion  and  glory,  not  its 
destruction. 

" Think  not,"  said  He,  "that  I  came  to  sujjersede  your 
ancient  Scriptures — the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  I  came  not  to 
destroy,  but  to  fulfil.  Worthless  forms,  worn  out  with  age, 
may  perish  and  must,  but  not  the  least  jot  or  tittle  of  the 
sacred  truths  they  for  a  time  have  clothed,  shall  pass,  while 
heaven  or  earth  endure.  The  forms  are  not  the  Law.  Rites 
and  ceremonies  are  only  helps,  for  simple  ages,  which  need 
material  symbols.  The  kingdom  of  God  has  now  outgroAvn 
them.  The  truth  must  henceforth  stand  alone,  appealing  to 
the  spirit  without  such  outward  aids.    Local  and  national, 


THE   LAW  EXALTED.  63 

they  have  served  their  clay,  but  the  new  kingdom  of  God,  chap^xxxvi 
which  is  for  all  times  and  races,  knows  only  a  worship  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.  So  far  am  I  from  slighting  or  destroy- 
ing the  truth  hidden  under  these  outward  forms,  that  he 
who  breaks  one  of  the  least  spiritual  demands  of  the  Law,  and 
teaches  men  to  copy  him  in  doing  so,  shall  be  called  least 
in  my  kingdom :  while  he  who  obeys  and '  teaches  them 
as  a  whole,  shall  be  called  great  in  it.  The  Law  is  for 
ever  sacred.  I  only  strip  it  of  its  outward  accidents,  to 
reveal  the  better  its  divine  glory.  Spoken  by  God,  it  is 
eternal.  I  come  to  do  it  honour ;  to  confirm,  but  also  to 
clear  it  from  human  additions  and  corruptions." 

Jesus,  in  thus  speaking,  had  a  very  diflPerent  conception 
of  the  Law  from  that  of  the  Rabbis.  To  Him  it  meant  the 
sacred  moral  commands  given  from  Sinai.  The  whole 
apparatus  of  ceremony  and  rite  at  first  connected  with  them, 
were  only  rude  external  accommodations  to  the  childhood  of 
religion,  to  aid  the  simple  and  gross  ideas  of  early  ages. 
Looking  beneath  the  sjonbol  to  the  essential  truth,  it  was  a 
lofty,  religious,  "moral,  and  social  legislation,  far  deeper, 
wiser,  hoher,  and  more  complete  than  the  highest  human 
system.  He  knew  how  the  prophets  had  dra-wn  from  it  the 
pure  and  exalted  conceptions  they  had  enforced,  anticipating 
in  their  spirituaUty  His  o^vn  teaching.  But  centuries  lay 
between  Him  and  the  prophets,  and  Judaism  had  sunk  to  a 
painful  idolatry  of  the  letter  and  outward  form  of  the  Law, 
to  the  neglect  of  its  spirit  and  substance.  The  Exile  had 
weakened  and  perverted  the  national  conscience,  and  a 
burning  zeal  for  rigid  external  observance  of  the  letter  had 
followed  the  just  beUef  that  their  national  troubles  had  been 
a  punishment  for  previous  shortcomings. 

The  Pharisees,  who  gave  the  tone  to  the  people,  filled  up 
their  life  "with  a  weary  round  of  offerings,  ceremonies,  and 
pm'ifications ;  and,  not  content  with  the  prescriptions  of 
Moses,  had  added  a  tedious  system  of  meritorious  works; 
fasts,  washings,  alms,  and  prayers.  The  Essenes,  and  stiU 
more  John,  had  turned  back  to  the  purer  air  of  the  prophets, 
from  this  barren,  mechanical  j)iety,  and  had  taught  that 
righteousness,  love,  and  human  sympathy,  were  the  highest 


64 


THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 


CHAP.  XXX  TL 


'  Keim's 
Christus,  87. 
Schleier- 
macher's 
Predigwn,  iv 
808,  704. 
Heynolda' 
John  the 
Boptiat,  499. 


"  Matt.  23.  24. 
"   Matt.  23. 13.21 


Quotation 
from  Baba 
ilezia,  in 
Coheu,  153. 


requirements  of  the  Law.  But  the  veil  was  still  on  their 
eyes;  their  reforms  were  partial.  The  Essenes  had  even 
more  washings  than  the  Pharisees  ;  they  eschewed  marriage, 
property,  and  the  world,  and  the  Baptist  fasted,  and  required 
Pharisaic  forms.^^  Jesus  pierced  to  the  heart  of  the  truth. 
Stripping  oiF  all  obsolete  ■\\Tappings  of  rite  and  symbol,  and 
repudiating  all  human  additions,  He  proclaimed  the  Law  in 
its  divine  ideal,  as  binding  for  ever,  in  its  least  part,''  on  all 
ages. 

His  supreme  loyalty  to  the  Law  could  not  fail,  in  a  spirit 
so  divinely  sincere,  to  involve  a  condemnation  of  its  cor- 
ruption by  the  religious  teachers  of  the  day.  It  followed 
presently:  "Except  your  righteousness  exceed  that  of  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,"  He  continued,  "ye  wiU  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  He  charges  them,  not  only 
^xiih.  themselves  breaking  the  commandments,  by  their 
casuistry  and  their  immoral  additions,  but  with  leading  men 
at  large  in  the  same  evil  path. 

The  fundamental  principle  of  the  Pharisaic  conception  of 
righteousness  which  Jesus  thus  strenuously  opposed,  was 
their  idea  that  strict  observance  of  the  traditions  and 
commands  of  their  schools,  in  itself  satisfied  the  requirements 
of  God.  Fulfilment  of  what  was  •written  in  the  Law  and 
its  Rabbinical  expositions,  was,  in  their  opinion,  only  a 
question  of  punctilious  outward  observance.  They  weakened 
the  conception  of  moral  evil  by  subtle  discriminations  of 
casuistry.'-'  In  trifles  the  most  exact  minuteness  was  required, 
but  in  greater  matters  the  principles  of  morality  were  boldly 
undermined  or  surrendered.  The  tithing  of  mint,  dill,  and 
cummin — mere  garden  herbs — was  vital,  but  grave  questions 
of  right  and  wrong  were  treated  with  indifference.  This 
moral  prudery  and  pedantry,  which  strained  the  wine 
before  drinking  it,  lest  a  fly  might  have  fallen  into  it  and 
made  it  unclean,  but  made  no  trouble  of  swaUoAving  a 
camel,'^  was  the  hypocritical  righteousness  against  which 
Jesus  directed  His  bitterest  words.'*  With  all  their  lip 
veneration  for  it,  they  set  little  value  on  the  study  of  the 
Law  itself,  but  much  on  that  of  the  commentaries  of  the 
Rabbis,  now  embodied  in  the  Mischna  and  Gemara.'^     The 


PHARISAIC   SCRUPULOSITY.  65 

Rabbinical  tradition  so  amplified  and  t^nsted  the  words  of  chap,  xssvi. 

the  Law,  as  to  make  it  express,  in  many  cases,  the  opposite 

of  its   natural   meanino-.i^      Relirion   had   become  almost '«  see  instances 

,         .       ,  .  .   ,  in  Cohen,  183. 

wholly  a  mechanical  service,  without  reference  to  the  heart. 
As  in  other  theocratic  communities,  a  man  might  be  emi- 
nently religious,  in  the  Pharisaic  sense,  and  yet  utterly 
depraved  and  immoral.  The  teaching  of  the  prophets,® 
which  demanded  internal  godliness,  was  slighted,  and  the 
study  of  their  writings  almost  entirely  put  aside  for  that  of 
the  legal  traditions  and  of  the  Law.^  The  desire  to  define, 
to  the  smallest  detail,  what  the  Law  required,  had  led,  in  the 
course  of  ages,  to  a  mass  of  conflicting  Rabbinical  opinions, 
which  darkened  rather  than  explained  each  command.  The 
"hedge"  round  the  Law  had  proved  a  hedge  of  thorns,  for 
Rabbis  and  people  alike.^'^     The  question  was,  not  what  was  w  Pressei, 

1  1  1  T  1      T     I  1  Eabbinismns. 

right  or  An'ong,  but  what  the  Law,  as  expounded   by  the     Herzog,  dl 
Rabbis,  demanded,  and  zeal  was  stimulated  by  the  mercenary 
expectation  of  an  equivalent  reward,^*  for  scrupulous  exact- is  schorer,  tss. 
ness  in  fulfilment. 

A  better  illustration  of  the  moral  worthlessness  of  the 
Pharisaic  ideas  of  righteousness  could  hardly,  perhaps,  be 
found,  than  in  the  fact  that,  mth  all  their  ostentatious  reve- 
rence for  the  Scriptures,  he  who  touched  a  copy  of  them 
was,  thereby,  made  unclean.     "  According  to  you,"  said  the 
Sadducees  of  their  rivals,  "  the  Scriptures  defile  the  hands, 
while  Homer  does  not."     The  skins  on  Avhich  the   sacred 
books  were  written  might  have  been  those  of  an  unclean 
beast,  or,  at  least,  they  were  part  of  a  dead  body.     But  the 
Pharisees  had  their  retort  ready.     "  Why,"  asked  they,  "are 
the  bones  of  an  ass  clean  and  those  of  the  high  priest,  John 
Hyrcanus,  unclean?  "    "It  is  the  kind  of  bone  that  determines 
the  uncleanness,"  answered  the  Sadducees,  "  else  we  would 
make  spoons  of  the  bones  of  our  relatives!"     "Just  so," 
retorted  the  Pharisees,  "it  is  the  value  we  attach  to  the 
Scriptures  which  has  made  us  decide  that  they  defile  the 
hands,    while   Homer   does  not."  ^^     They  worshipped  the «  Derenbom-g, 
letter,  but  misconceived  the  essence  of  Scrij^ture :  treated    ui',  nit  wl? 
morality  as  a  trifle,  and  trifles  as  the  only  religion.     In  their 
early  days,  fired  by  a  true  zeal  for  God ;  they  had  degenerated, 
VOL.  II.  44 


66  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

OHAP. XXXVI.  as  a  body,  into  mere  "actors."  "There  were  plenty  of 
Pharisees,"  says  even  Jost,  himself  a  Jew,  "  who  used  the 
appearance  of  piety  as  a  cloak  for  shameful  ends."  Nor  did 
this  escape  the  people,  especially  as  these  hypocrites  sought 
to  attract  attention  by  exaggerated  displays,  and  contemp- 
tuous bynames  were  presently  given  them.  The  name  of 
Pharisee  came  to  be  like  that  of  Jesuit  in  the  mouth  of 
friends  or  opponents.  Even  Philo  does  not  mention  it,  and 
it  soon  died  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  people,  and  sui'vived 
•0  joat,  1.205.     only  as  a  term  of  the  schools.'^" 

With  a  system  so  utterly  hollow,  and  yet  so  deeply  rooted 
in  popular  favour,  Jesus  could  hold  no  terms.  With  the 
better  side  of  Pharisaism  He  had  much  in  common,  but,  as 
it  showed  itself,  in  its  growing  corruption,  He  could  only 
condemn  it.  Zealots  for  words  and  forms ;  lofty  in  abstract 
views ;  the  mouthpiece  of  the  nation  at  large,  in  its  religious 
and  political  aspirations,  there  must  have  been  little  real 
soundness  in  a  body  at  large,  of  which  a  spirit  so  gentle  as 
that  of  Christ  could  speak  as  whited  sepulchres  and  a  genera- 
tion of  vipers. 

To  illustrate  His  meaning,  Jesus  proceeds  to  give  examples 
of  Pharisaic  abuse  of  the  Law,  holding  up  what  is  implied  in 
its  due  observance,  that  he  may  show  how  it  was  broken  by 
its  professed  zealous  defenders.  The  sublime  morality  of  the 
New  Kingdom,  with  its  lofty  spiritualization  of  the  Law,  is, 
He  implies,  the  true  conservatism — it  is  His  opponents  who 
ai'e  undermining  it. 

The  Mosaic  prohibition  of  murder  had  been  limited  by  the 
Rabbis  to  litei-al  homicide,  and  they  had  added  to  the  brief 
•words  of  the  Law,  that  the  criminal  was  in  danger  of  the 
judgment  of  God,  in  some  cases,  and  of  the  Sanhedrim  in 
others.  But  this  did  not  satisfy  the  high  spirituahty  of  the 
New  Kingdom.  It  included  in  the  brief  utterance  of  God, 
through  Moses,  a  condemnation  even  of  angry  words  or 
thoughts.  "  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  one  who  is  angr)' 
vdth  his  brother  will  be  liable  to  the  judgment  of  God ;  and 
whosoever  shall  express  contempt  for  his  brother,  will  be 
liable  to  the  Sanhedrim  ;S  and  whosoever  shall  say.  Thou 
worthless  one,  will  be  liable  to  hell  fire.     I  go  beyond  the 


THE   JEWISH  LAW   OF   DIVORCE.  67 

Scribes,  for  I  declare,  as  the  fulfiUer  of  the  Law,  that  un-  chap^sxvl 
righteous  anger  is  worthy  of  the  full  punishment  they  attach 
to  its  overt  result  in  homicide ;  nay,  more,  I  declare  the  ex- 
pression of  such  anger  in  bitter  words  as  incun-ing  the 
danwr  of  hell.    Not  to  love  one's  'brother'-^  is,  with  me,  the  2'  uohns.is. 

O  _  '  '  Matt.  5. 

essence  of  the  crime  condemned  by  the  Law :  the  lesser  2"-2^- 
expressions  of  anger  I  denounce  as  worthy  of  divine,  though 
temj)oral  punishment ;  in  the  worst  cases,  as  worthy  of 
punishment  in  the  world  to  come."  Anger  with  a  brother 
entails  the  anger  and  judgment  of  God :  public  reproach 
merits  a  public  penalty,  but  he  who  would  consign  another 
to  hell  is  himself  in  danger  of  being  sent  to  it.'^  He  does  not 
suppose  His  disciples  could  possibly  commit  the  crime  of 
murder,  or  even  break  into  open  \nolence,  but  He  ranks 
under  an  equal  guUt  the  passions  Avhich  lead  to  them  in 
others.  He  charges  the  murder,  not  against  the  hand  that 
strikes,  but  the  heart  that  hates.' 

This  was  startling  enough,  but  the  application  made  of  it 
must  have  sounded  no  less  so.  "  Only  the  pui'e  in  heart 
can  see  God,  and  hence  it  is  vain  for  you  to  seek  His  presence 
by  an  offering,  if  you  have  in  any  way  thus  offended.  If 
you  have,  and  in  the  solemn  moment  of  appearing  before 
God  remember  it, — evil  though  men  think  it  to  break  off  or 
interrupt  a  sacrifice, — leave  your  offering  before  the  altar ; 
seek  him  Avhom  you  have  WTonged,  and  be  reconciled  to  him, 
and,  then,  come  and  offer  your  gift.'^  You  have  wTonged 
God,  not  man  only.  Beware  lest,  if  you  do  not  make  peace 
with  Him,  by  instant  atonement  to  your  brother.  He  act  to 
you  as  a  creditor  does  with  a  debtor  he  meets  in  the  street — 
whom  he  delivers  up  to  the  judge,  and  whom  the  judge 
hands  over  to  the  ofiicer  to  cast  into  prison.  I  tell  you,  if 
God  thus  let  His  anger  kindle  upon  you,  you  will  not  come 
out  till  you  have  paid  the  last  fai'thino; ! " -'^  «  Hor.  Heb.  ii. 

•/  >-  o  _  117.    Buxtort 

The  Pharisaic  doctrine  of  marriage  offences  and  divorce  f'j^^J'"'- 
was  next  unsparingly  condemned,  as  an  inadequate  expres- 
sion of  the  spirit  of  the  Law.  It  restricted  adultery  to  the 
crime  itself,  and  it  sanctioned  divorce  at  the  mere  whim  of  the 
husband.  Doubtless  individual  Rabbis  represented  healthier 
views  than  others,  but  they  did  not  affect  the  prevailing 


68  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

OHAP.  xsxvL  tone.  As  ynt\\  homicide,  so,  in  adultery,  the  morality  of 
the  New  Kingdom  traced  the  crime  home  to  the  heart,  and 
condemned  the  unclean  glance  as  a  virtual  commission  of  the 
crime  itself.  The  thoughts  were  nothing,  in  the  loose 
morality  of  the  day,  but  Jesus  arraigns  the  secret  lusts  of 
the  breast,  Avith  an  earnestness  unknown  to  the  Rabbis. 
Unconditional  self-mortification  is  to  be  carried  out,  when 
guilty  thoughts  imperil  the  soul.  "  If  your  right  ej'e,"  saj-s  He, 
"or  your  right  hand,  your  sight  or  your  touch,  lead  you  into 
temptation,  it  is  better  for  you  to  jjluck  out  the  one,  and  cut 
off  the  other,  rather  than  be  led  astray,  and  not  only  lose  a 
share  in  my  kingdom,  but  be  cast  into  hell  hereafter."'  Not 
that  He  meant  this  in  a  hard  and  literal  sense.  The  sin  is 
with  Him,  in  the  heart,  but  the  senses  are  its  instruments, 
and  no  guard  can  be  too  strict,  no  self-restraint  too  great,  if 
they  endanger  spiritual  purity. 

The  Pharisaic  laws  of  divorce  were  shamefully  loose.  "  If 
any  one,"  said  the  Rabbis,  "  see  a  woman  handsomer  than 
his  wife,  he  may  dismiss  his  wife  and  marry  that  woman," 
and  they  had  the  audacity  to  justify  this  by  a  text  of  Scrip- 
ture." Even  the  strict  Schammai  held  that  if  a  wife  went  out 
without  being  shrouded  in  the  veil  which  Eastern  women  still 
wear,  she  might  be  divorced,  and  hence  many  Rabbis  locked 
up  their  ■\\'ives  when  they  went  out !  While  some  held  that 
divorce  should  be  laA\-ful  only  for  adultery,  others,  like 
Josephus,  claimed  the  right  to  send  away  their  wives  if  they 

»  Vita,  78.  were  not  pleased  -nith  their  behaviour.  ^^  The  school  of 
Hillel  even  maintained  that,  if  a  wife  cooked  her  husband's 
food  badly,  by  over-salting  or  over-roasting  it,  he  might  put 
her  away,  and  he  might  also  do  so  if  she  were  stricken  by 

«  Hor.Heb.ii.  any  grievous   bodily  affliction!-*     The  facility  of  divorce 

Keim,il'253.  amoug  the  Jews,  had,  indeed,  become  so  great  a  scandal, 

even  among  their  heathen  neighbours,  that  the  Rabbis  were 

fain  to  boast  of  it  as  a  privilege  granted  to  Israel,  but  not  to 

other  nations ! 

The  woman  divorced  was  at  once  free  to  marry,  her  letter 
of  dismissal,  signed  by  witnesses,  expressly  granting  her  the 
liberty  to  do  so. 

Rising  high  above  aU  this  festering  hypocrisy,  the  law  of 


THE   LAW   OP   OATHS.  69 

the  New  Kingdom  sounded  out,  clear  and  decisive.     "  It  ch^^p.  sssvl 
has  been  said  by  Moses,  "-^  continued  Jesus,  "Whosoever  shall »  Dent.24.1. 

''  '  _    '  _  Matt.  6. 31, 32. 

put  away  his  wife,  let  him  give  her  a  bill  of  divorce.  But 
I  say  unto  you,  that  whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife, 
except  for  fornication,  causes  her  to  be  the  occasion  of 
adultery  ^^  if  she  marry  again,  for  she  is  still  a  wife ;  and  »  Tischendorra 

"^  J       a         J  _  corrected  text. 

whosoever  marries  her,  when  put  away,  thus  commits 
adultery." 

The  use  of  oaths  was  no  less  prevalent  in  Christ's  day  than 
it  still  is  in  the  East,  and  the  Rabbis  had  sanctioned  the 
practice  by  laying  down  minute  rules  for  its  regulation. 
The  law  of  Moses  had  absolutely  forbidden  perjury,-"  but  =' Lev.  m  12. 
the  casuistry  of  the  Rabbis  had  so  darkened  the  whole 
subject  of  oaths,  that  they  had,  in  effect,  become  utterly 
worthless.  They  were  formally  classed  under  different 
heads,  in  Rabbinical  jurisprudence,  and  endless  refinements 
opened  facilities  for  any  one  to  break  them  who  wished. 
Their  number  was  endless ;  men  swore  by  heaven,  by  the 
earth,  by  the  sun,  by  the  prophets,  by  the  Temple,  by  Jeru- 
salem, by  the  altar,  by  the  wood  used  for  it,  by  the  sacrifices, 
by  the  Temple  vessels,  by  their  own  heads. ^^  «  Emmpiesin 

By  joining  a  second  text,  from  a  different  part,  to  the    ^li^-\^  ,5. 
prohibition  of  perjury,  the  Scribes  had,  in  effect,  opened  the    wetstein,  305, 
door  to  every  abuse.     To  the  prohibition  of  Moses,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  swear  Msely,"-^  they  had  added  the  charge,  "  but»  Lev.  19. 12. 
shalt  perform  unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths,"^°  and  from  this  it  30  Dent. 23. 21. 
was  argued  that  no  oath  was  binding,  either  on  one's-self  or 
towards  others,  which  had  no  vow  of  sacrifice  as  a  part  of 
it,  or  if  the  vow  had  been  punctually  fulfilled.^^     Any  oath,  31  schott,  -x. 

T       „      T  ''         ,  .  .         ,»        Matt.  23. 16  f. 

any  deception  towards  God  or  man,  and  even  perjury  itsell, 
was  thus  sanctioned,  if  it  Avere  only  consecrated  and  purified 
by  an  offering.  The  garrulous,  exaggerating,  crafty  Jew 
needed  to  be  checked,  rather  than  helped  in  his  untruthful- 
ness, but  the  guardians  of  the  purity  of  the  Law  had  invented 
endless  oaths,  with  minute  discriminations,  and  verbal  shades 
and  catches,  which  did  not  expressly  name  God,  or  the 
Temple,  or  the  altar,  and  these  the  people  might  use,  with- 
out scruple  ,  mock  oaths,  harmless  to  themselves  and  of  no 
binding  force ! 


70  THE  LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.xxxvL  Against  such  equivocation  and  consecrated  hypocrisy 
Jesus  lifted  His  voice.  "  I  say  unto  you,  swear  not  at  all ; 
neither  by  heaven,  for  it  is  God's  throne ;  neither  by  the 
earth,  for  it  is  His  footstool ;  nor  by  Jerusalem,  for  it  is 
the  city  of  the  Great  King.  You  would  tremble  to  swear  by 
God,  but  when  you  swear  by  anything  connected  with  His 
works  or  His  worship,  you  swear,  in  reality,  by  Himself.  Nor 
shall  you  swear  by  your  head,  for  you  cannot  make  a  hair 
of  it  white  or  black ;  and,  thus,  your  oaths  by  it  are  idle  words. 
But  let  your  speech  be  simply  yes  and  no,  for  what  exceeds 
these  is  from  the  '  evil  one.'  As  my  disciples,  your  word  is 
enough  :  you  -snll  speak  only  as  ever  in  the  presence  of  God."° 
The  theory  of  life  under  the  New  Kingdom,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  the  very  opposite  of  that  held  by  the  schools  of 
the  day.  Prosperity,  with  them,  was  an  unbroken  enjoy- 
ment of  life  to  extreme  old  age,  abundance  of  worldly 
comforts,  and  continuous  success  in  all  undertakings,  and 
triumphant  victory  over  all  enemies.  AU  this  was  expected 
as  the  just  reward  of  a  strict  obedience  to  Rabbinical  pre- 
scriptions, which  constituted  the  "  righteousness  of  the  Law." 
Jesus  held  forth  the  veiy  opposite  of  all  this  as  the  blessed- 
ness to  be  sought  in  the  New  Kingdom.  Poverty,  sorrow, 
and  persecution,  were  to  be  the  natural  lot  of  His  followers, 
but  their  transcendent  reward,  hereafter,  and  the  love 
which  inspired  such  devotion,  transfigured  them  to  gain  and 
honour,  and  demanded  the  highest  joy. 

To  make  the  contrast  more  vivid  between  the  Old  Kingdom 
and  the  New,  he  had  added  "  woes  "  in  connection  with  all 
that  the  former  had  praised  as  specially  blessed.  The  rich, 
who  have  their  reward  in  their  earthly  possessions ;  the 
prosperous,  who  cared  for  nothing  except  this  world,  would 
suffer  hunger  hereafter ;  those  who  cared  only  for  present 
joy,  would  one  day  mourn  and  weep;  those  whom  men 
praised,  would  find  the  praise  only  deceiving  flattery. 
Patience,  humility,  gentleness,  resignation,  and  love,  were  to 
characterize  the  New  Israel ;  the  virtues  and  rewards  of  the 
sold ;  the  piety  of  form  and  rewards  in  this  world,  were 
discountenanced.  The  New  lungdom  Avas  to  win  hearts  by 
spiritual  attractions,  till  now  little  valued. 


THE  LAW  OF  REVENGE.  71 

As  a  practical  application  of  the  ideal,  thus  sketched,  ohap^xxxvi. 
He  required  His  followers  to  repudiate  the  Old  Testament 
doctrine  of  retaliation,  with  the  endless  refinements  of  the 
Rabbis,  and  to  adopt,  in  its  place,  the  principle  of  over- 
coming evil  with  good.  Antiquity,  both  Jewish  and  hea- 
then, cherished  the  idea  of  revenge  for  injuries.  To  requite 
like  with  like  was  assumed  as  both  just  and  righteous. 
Even  Socrates  had  no  higher  idea  of  virtue  than  to  surpass 
friends  in  showing  kindness,  and  enemies  in  inflicting  hurt. ^^ «  xen.Mem.ii. 
Plato,^^  indeed,  held  that  revenge  was  wrong,  and  that  no  33  cnaaa,  469. 

'  '  °  ,  .  1  Gorgias,  469. 

one  should  do  evil  on  any  ground  ;  that  it  was  worse  to  do    D^^Eepub-i 
-\vrong  than  to  suffer  it,  and  that  the  virtuous  man  would  not 
injure  any  one,  because  to  do  so  injured  himself    But  Plato 
had  only  in  his  mind,  in  these  noble  sentiments,  the  rela- 
tions of  Greek  citizens  to  each  other,  to  the  exclusion  of 
slaves,  and  of  all  the  world  but  his  oato  race;  and  the  motive 
for  his  magnanimity  was  not  love  for  the  individual  man,  or 
for   ideal  humanity,   but  only  political  justice  and  right. 
Roman  stoicism  rose  higher,  but  its  injunctions  of  kindness  to 
enemies  were  rather  the  expression  of  self-approving  virtue 
than  of  loving  moral  conviction.     Among  the  Jews,  retalia- 
tion had  the  sanction  of  ]\Ioses.     Eye  for  eye,  tooth  for 
tooth,  hand  for  hand,  foot  for  foot,  burning  for  burning, 
wound  for  wound,  stripe  for  stripe,  are  required  by  him.^'' "  3*  exoa.  21.  a 
The  stern  Sadducee  party  clung  to  the  letter  of  the  Law, 
but  the  milder  Phai-isees  had  invented  a  scale  of  money 
payments  instead.     As  in  our  own  middle  ages,  a  tarifi"  of 
fines  was  constructed  for  each  personal  injury ;   for  tearing 
the  hair,  for  a  cutf  on  the  ear,  a  blow  on  the  back,  spitting 
on  the  person,  taking  away  an  under  garment,  uncovering  a 
woman's  head,  and  the  like.^"     The  value  of  a  hand,  or  foot,  ^  EoDenson-s 
or  an  eye,  was  computed  by  the  depreciation  it  would  have    "■■23!;<s^|^ 
made  in  the  value  of  a  slave.      A  blow  on  the  ear  was    ^f,f;/s'^) 
variously  set  at  the  fine  of  a  shilling  or  a  pound  :  a  blow  on    h!ia£s^s,a, 
the  one  cheek  at  two  hundred  zuzees  ;   on  both  cheeks,  at    Hor.  Heb.  a. 
double.     To  tear  out  hair,  to  spit  on  the  person,  to  take    sepp,iv.224. 
away  one's  coat,  or  to  uncover  a  woman's  head,  was  com- 
pensated by  a  payment  of  four  hundred  zuzees.P 

This  rude  and  often  mercenary  softening  of  the  harshness 


72  THE   LIFE   OF   CHKIST, 

oHAP.  xsxvi.  of  the  old  Law  fell  whoUy  below  the  requirements  of  the 
New  Kingdom.  Its  members  must  suffer  Avrong  patiently, 
that  the  conscience  of  the  wrong-doer, — become  its  own 
accuser, — might  be  won  to  repentance,  by  the  lesson  of  un- 
resisting meekness.  Christ's  own  divine  charity  and  for- 
giveness was  to  be  repeated  by  His  followers.  Sin  was  to 
be  conquered  by  being  made  to  feel  the  power  of  goodness. 
The  present  was,  at  best,  only  a  discipline  for  the  future, 
and  the  patient  endurance  of  wrong,  from  Christ-like  love 
and  gentleness,  was  part  of  the  preparation  for  the  pure  joys 
of  the  Messianic  kingdom.  "Ye  have  heard,"  said  He, 
"  that  it  was  said,  An  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth. 
But  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  resist  not  the  evil  man ;  but 
whosoever  smites  thee  on  the  right  cheek,  turn  to  him  the 
other  also.i  And  to  him  who  desires  to  contend  with  thee 
and  take  thy  coat,  leave  him  thy  cloak  also.  And  whoso- 
ever shall  press  thee  one  mile,  go  with  him  two.  To  him 
that  asks  thee,  give,  and  from  him  that  desires  to  borrow  of 
thee,  turn  not  away.""^  The  spirit  of  such  injunctions  is 
evident.  Hasty  retaliation  ;  readiness  to  stand  on  one's  rights 
in  all  cases ;  deliberate  revenge  rather  than  pity,  are  unworthy 
a  mcmljer  of  the  New  Kingdom.  It  is  for  him  to  teach  by 
bearing,  yielding,  and  giving,  and  not  by  words  only.  The 
virtues  he  commends  he  is  to  illustrate.  But  it  is  far  from 
the  teaching  of  Christ  that  law  is  to  cease,  or  that  the  evil- 
doer is  to  have  everything  at  his  mercy.  Only,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  principle  of  His  kingdom  is  to  be  the  purest, 
deepest,  self-sacrificing  love. 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT  (CONCLUDED).       73 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT  (Concluded). 

JESUS  had  led  His  audience  step  by  step  to  higher  and  ch.  xxxvii. 
higher  conceptions,  and  now,  by  an  easy  transition, 
raised  them  to  the  hi<rhest  of  all.^  '  chrysostom; 

-,  •        •  T  r  r<      ^       quoted  in 

The  character  of  any  religion  depends  on  its  idea  of  God.  ^{^^^^^  ijj. 
The  Jews  had  no  loftier  thought  of  Him  than  as  a  national 
deity,  the  Father  of  Israel  and  of  its  proselytes,  but  not  the 
God  of  the  world  at  large.  They  looked  on  Him  also  as  a 
jealous  God,  and  the  Pharisee  urged  himself  to  a  painful  zeal 
in  his  fulfilment  of  the  Law  by  the  thought  that  the  sins  of 
the  father  were  visited  on  the  third  and  fourth  generation. 
If  he  agonized  to  carry  out  a  thousand  minute  prescrip- 
tions, if  the  Essene  secluded  himself  in  hurtful  loneliness,  if 
the  Sadducee  toiled  to  discharge  all  that  was  required  in  the 
service  of  the  Temple,  and  in  the  presentation  of  offerings,  if 
the  people  mourned  in  the  apprehension  that  God  had  for- 
saken them,  it  was  because  all  ahke  looked  up  to  a  Being  who, 
as  they  believed,  required  what  they  could  hardly  render. 
They  should  have  dra^vai  other  conceptions  from  their  ancient 
Scriptures,  but  they  did  not.  They  had  always  learned  much 
that  was  true  and  sublime  from  the  Law  and  the  Prophets 
— the  Majesty  of  God  and  the  dependence  of  the  creature — 
the  dignity  of  man  as  the  divine  image,  and  the  kingly 
relation  of  Jehovah  to  Israel — His  son,  His  first-born.  His 
bride,  His  spouse.  They  had  never  lost  the  conviction  that 
their  nation  could  not  perish,  because  the  honour  of  God 
was  pledged  to  defend  it,  and  they  even  looked  forward,  with 
a  frenzied  earnestness,  to  a  future  when  He  would  send  His 
Messiah,  and  raise  them  above  all  the  nations.  As  Jews,  many 
doubtless  di-ew  comfort  from  the  divine  words,  that,  like  as 


74  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

cH.  XXXVII.  a  father  piticth  liis  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that 
fear  Him.  But  their  theology  had  sunk  to  a  mere  merce- 
nary relation  of  performance  and  reward.  The  idea  of  a 
strict  return  of  good  for  good,  or  evil  for  evil,  extended  to 
the  next  world  as  well  as  this,  and  at  the  best,  God  was 
only  the  Father  of  Israel,  not  of  mankind.  Still,  above  all, 
the  ]\Iaster,  looking  for  ser\-ice  from  man  as  the  servant — 
the  fond  thought  of  His  fatherhood,  even  in  its  limited 
national  sense,  grew  more  and  more  common  as  Christ's  day 
grew  near.  The  Jew  was  being  educated  for  the  divine 
announcement  of  the  whole  truth. 

The  heathen  world,  also,  had  long  been  unconsciously  pre- 
paring for  its  proclamation.  Greek  philosophy  had  spoken 
of  the  Father  of  gods  and  men.  Man  was  the  divine 
imajje  and  of  divine  ori^^in — the  friend,  the  fellow-citizen, 

>  Anthorities  in  thc  emanation,  the  Son,  of  God.^     In  an  insincere  ao^e,  when 

Keim,  ii.  58.  '  '  ... 

fine  words  were  used  as  mere  rhetorical  flourishes,  springing 

>  Benan,         from  no  couAaction  or   earnestness,   Seneca,^  a  genei'ation 
125.    °  '^    later,  was  able  to   speak  abnost  like   a   Christian.     "  The 

gods,"  said  he,  "  are  full  of  pity  and  friendliness — do  every- 
thing for  our  good,  and  for  our  benefit  have  created  all 
kinds  of  blessings,  with  exhaustless  bounty,  and  prepared 
cverj-thing  for  us  beforehand.  What  they  have  they  make 
over  to  us :  that  is  how  they  use  things ;  and  they  are  un- 
wearied, day  and  night,  dispensing  their  benefits  as  the 
protectors  of  the  human  race.  We  are  loved  by  them  as 
children  of  their  bosom,  and,  like  loving  parents,  they 
smile  at  the  faults  of  their  children,  and  cease  not  to 
bestow  kindness  on  kindness  to  us ;  give  us  before  we  ask, 
and  continue  to  do  so,  although  we  do  not  thank  them,  and 
even  though  we  cry  out  defiantly,  'I  shall  take  nothing 
from  them  ;  let  them  keep  what  they  have  for  themselves  ! ' 
The  sun  rises  over  the  unjust,  and  the  seas  spread  out  even 
for  sea  robbers.  The  gods  ai'e  easily  appeased,  never  unfor- 
*  Seneca  a.  ir.  2.  giving;  how  unfortunatc  were  we  if  they  were  not  so!"^ 
V.h'^?2s1-  Thus  also  " The  way  of  man,  in  which  the  god-like  Avalks, 
Epis.73,95.  goes  upwards  to  the  gods,  who  reach  out  the  hand  to  us 
without  pride  or  jealousy,  to  help  us  to  rise.  We  need  no 
temple,  nor  even  to  lift  up  our  hands  to  heaven :  God  is 


NOBLE   HEATHEN   SAYINGS.  75 

near  thee ;  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Watcher  over  good  or  evil,  ch.  sxxvn. 
who  evei',   unweariedly,  leads  us  to   God."^      Words   like '  seneo.  Epu. 
these  sound  Christian,  though  we  know  that  they  were  only 
artificial  rhetoric,    composed  to  turn   aside  the  chai-ge  of 
worshipping  stocks  and  stones.     Faith  in  the  divinity  often 
gives  way,  in  Seneca,  before  haughty  pride  in  humanity,  and 
that  pride,  in  turn,  sinks  before  the  dark  future.     The  fancy 
played  over  the  dark  abyss  with  empty  words  of  comfort, 
respecting  the  father-like  gods  and  god-hke  man,  but  even 
prosperity  could  hardly  amuse  itself  with  them,  and  the 
hour  of  trial  repeated  them  with  hollow  laughter  and  self- 
murder.^     Yet  they  were  there  to  use  for  the  highest  good, «  Koim,ii.59. 
had  men  chosen.     The  religious  education  of  the  world  had 
gradually,  tlirough  long  ages,  become  ready  for  the  teachings 
of  Jesus." 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  spoken  while  every  sign 
of  the  wrath  of  God  with  the  nation  lay  like  a  burden  on 
aU,  and  perplexed  the  masters  in  Israel.  Yet  it  was  then 
that  Jesus  revealed  that  God  was  the  Father  of  men,  and 
had  loved  them  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  appealing 
for  proof  even  to  the  lilies  of  the  field  and  the  birds  of  the 
air.''  For  the  first  time,  men  heard  that  the  whole  race '  Matt.  e.  33. 
were  the  sons  of  the  great  heavenly  Father ;  that  the  world 
lay  in  the  sunshine  of  His  eternal  love,  and  that  all  alike 
were  invited  to  seek  His  face.''  It  was  the  fii-st  proclamation 
of  a  universal  religion,  and,  as  such,  an  event  unique  in  the 
history  of  mankind.  In  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  war 
was  perpetual.  Even  after  men  had  long  adopted  city 
life  and  its  civilization,  a  stranger  and  an  enemy  were 
synonymous.  Thus,  in  the  first  ages  of  Rome,  a  stranger 
who  had  not  put  himself  formally  under  the  protection  of 
some  Roman,  had  no  rights  and  no  j^rotection.  What  the 
Roman  citizen  took  from  him  was  as  lawful  gaiji  as  the  shell 
which  no  one  owned,  picked  up  on  the  sea-shore.®     He  was '  Mommson'n 

'    >■  J-  Bom.  Gesch 

like  a  wild  beast,  to  be  hunted  and  preyed  on  at  any  one's    '•"^ 
will.^     To  use  Mommsen's  figure,  a  tribe  or  people  must  be »  Mommsen-s 

°  '  '■        '■  Hiim.  Gesch 

either  the  anvil  or  the  hammer.     Ulysses  was  only  the  type  of    J- 1*'- 
the  world  at  large  in  his  day,  when,  in  the  early  part  of  his 
wanderings,  he  landed  in  Thrace,  and  having  found  a  city, 


76  THE  LIFE   OF   CHRIST.  . 

L^xvn  instantly  sacked  it  and  killed  all  the  inhabitants.  Where 
there  was  no  express  treaty,  plunder  and  murder  were 
always  to  be  dreaded.  The  only  safety  of  individuals  or 
communities  was  their  own  capacity  of  self-defence.  As 
tribes  and  clans  expanded  to  nations,  the  blood  connection 
secured  peace,  more  or  less,  in  the  area  they  occupied,  and, 
ultimately,  the  interests  of  commerce,  or  the  impulse  of  self- 
preservation,  joined  even  states  of  different  nationalities  in 
peaceful  alliances.  Isolated  nations,  like  the  Jews,  still  kept 
up  the  intense  aversion  to  all  but  their  owa  race,  but  the 
progress  of  the  world  made  them  more  and  more  exceptional. 
Before  the  age  of  Christ,  the  conquests  of  Rome  had  broken 
down  the  dividing  walls  of  nationality  over  the  civilized 
earth,  and  had  united  all  races  under  a  common  government, 
which  secured  a  M-idespread  peace,  hitherto  unknown.  ]\Ien 
of  races  living  far  apart  found  themselves  free  to  compete 
for  the  highest  honours  of  public  life  or  of  lettei's,  and  Rome 
accepted  emperors  and  men  of  genius,  alike,  from  the  obscure 
populations  of  the  provinces.'' 

But  though  conquest  had  forced  the  nations  into  an  out- 
ward unity,  there  Avas  no  real  fusion  or  brotherhood.  Man, 
as  man,  had  gained  nothing.  The  barbarian  and  the  slave 
were  no  less  despised  than  before,  and  had  gained  no  more 
rights.  The  Romans  had  been  forced,  for  their  oAArni  sakes, 
to  raise  the  conquered  to  more  or  less  political  equality  with 
themselves,  but  they  did  so  from  no  sentiment  of  respect  to 
them  as  fellow-men,  and  still  bore  themselves  towards  them 
with  the  same  haughty  superiority  and  ill-concealed  aversion. 
It  was  the  peace  of  political  and  even  moral  death.  All 
mankind  had  becoihe  the  slaves  of  the  despot  on  the  Tiber. 
Ancient  virtues  had  passed  away,  and  vice  and  corruption, 
unequalled,  perhaps,  in  any  age,  lay  like  a  deadly  miasma 
over  universal  society.  The  union  of  the  world  was  regi'etted, 
as  supei'seding  the  times  when  Rome  could  indulge  its  tastes 
in  war  and  plunder.  It  was  a  political  comprehension,  not 
a  moral  federation.  The  hostility  of  the  past  was  impos- 
sible, but  the  world  had  only  become  a  mob,  not  a  brother- 
see  a  ano      hood,  of  nations/"  and  had  sunk  in  morality,  as  it  had 

chapterin  ,        '  ,    .  ,      ,,. 

E«»Homo,   advanced  m  outward  alliance. 


REIGN   OF  HATRED.  77 

With  tlie  Jews,  the  old  hatred  of  all  races  but  their  own  had  ch.  ssxvn. 
gro^\^l  with  the  calamities  of  the  nation.  It  seemed  to  them 
a  duty  to  hate  the  heathen  and  the  Samaritan,  but  their 
cynicism  extended,  besides,  to  all  respecting  whom  the 
jealousy  for  the  honour  of  the  Law  had  raised  suspicion. 
They  hated  the  pubhcans ;  the  Rabbi  hated  the  priest,  the 
Pharisee  the  Sadducee,  and  both  loathed  and  hated  the 
common  people,  who  did  not  know  the  ten  thousand  injunc- 
tions of  the  schools.  They  had  forgotten  what  the  Old 
Testament  taught  of  the  love  of  God  towards  men,  and  of 
the  love  due  by  man  to  his  fellow.  They  rememlaered  that 
they  had  been  commanded  to  show  no  favour  to  the  sunken 
nations  of  Canaan,  but  they  forgot  that  they  had  not  been 
told  to  hate  them.  The  Law  had  said  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself;  "  ^^  but  their  neighbour,  they  assumed,  "  Lev.  wah. 
meant  only  a  Jew  or  a  j^roselyte,  and  they  had  added  that 
they  should  "hate  their  enemies."  "  If  a  Jew  see  a  Gentile 
fall  into  the  sea,"  ^\Tote  j\Iaimonides,  still  cherishing  the  old 
feeling  centuries  later,  "  let  him  by  no  means  take  him  out ; 
for  it  is  -wTitten,  '  Thou  shalt  not  rise  up  against  the  blood 
of  thy  nei";hbour,' but  this  is  not  thy  neio-hbovir."  ^^     The  «  ^--^  "Nsch- 

•'  °  '  .  .  .  .  Bier,"  Herzogi 

spirit  of  revenge  which  prevailed,  embittered  even  private    Heb'^^t^ 
life  among  the  Jews  themselves.     Each  had  his  own  enemies, 
whom  he  felt  free  to  hate  and  to  injure,  and  all,  alike,  hated 
whole  classes  oi  their  own  nation,  and  the  whole  heathen 
races. 

Jesus  was,  now,  by  a  simple  utterance,  to  create  a  new 
religious  era.  "  Ye  have  heard,"  said  He,  "  that  it  was  said, 
Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  and  hate  thine  enemy.  But 
I  say  unto  you.  Love  your  enemies,  and  pray  for  them  who 
persecute  you ;  that  ye  may  become  sons  of  your  Father, 
who  is  in  heaven  ;  for  He  makes  His  sun  to  rise  on  the 
evil  and  good,  and  sends  rain  on  the  righteous  and  un- 
righteous. For  if  ye  love  them  that  love  you,  what  reward 
have  ye?  (in  my  kingdom).  Do  not  even  the  (hated) 
publicans  the  same  ?  And  if  ye  salute  your  brethren  only, 
what  do  ye  that  exceeds?  Do  not  even  the  (heathen) 
Gentiles  the  same  thing  ?  Be  ye,  therefore,  perfect,  as  your 
heavenly  Father  is  perfect." 


78  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

cH.xxxvn.  It  was  a  ne-^- era  for  man.  Heatlienism  had  fine  senti- 
ments, but  they  were  supported  by  no  high  morahty,  and  no 
living  hopes.     The  Old  Testament  often  commended  kindness 

"  Exod.M.4,5.  and  mercy /^  but  it  also  sanctioned  revenge  and  triumph 
jiJ^b^L  29!^3o.  ^'^^^  t^6  f^ll  of  ^^  enemy/*  and,  even  in  the  most  attractive 

■♦  Ps"?  6^  M  7  P^sages,  it  seemed  as  if  piety  were  expected  to  make  the 

"  Pa.  7. 6, 7.  anger  of  God  on  one's  adversaries  the  more  certain. ^^  But 
Jesus  throws  do^\^l  the  dividing  prejudices  of  nationality, 
and  teaches  universal  love  without  distinction  of  race,  merit, 
or  rank.  A  man's  neighbour,  henceforth,  was  every  one 
who  needed  help,  even  an  enemy.  All  men,  from  the  slave 
to  the  highest,  were  sons  of  one  Father  in  heaven,  and  should 
feel  and  act  towards  each  other,  as  brethren.  No  human 
standard  of  virtue  would  suifice :  no  imitation  of  the  loftiest 
examples  among  men.  Moral  perfection  had  been  recognized, 
alike  by  heathen  and  Jews,  as  found  only  in  likeness  to  the 
divine,  and  that  Jesus  proclaims  as,  henceforth,  the  one  ideal 
for  all  humanity.  With  a  sublime  enthusiasm  and  brotherly 
love  for  the  race,  He  rises  above  His  age,  and  announces  a 
common  Father  of  all  mankind,  and  one  grand  spiritual 
ideal  in  resemblance  to  Him. 

With  this  grand  truth  of  Christianity  the  relation  of 
man  to  His  maker  was  entirely  changed.  The  love  of  a 
child  to  a  father  took  the  place  of  fear,  as  a  motive  to  His 
sersice.  A  new  spiritual  kingdom  of  fiUal  love  and  obedience 
was  called  into  being,  -wath  filial  yearnings  after  Him,  and 
chUdlike  devotion  to  His  will — a  kingdom  in  which  the  hum- 
ble, the  meek,  and  the  merciful  found  their  heaven,  and  in 
which  all  who  hungered  and  thirsted  after  righteousness  felt 
that  they  could  be  satisfied.  The  pure  in  heart  were,  as  such, 
its  citizens ;  the  souls  who  love  the  things  of  peace  were 
called  its  children,  and  those  who  bore  persecution  and 
sorrow  for  the  sake  of  righteousness  were  to  inherit  it.*^ 

To  be  "perfect  as  the  great  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect,"  is 
to  do  God's  will  on  earth  as  the  angels  do  it  alcove,  and, 
hence,  the  new  kingdom  is  thus  spoken  of  elscAvhere.  It 
was  to  be  wholly  spiritual,  in  contrast  to  the  political  dreams 
of  the  Pharisees.  They  had  transformed  the  predictions  of 
the   prophets   to  a  political   programme,  which  should  be 


THE  FATHERHOOD   OF   GOD.  79 

realized  by  war  against  Rome,  and  zealous  agitation  against  ch.  sxxvn. 
the  Sadducean  aristocracy.  They  thought  of  another  Mac- 
cabajan  Avar,  to  be  followed  by  a  revelation  of  the  Messiah 
from  heaven.  The  kingdom  of  Jesus,  on  the  contrary,  was 
not  to  rise  like  a  State,  so  that  men  could  say  it  was  here, 
or  there,  because  it  was  already  in  their  midst.^''  It  could  w  Luke  17. 20, 
not  be  otherwise.  He  had  proclaimed  that  God  was  the  great 
Father,  and,  as  such,  the  loving,  filial  desire  that  they 
might  be  His  children  thrust  aside  the  cold  thought  of 
reward,  Avhich  had  hitherto  ruled.  He  proclaimed  that  God 
loved  them,  not  in  return  for  their  services,  but  from  the 
love  and  tenderness  of  a  Father's  heart,  which  sent  forth  His 
sun  over  good  and  bad  alike,  and  rejoiced  more  over  a 
sinner's  repentance  than  over  the  weary  exactness  in  Rab- 
binical rules  of  fifty  who  thought  themselves  righteous. 
The  fundamental  principle  of  the  Judaism  of  the  day  was 
undermined  by  the  new  doctrine.  What  need  was  there 
longer  for  offerings,  for  Temple  ritual,  for  washings  or 
fastings,  or  scrupulous  tithings,  when  the  great  Father  sought 
only  the  heart  of  His  penitent  child?  The  hope  of  the 
Rabbis  that  they  could  hold  God  to  the  fulfilment  of  what 
they  thought  His  promises,  if  only  the  Mosaic  ideal  of  the 
theocracy,  in  their  sense,  was  restored,  fell  to  the  ground. 
The  isolation  of  the  Jews,  and  their  glory  as  the  chosen 
people  of  God,  were  things  of  the  past.  One  part  of  the 
theocracy  after  the  other  was  doomed  to  fall  before  this 
grand  proclamation,  for  its  foundations  were  sapped.  The 
Fatherhood  of  God,  which  now  falls  hke  an  empty  sound  on 
the  ear  of  the  multitude,  was,  at  its  utterance,  the  creation 

jf  a  new  world. ^"^  "  Hausrath,  I. 

35G. 

Jesus  had,  now,  set  forth  the  characteristics  of  citizenship 
in  His  new  kingdom,  and  the  new  law ;  He  passed,  next, 
to  the  new  life.^*     A  warning  was  needed  to   guard  His  "  westcott, 

o  cj  Introauctior, 

followers,  in  their  religious  duties,  from  the  abuses  of  the 
Rabbinical  party. 

Almsgiving  had  been  exalted  by  the  Scribes  to  an  act  in 
itself    meritorious   before    God.     The  words   "  alms,"   and 
"  righteousness,"^  were,  indeed,  used  interchangeably.^^  "For  ■ 
one  farthing  given  to  the  poor,"  said  the  Rabbis,  "  a  man 


3J8. 


80  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CH.  XXXVII.  will  receive  heaven."  The  words,  "  I  shall  behold  Thy  face 
in  righteousness,"  Avei'e  rendered  in  the  gloss  "  because  of 
alms."  "This  mone)^,"  said  others,  "goes  for  alms,  that 
my  sons  may  live,  and  that  I  may  obtain  the  world  to 
come."  "  A  man's  table  now  expiates  by  alms,  as  the  altar, 
heretofore,  did  by  sacrifice."  "  He  who  gives  alms  will  be 
kept  from  all  evil."  In  an  age  when  the  religious  spirit 
was  dead,  outward  acts  of  religion  were  ostentatiously 
practised,  at  once  to  earn  a  reward  from  God,  and  to  secure 
honour  for  holiness  from  men.  Religion  was  acted  for  gain, 
either  present  or  future.  Against  such  hypocrisy  Jesus 
warns  His  followers.     "Take  heed  that   ye   do   not   your 

■  Matt.  6. 1-15.  righteousness s  before  men,'^"  to  be  seen  by  them,  otherwise 
you  haxe  no  reward  with  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven." 
They  were  to  draw  no  attention  to  their  charity,  by  having 
it  proclaimed  in  the  synagogue,""  or  by  ostentatiously 
giving  it  in  the  streets,  to  earn  praise  of  men,  but  were  to 
hide  it  as  if  they  would  not  even  let  their  left  hand  know 
what  their  right  hand  was  doing.  Sincerity  only,  gave 
charity  value.  The  amount  was  not  essential :  the  spirit  was 
all.  Insincerity  had  no  reward  but  the  empty  honour  from 
men,  got  by  deceit;  .sincerity  was  rewarded  by  their  Father 
in  Heaven,  who  saAv  the  secret  deed.' 

Even  prayer  had  become  a  formal  mechanical  act,  pre- 
scribed by  exact  rules.  The  hours,  the  matter,  the  manner, 
were  all  laid  do-svn.  xV  rigid  Pharisee  prayed  many  times  a 
day,  and  too  many  took  care  to  have  the  hours  of  prayer 
overtake  them,  decked  in  their  broad  phylacteries,  at  the 
street  corners,  that  thoy  might  publicly  show  their  devout- 
ness, — or  went  to  the  synagogue  that  the  congregation  might 
see  it.  Nor  were  they  content  with  short  prayers,  but 
lengthened  their  devotions   as  if  to  make  a  merit  of  their 

seeschiirfi,  duration.'-'^     Instead  of  this,  the  members  of  the  new  king- 

friifii".'"'  dom  were  to  retire  to  strict  secrecy  when  they  prayed,  and 
^"'  '  '  '  address  their  Father  who  sees  in  secret,  and  would  reward 
them  hereafter,  in  the  future  world,  for  their  sincerity.  Nor 
were  they  to  use  the  foolish  repetitions  in  vogue  with  the 
heathen,  who  thought  they  would  be  heard  for  their  much 
speaking.     The   great  Father  knows  what  Ave  need  before 


THE   lord's   prayer.  81 

we  ask  Him,  and  requires  no  lengthened  petitions.*  Prayer  ct.  xxxyii. 
in  the  congi-egation  is  not  forbidden,  for  Jesus  Himself 
frequented  the  synagogue,  and  joined  in  public  devotions. 
But  private  prayer  must  be  private,  to  guard  against  human 
weakness  corrupting  it  into  worthless  parade.  The  simplest, 
shortest  prayer,  unheard  by  human  ear,  is  accepted  of  God, 
if  it  rise  from  the  heart :  if  the  heart  be  wanting,  all  prayer 
is  mere  form. 

It  is  always  much  easier,  however,  to  follow  a  pattern 
than  a  precept,  and,  hence,  Jesus  proceeded  to  set  before 
them  a  model  prayer.  "  After  this  manner,  therefore,  pray 
ye.  Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy 
name.  Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy  will  be  done,  as  in  heaven, 
so  also  on  earth.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  And 
forgive  us  our  debts  (to  Thee),  as  we,  also,  have  forgiven  our 
debtors.  And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us 
from  the  evil  one."^^     He  added  that  our  being  forgiven  our  «  xheDoxoiogy 

„..,.  does  not 

trespasses  by  God  depended  on   our   forgiving  men  theirs    J^J't'^r^^'^Jof'' 

„„_•  ^,-,j.  ,-,-,  the  fourth 

against  us.  century.    It  is 

It  was  the  custom  of  every  Rabbi  to  teach  his  disciples  a  ne'log,  lS 
form  of  prayer, ^^  and  in  "The  Lord's  Prayer,"  Jesus,  as=3  sepp,ii.32G. 
John  already  had  done,  followed  the  example.  But  what 
a  difference  between  His  model  and  that  of  other  teachers ! 
He  had  created  a  new  heaven,  and  a  new  earth,  for  the 
soul,  and  in  this  prayer  the  mighty  revelation  of  the  Father- 
hood of  God  shines,  like  a  sun,  over  all  humanity.  The 
highest  conceivable  ideal  of  perfection  and  fehcity  for  the 
race,  is  offered  in  the  "will  of  the  Eternal  Father  being  done 
on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.  Childlike  trust  and  dependence 
ask,  and  are  contented  with,  daily  bounty  from  that  Father's 
hand.  His  mercy  is  pleaded  by  hearts  that  already  have 
learned  to  show  it  to  others.  The  spirit  stands  before  Him 
clothed  in  humility,  and  fuU  of  love  and  tenderness  towards 
its  fellows.  Conscious  weakness  stretches  out  its  hand  for 
heavenly  help,  distrusting  itself,  but  strong  in  a  Higher. 
Each  clause,  almost  each  word,  is  fuU  of  the  deepest  signifi- 
cance. Each  is  filled  with  divine  light.^  After  eighteen 
centuries,  Christendom  knows  no  expression  of  thoughts  and 
feehngs  so  fuU  in  so  small  a  compass,  so  rich,  so  majestic  in 
VOL.  II.  i5 


82  THE   LIFE    OF  CHRIST. 

CH.  xxxvn.  praise  and  petition.  Hallowed  phrases,  current  in  His  day, 
may  be  quoted  as  parallels  of  single  jjarts,  but  He  alone 
united  them  to  woi'ds  of  His  OAvn  with  a  breadth  and  solidity, 
a  childlike  simplicity  and  wisdom,  a  strength  and  lowliness 
wholly  unkno^Ti  in  Jewish  hterature." 

Fasting  had  become  one  of  the  prominent  religious  usages 
of  Our  Sa\aour's  day.  Though  only  one  fast  had  been 
appointed  by  !Moses — that  of  the  Day  of  Atonement — the 
Pharisees  had  added  numerous  others,  especially  on  the  two 
days  of  the  week,  Monday  and  Thursday,  on  which  syna- 
gogue worship  was  held.  When  fasting,  they  strewed  their 
heads  Avith  ashes,  and  neither  washed  nor  anointed  them- 

X  Lightfoot,iL  selves^*  nor  trimmed  their  beards,  but  put  on  T\Tetched 
clothing,  and  showed  themselves  in  all  the  outward  signs  of 
mourning  and  sadness  used  for  the  dead."  Insincerity  made 
capital  of  feigned  humiliation  and  contrition,  till  even  the 
Roman  theatre  noticed  it.  In  one  of  the  plays  of  the  time, 
a  camel,  covered  vrith  a  mourning  cloth,  was  led  on  the 
stage.  "  Why  is  the  camel  in  mourning  ?"  asked  one  of  the 
players.  "  Because  the  Jews  are  keeping  the  Sabbath  year, 
and  grow  nothing,  but  are  hving  on  thistles.     The  camel  is 

»  s*pp,u.34i.  mourning  because  its  food  is  thus  taken  from  it."-^     Rabbis 

s«  Gfrsrer,nc5.  wcrc  forbiddcu  to  anoint  themselves  before  going  out,^*  and 
it  was  recorded  of  a  specially  famous  doctor,  that  his  face 

'■  Lightfoot,  u.  was  always  black  Anth  fasting.-"     All  pretence  was  abhorrent 
272- gSchiircr,  to  the  soul  of  Jcsus,  cspecially  in  religion.     "When  ye  fast,"  ' 
Matt6.i6-i8.  gjjj(j  jjg^  u  ]jg  j^Q|.  jjg  ^j^g  hypocrites,  of  a  sad  countenance  ; 

for  they  disfigure  their  faces,  that  they  may  appear  unto 
men  to  fast.  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  They  have  their  reward. 
But  do  thou,  when  thou  fastest,  anoint  thine  head  and  wash 
thy  face ;  that  thou  mayest  not  appear  unto  men  to  fast,  but 
to  thy  Father  who  is  in  secret,  and  thy  Father,  who  sees  in 
secret,  will  reward  thee."  To  seek  effect,  applause,  credit, 
or  gain,  by  a  show  of  godliness,  must  be  shunned  by 
members  of  the  New  Kingdom.  It  would  be  better  to  let 
men  think  evil  of  them,  than  to  be  tempted  to  use  religion 
for  ulterior  ends.  True  pain  and  true  sorrow  hide  from  the 
eye  of  strangers ;  they  withdraw  to  the  secrecy  of  the 
breast. 


TRUST   IN   PROVIDENCE.  83 

He  had  already  spoken  of  the  need  of  care  in  the  right  ch.  xx^vii. 
use  of  the  blessings  of  Hfe,  but  He  knew  our  proneness  to 
forget,  and  returns  to  the  subject  once  more.  "  Heap  not 
up  for  yourselves,"  said  He,  "treasures  on  earth,  where  moth 
and  rust  consume,  and  where  thieves  break  through  and 
steal.  But  treasure  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven," 
where  neither  moth  nor  rust  consumes,  and  where  thieves 
do  not  break  through  nor  steal.  For,  if  your  treasure  is  on 
earth,  your  heart  must  needs  be  careless  of  heaven.  But  if 
it  be  in  heaven,  your  hearts  will  be  there  also.  To  have 
it  there,  you  must  have  the  inner  light  in  your  souls, — 
yoiu"  mind-*  and  heart — by  which  you  perceive  and  cherish  ^^""^^^^ 
the  truth — unclouded.  If  they  be  darkened,  it  mil  turn  Matt.  6.19-23. 
your  heart  away  from  the  right  and  divine.  The  body 
without  the  eye  is  in  darkness;  for  light  entei-s  only  by 
the  eye,  as  from  a  lamp.  When  your  eye  is  sound,  your 
body  is  full  of  hght ;  when  it  is  darkened,  all  within  is 
night.     So  is  it  with  the  eye  of  the  soul." 

"  Do  not  fancy,"  He  continued,  "  that  you  can  join  the 
striving  for  riches  and  for  the  kingdom  of  God.  They  are 
absolutely  opposed.  No  man  can  serve  two  masters  whose 
interests  are  opposite.  Either  he  will  hate  the  one  and  love 
the  other,  or  he  will  hold  to  the  one  and  despise  the  other. 
You  cannot  worship  the  God  of  heaven,  and  Mammon,  the 
god  of  riches.P  To  serve  God,  and  yet  make  money  your 
idol,  is  impossible  !     They  are  opposites !" 

"An  undivided  heart,  which  worships  God  alone,  and 
trusts  Him  as  it  should,  is  raised  above  anxiety  for  earthly 
wants.  Therefore,  I  say  unto  you.  Be  not  anxious  for  your 
life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  nor  yet  for  your  body,  what  ye  shall 
put  on.^^     Is  not  the  life  more  than  the  food,  and  the  body  25  schieier- 

^  /  ./       macher, 

than  the  raiment  ?     Behold  the  birds  of  the  air ;  they  sow   ^^'"sten,  Hi. 
not,  neither  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns,  and  yet  your  Hea-    Matt.6. 24-34. 
venly  Father  feeds  them.i  Are  ye  not  much  better  than  they? 
Which  of  you,  by  anxious  thought,  can  add  one  cubit  to' 
the  length  of  his  life  ?      And  about  raiment  why  are  ye 
anxious?     Consider  the  hUes  of  the  field,  how  fair  and 
beautiful  they  grow.^"     They  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin,  ™  sepp,  m.  207. 
and  yet  Solomon,  in  his  royal  robes,  was  not  arrayed  hke 


84  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

OH.  xxxTO.  one  of  these.  And  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field, 
which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  an  oven,'^  will 
He  not  much  more  clothe  you,  0  ye  of  little  faith  ?  Be  not, 
therefore,  anxious,  saj'ing,  ^Vhat  shall  we  eat,  or  what  shall 
we  drink,  or  what  shall  we  put  on  ?  ^  For  the  Gentiles  seek 
after  all  these  things.  But  your  Heavenly  Father  knows  that 
ye  have  need  of  them.  Seek,  first,  His  kingdom  and  righteous- 
ness, and  they  shall  all  be  added  to  you.     Be  not,  therefore, 

31  scueier-      auxious  for  the  morrow.^^     The  morrow  will  have  its  o'wn 

macher, 

m.'^'Duk'ek  cares.  Each  day's  evil  is  sufficient  for  the  day."  He  enjoins 
itondw^rker-  not  idlc  indiffcrcnce  and  easiness  of  temper,  but  the  freedom 
from  care  of  a  soul  which  firmly  trusts  in  the  Providence  of 
God.  The  citizens  of  the  New  Kingdom  might  well  confide 
in  tiieir  Heavenly  Father,  and  amidst  all  the  trials  and 
straits  even  of  such  a  martyr  life  as  had  been  predicted 
for  them,  might  and  should  retain  calm  and  unshaken  con- 
fidence in  the  sustaining  and  guiding  wisdom  and  love  of  God. 
As  His  children,  they  had  an  express  right  to  look  for  His 
all-sufficient  care. 

No  vice  was  more  rank  among  the  Jews,  through  the 
influence  of  their  priestly  and  Rabbinical  leaders,  than  narrow 
bigotry,  which  condemned  all  opinions  varying  in  the  least 
from  their  own.  They  were  trained  to  take  it  for  granted 
that  their  whole  rehgious  system,  in  its  minutest  forms  and 
rules — their  religious  thought,  faith,  and  life — had  been 
revealed  by  God  from  heaven.  They  were  a  nation  of 
fanatics,  ready  to  fight  to  the  death  for  any  one  of  the  ten 
thousand  ritual  injunctions  of  their  religious  teachers.  A 
discourse  designed  to  proclaim  the  advent,  character,  and 
laws  of  the  new  theocracy,  could  not  close  without  touching 
on  the  duties  of  social  life,  and  laying  down  principles  for 
guidance.  He  had  enjoined  the  broad  law  of  gentle  love, 
as  the  rule  for  intercourse  with  men  at  large.  He  now 
illustrates  it  in  additional  applications. 
32  Matt. 7.1-12.  "  Judge  not,"  said  He,  "that  ye  be  not  judged'^-  (by  God); 
seo  Sermon"  coudcmn  uot,  and  ye  shall  not  be  condemned :  forgive,  and 

by  Schleier-  t  J  , 

It^^a^^^'  ye  shall  be  forgiven.  For  with  what  judgment  ye  judge 
A^MStioDB,  (men)  ye  shall  be  judged  (hereafter).  Give,  and  it  will  be 
2oT  ^         given  to  you ;  good  measure,  pressed  do^vn,  shaken  together, 

SchenkeL  101.  o  ^  ?   o  7  x  7  tj  1 


PEAHLS  BEFORE  SWINE.  85 

running  over,  will  they  give  into  your  bosom.  For  witli  o^-  xxsvn. 
what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you.  Be 
charitable  respecting  the  errors  and  shortcomings  of  others, 
that  you  may  not  have  your  own  sins  brought  against  you 
at  the  great  day,  and  find  there  the  condemnation  you  have 
yourself  shown  here.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  for  you,  who 
are  to  teach  men,  to  fiiU  away  from  the  truth,  for  how,  then, 
will  you  instruct  sinful  men  aright  ?  If  the  bhnd  attempt 
to  lead  the  blind  both  fiall  into  a  ditch,  and  if  you  your- 
selves be  wrong  you  cannot  lead  others,  who  know  nothing 
of  it,  to  the  salvation  of  the  New  Kingdom.  You  wiU  both 
go  more  and  more  hopelessly  wrong,  till,  at  last,  you  sink 
into  Gehenna.  Those  you  teach  cannot  be  wiser  than  you, 
their  teachers,  for  a  disciple  is  not  above  his  master,  but 
comes,  at  best,  in  the  end,  to  be  like  him.  If,  then,  you 
would  not  be  blind  leaders  of  the  blind,  take  care,  before 
you  essay  to  judge  and  better  the  religious  state  of  others, 
to  examine  your  own  spiritual  condition,  and  reform  what- 
ever is  Avrong  in  it.^^  Why  should  you  mark  the  atom  of  "Luke  6.39-41. 
straw  or  dust  that  is  in  your  brother's  eye — his  petty  fault — 
if  you  do  not,  in  your  self-righteousness,  see  the  beam  that 
is  in  your  o-\\ti  eye?^^'    Self-blinded  hypocrite  !  first  cast  the  «  seeacunous 

J  J  J  ±  L&y  Sennon 

beam  out  of  your  o^-a.  eye,  and  then  you  AviU  see  clearly  to    glrie^j^^^jl;'"' 
cast  the  mote  out  of  your  brother's  eye."  DX's,"i65.' 

"You  ■s\'ill  meet  -Rath  men,"  He  continued,  "who,  when 
the  divine  truth  is  offered  them,  AviU  only  profane  it — men 
utterly  ungodly  and  hardened,  who  wilfuUy  reject  the 
counsel  of  God,  with  blasphemy,  mocking,  and  slandering. 
Do  not  put  it  in  their  power  to  dishonour  it.  To  do  so  is 
like  casting  a  holy  thing  to  the  street  dogs,  or  throwing 
pearls  before  wild  swine,  who  would  only  trample  them  as 
worthless  under  their  feet,  and  turn  against  yourselves  and 

rend    you. "^'"  «  SeeSennoos 

"You  will  need  heli)  from  God  in  your  great  task;  for    macher.iii. 

J-  J  b  '  40,  69, 84. 

your  o-rni  spiritual  welfare,  and  for  success  in  your  work. 
Ask,  therefore,  and  it  will  be  given  you ;  seek,  and  ye  wiU 
find ;  knock,  and  it  wUl  be  opened  to  you.  For  every  one 
that  asks  receives;  and  he  that  seeks  finds;  and  to  him 
that  knocks  it  shall  be  opened.    If  your  son  ask  bread,  do 


86  THE   LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

cH,  xxxvn.  you  mock  him  by  giving  him  a  stone  ?  or,  if  he  ask  a  fish, 
do  you  mock  him  by  giving  him  a  serpent  ?  or,  if  he  ask  an 
»•  Luke  11. 12.  egg,  will  you  give  him  a  scorpion  P^^''  You  need,  then,  have 
no  fear  of  refusal  of  spiritual  help  from  your  Heavenly 
Father,  for  if  you  who  are  sinful,  though  members  of  the 
New  Kingdom,  would  not  think  of  refusing  to  supply  the 
wants  of  your  children,  far  less  will  your  Father  above 
refuse  you,  His  spmtual  children,  what  you  need." 

Jesus  had  now  come  to  the  close  of  His  exposition  of  the 
nature  and  duties  of  His  kingdom,  and  ended  His  statement 
of  them  by  a  brief  recapitulation  and  summary  of  all  He 
had  said  of  the  latter,  in  their  relation  to  men  at  large. 
"  AU  things,  therefore,  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  to  you,  do  ye  also  so  to  them,  for  this  is  the  law  and  the 
prophets."  The  Law  had  said,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
s' Lev.  19. 18.  hour  as  thyself,"^"  but  it  had  meant  by  neighbour  a  Jew  or 
a  proselyte,  and  had  commanded  the  extirpation  of  the 
Canaanites,  and  sanctioned  merciless  war  with  the  heathen 
around.  These  grand  words  were,  therefore,  a  rule  for  the 
nation  toAvards  its  own  members,  but  no  gi'eat  law  for  man- 
kind. But  Jesus  ignores  this  narrowness,  and  proclaims  all 
men  brethren,  as  common  children  of  one  Father  in  Heaven. 
This  golden  rule  had  been  proclaimed  more  or  less  fully 
3s  B.C.  436-338.  before.  It  is  found  in  Socrates^*  and  Menander,^^  and  even 
»  B.C.  342-291.  •    .j.|jg  Chinese  classics.*"  Philo  quotes,  as  an  old  Jemsh  say- 

«  Ewald,  iv.270.  T-  '  •' 

ing,  "Do  not  to  others  what  you  would  be    unwilling  to 
"  ch.4.15.      suffer ;"  and  the  book  of  Tobit  ^^  enjoins,  "  Do  that  to  no  man 
which  thou  hatest."^     In  the  generation  before  Jesus  it  had 
been  repeated  by  Hillel  to  a  heathen,  who  mockingly  asked 
him  if  he  could  teach  him  the  whole  Law  while  he  stood 
on  one  foot.     "  What  you  would  not  like  done  to  yourself, 
do  not  to  thy  neighbour,"  replied  the  Rabbi — "this  is  the 
whole  Law :  all  the  rest  is  a  commentary  on  it — go  learn 
«  Hmein.jesus,  this."  *"  But,  as  Hillel  gave  it,  this  noble  answer  was  only 
°''  misleading.      It   was  striking   to  find  a  Rabbi  with  such 

enhghtened  insight  into  the  essence  of  the  Law  as  to  see 
that  all  its  ordinances  and  rites  had  a  moral  end,  but  the 
Law  was  much  more  than  a  mere  code  of  morals  be- 
tween man  and  man.     Its  fitting  summary  is  much  rather 


THE   PERORATION.  87 

that  central  requirement  repeated  each  day,  even  till  now,  ch.  ssxvn. 

by  every  Jew  in  his  prayers — "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 

thy  God  with  all  thine  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with 

all  thy  might."'*^  JMorality,  apart  from  its  rehgious  basis  and  «  Deat.6.6. 

supreme  enforcement,  degrades  the  Law  to  a  level  with  the 

common  moraUty  of  the  world  at  large.**     It  was  reserved  «  Huieiu.jeaus, 

for  Jesus  to  announce  our  duty  to  man  in  its  subordination 

to  our  higher  relation  to  God ;  to  make  it  only  part  of  that 

filial  love  which  reflects  the  tenderness  on  all  our  brethren 

which  it  feels  supremely  towards  their  Father  and  ours,  in 

Heaven.      With  Him,  love  of  universal  humanity  has  its 

deep  religious  ground  in  the  love  of  God  whom  we  are  to 

resemble, — towards  all  the  race,  as  His  children.    The  love  of 

man.  He  tells  us,  is  the  second  great  commandment;  not 

the  first  ;*^  it  is  the  moon  shining;  by  light  borrowed  from«  Mark  12. 

'  O         J  O  ^  28—34. 

that  Sun.     The  highest  of  the  Rabbis  cannot  stand  in  the 
presence  of  the  Son  of  Mary !  ■*"  «  Eisey,  i.  iss. 

^  •'  .  Keim,  ii.  184. 

He  had  reached  His   peroration.     It  remained   only  to    ai".3i- 
add  solemn  warnings,  and  these  He  now  gave.     "  Enter  in," 
said  He,  "  through  the  narrow  gate,*^  for  narrow  is  the  gate  «  Land  ana 

■  O  O  1  O  Book,  28. 

and  straitened  is  the  way  of  self-denial  and  struggle  that    ?i^,"-«-;?-:?- 

J  on  Luke6.44 — 16. 

leads  to  life,  and  few  there  are  that  find  it.     But  wide  is  the 

gate  and  broad  is  the  way  of  sin  that  leads  to  destruction, 

and  those  who  enter  through  it  are  many.     Beware  of  false 

teachers,**  who  would  turn  you  aside  from  the  safe  road.  «  LAntechrist, 

They  will  come  to  you  affecting  to  be  my  followers,  but 

they  wiU  be  only  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing.     You  wiU  know 

them  fully  by  their  fruits — that  is,  by  their  lives.    Do  men 

gather  grapes  off  thorns,   or  figs  off  thistles  ?  ***   So,  every  «  Tristram,  426, 

good  tree  brings  forth  good  fruit ;  but  the  corrupt  tree  brings    Herzog,  xi  25. 

forth  evil  fruit.     The  good,  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  the 

heart,  bring  forth  that  which  is  good ;  and  the  evil  man, 

out  of  the  evil,  brings  forth  that  which  is  evil ;  for  out  of 

the  abundance  of  the  heart  his  mouth  speaks.^"    A  good  tree  »  Lute  e.  45. 

cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit ;    neither  can  a  corrupt  tree 

bring  forth  good  fruit.     Have  nothing  to  do  -ndth  them,  and 

do  not  follow  them,  for  every  tree  that  brings  not  forth  good 

fruit  is  cut  do-\vn,  and  cast  into  the  fire.     So,  then,  by  their 

fruits  ye  will  know  them  fuUy." 


K  Luke  6.  46. 


88  THE  LIFE  OP  CHRIST. 

m.  xxxvn:  "  Nor  is  the  dang-ci"  of  being  led  astray  by  false  teachers 
light,  for  not  all  who  acknowledge  me  as  their  Master  will 
enter  into  the  glor)'  of  the  heavenly  Kingdom,  but  those  only 
who  do  the  wiU  of  my  Father,  who  is  in  heaven.  Many  will 
say  to  me  in  that  day,  'Lord,  Lord,  did  we  not  teach  in  Thy 
name  confessing  Thee  as  Jesus  Messias,  and  by  the  power 
of  Thy  name  cast  out  devils,  and,  by  the  same  power,  did 
we  not  do  many  mighty  works,  owning  Thee,  and  working 
through  Thee,  in  all  things  ? '  ^  And  then  shall  I  say  unto 
them,  '  I  never  knew  you ;  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work 
iniquity.'  Take  warning,  for  even  some  of  you  call  me  Lord, 

Winer,  isi.    Lord,^^  and  do  not  the  things  which  I  say."^'- 

That  one  in  the  position  of  Jesus,  an  unknown  Gulikuan ; 
untrained  in  the  schools ;  in  early  manhood ;  with  no  sup- 
port from  the  learned  or  the  powerful,  should  have  used 
such  words,  in  a  discourse  so  transcendently  lofty  in  its 
teachings,  is  to  be  explained  only  on  the  ground  that  He 
spoke  with  a  divine  consciousness  of  being  the  Messiah,  Avho 
should  hereafter  be  the  Judge  of  mankind.  He  calmly 
founds  a  kingdom  in  which  the  only  rewards  and  punish- 
ments are  those  of  the  conscience  here,  and  those  of  eter- 
nity, after  death.  He  bears  Himself,  and  speaks,  as  a  King ; 
supersedes  or  perfects  the  laws  of  the  existing  theocracy  as 
He  thinks  best ;  invites  adherents,  but  warns  off  all  except 
the  trul)^  got^lly  and  sincere,  by  holding  out  the  most  dis- 
couraging prospects  through  life ;  keeps  aloof  from  the 
civil  or  ecclesiastical  authorities,  and  acts  independently  of 
both.  Finally,  as  the  one  law  of  His  invisible  kingdom  in 
the  souls  of  men.  He  requires  supreme  love  and  devotion  to 
Himself,  and  demands  that  this  be  shown  by  humble  and 
continuous  efforts  after  likeness  to  God,  and  by  the  imita- 
tion of  His  own  pure  and  universal  love  to  mankind.  To 
have  conceived  a  spiritual  empire  so  unique  in  the  history 
of  religion,  is  to  have  proved  His  title  to  His  highest  claims. 
His  concluding  words  are  in  keeping  with  these.  He  had 
announced  that  He  would  judge  the  world  at  the  great  day, 
and  now  makes  hearty  acceptance  and  performance  of  His 
commands  the  condition  of  future  salvation  or  ruin.  "Every 
one,  therefore  (now,  or  hereafter),  who  hears  these  sayings 


A   VIVID    CONTRAST.  89 

of  mine  and  obeys  them,  is  like  a  man,  who,  in  building  a  caxxxvii. 

house,  digged  deep,  and  laid  a  foundation  upon  the  rock. 

And  the  winter  rains  fell,^^  and  the  torrents  rose,  and  the '^  Keim.  u.  32. 

'  Matt.  7. 24 — 27. 

storms  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house,  and  did  not  shake    i-Bkee.i?— 49. 

it,  because  it  was  well  built,  and  had  been  founded  upon  the 

rock.     But  every  one  who  hears  them,  and  does  not  obey 

them,  is  like  a  foolish  man,  who,  without  a  foundation,  built 

his  house  upon  the  sandy  earth.     And  the  rain  descended, 

and  the  torrents  rushed  down,  and  the  ■\^'inds  blew,  and  beat 

upon  that  house,  and  straightway  it  fell,  and  the  ruin  of  that 

house  was  great."  ^ 

No  wonder  that  when  He  had  finished  such  an  address, 
the  multitudes  were  astonished  at  His  teaching.  They  had 
been  accustomed  to  the  tame  and  slavish  servility  of  the 
Rabbis,  with  their  dread  of  varying  a  word  from  precedent 
and  authority  ;  their  cobwebbery  of  endless  sophistries  and 
verbal  trifling ;  their  laborious  dissertations  on  the  infinitely 
little ;  their  unconscious  oversight  of  all  that  could  afi"ect 
the  heart ;  their  industrious,  trackings  through  the  jungles  of 
tradition  and  prescription  ;  and  felt  that  in  the  preaching  of 
Jesus,  they,  for  the  first  time,  had  something  that  stirred 
their  souls,  and  came  home  to  their  consciences.  One  of 
the  Rabbis  had  boasted  that  every  verse  of  the  Bible  was 
capable  of  six  hundred  thousand  difi^erent  explanations,  and 
there  were  seventy  different  modes  of  interpretation  cur- 
rent,^* but  the  vast  mass  of  explanations  and  interpretations  m  Esen- 

were  no  better  than  pedantic  folly,  concerning  itself  mth    EmSte^. 
.     .     .,.  •       .         1  •  1    1     1         1       .  ,.      Jnd.i.453. 

mere  insignificant  mmutiaj  which  had  no  bearing  on  reh-    «"• 

gion  or  morals.  Instead  of  this,  Jesus  had  spoken  as  a 
legislator,  vested  -ndth  greater  authority  than  ]\Ioses.  To 
transmit,  unchanged,  the  traditions  received  from  the  past, 
was  the  one  idea  of  all  other  teachers;  but  He,  while 
reverent,  was  not  afraid  to  criticize,  to  reject,  and  to 
supplement.  To  venture  on  originality,  and  independence 
was  something  hitherto  unknown. 

The  life  of  Jesus,  in  all  its  aspects,  is  the  gi-eat  lesson  of 
humanity :  His  death  is  its  hope.  But  there  lies  a  won- 
drous treasure  in  His  words.  What  but  a  pure  and  sinless 
soul  could  have  conceived  such   an   idea  of  God   as  the 


90  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST, 

OH.  xxxvn  Father  of  mankind,  drawing  us  to  Himself  by  the  attraction 
of  holy  and  exhaustless  love?  "It  could  only  rise,"  says 
Hausrath,  "in  a  spirit  that  stood  pure,  guiltless,  and  sinless 
before  God — a  spii'it  in  which  all  human  unrest  and  disturb- 
ance were  unknown,  on  which  there  lay  no  sense  of  the 
littleness  of  life,  no  distracting  feeling  of  disappointed  am- 
bition. Sinful  man,  with  a  stained  or  even  uneasy  conscience, 
will  alwaj's  think  of  God  as  jealous,  -RTathful,  and  about 
to  avenge  Himself.  The  revelation  that  God  is  the  Father 
of  men  could  rise  only  in  a  mind  in  which  the  image  of 
God  miiTored  itself  in  calm  completeness,  because  the 
mirror  had  no  specks  to  mar  it.  The  revelation  of  God  as 
the  Father  is  the  strongest  proof  of  the  absolute  perfection 

«  Hangrath,  i.    of  the  liumau  nature  in  Jesus."  ''•'' 

"He  has  left  us  not  only  a  life,  but  a  rich  world  of  thoughts," 

»DerG«-         says  Kcim,^"   "in  which  all  the  best  inspirations  and  long- 

christuB,  m.  ings  of  mankind  meet  and  are  reflected.     It  is  the  expression 

of  the  purest  and  directest  truths  which  rise  in  the  dearths 

of  the  soul,  and  they  are  made  common  to  all  mankind  by 

being  uttered  in  the  simplest  and  most  popular  form." 


OPEN   CONFLICT.  91 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

OPEN  CONFLICT. 

JESUS  had  now  been  some  months  in  Galilee,  and  the  "^^^  ^^5^"' 
season  of  the  great  feasts  had  returned.  It  was  meet 
that  Judea,  which  had  rejected  Him  when  He  first  preached 
in  it,  should  be  once  more  visited,  and  the  news  of  the  King- 
dom once  more  sent  abroad  among  the  throngs  of  pilgrims 
from  every  part  of  the  world,  attracted  at  such  times  to 
Jerusalem. 

Leaving  the  north,  therefore,  for  a  time,  He  again  jour- 
neyed south ;  perhaps  by  short  stages,  preaching  as  He  went ; 
perhaps  with  one  of  the  bands  of  pilgrims  which  gathered 
from  each  neighbourhood  to  go  up  to  "  the  House  of  the 
Lord."  No  voice  Avould  join  with  so  rapt  a  devotion  in 
the  joyful  solemnities  of  such  a  journey, — in  the  psalms  that 
enlivened  the  way, — or  the  formal  devotions  of  morning  and 
evening.  But  what  feast  it  was  He  thus  honoured  is  not 
told,  nor  are  there  means  for  deciding.  That  of  Purim,  a 
month  before  the  Passover,  the  Passover  itself,  Pentecost, 
and  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  have  each  found  favour  on 
plausible  grounds,  but  where  there  is  such  contrariety  of 
opinion,  the  safest  course  is  to  leave  the  matter  unsettled."^ 

Ofthe\dsitwe  know  only  one  incident,^  but  it  was  the  '  Jo^^  «•  i-*' 
turning  point  in  the  life  of  Our  Lord. 

Jerusalem  in  those  days  was  a  contrast  in  its  water  supply, 
as  in  much  else,  to  the  fallen  glory  of  its  present  condition. 
Several  natural  springs  seem  to  have  flowed  in  the  city  or 
near  it,  in  ancient  times,  but  they  have  long  been  choked  up, 
with  the  exception  of  the  single  "  Fountain  of  the  Virgin," 
stiU  found  in  the  Kedron  valley.  There  is  now,  besides,  only 
a  single  well — that  of  Joab,  at  the  junction  of  the  Kedron 


92  THE   LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

OH.  xxxvnL  and  Hinnom  valleys,  near  Siloam,  south-cast  from  the  town. 
It  was  doubtless  used  in  Christ's  day,  and  it  is  still  one 
of  the  principal  sources  of  summer  supply  for  Jerusalem, 
though,  like  everything  else,  under  the  withering  speU  of 
Turkish  rule,  it  is  in  such  disrepair  that  its  water,  drawn 
from  a  depth  of  125  feet,  is  tainted  with  sewage.  The  ancient 
supply,  however,  seems  to  have  been  mainly  o})tained  by 
collecting  tlie  rain  water  in  pools  and  cisterns,  and  by  aque- 
ducts which  drained  distant  hills,  and  brought  abundance 
into  the  various  public  pools  and  reservoirs  of  the  city  and 
Temple,''  the  space  beneath  which  was  honeycombed  by 
immense  rock-hewn  cisterns.  Many  houses,  also,  had  cisterns, 
hewn  in  the  rock,  in  the  shape  of  an  inverted  funnel,  to 
collect  the  rain,  but  it  was  from  the  numerous  "pools"  that 
the  public  supply  was  mainly  derived.  Eight  still  remain, 
in  greater  or  less  extreme  decay,  and  there  appear  to  have 
been  at  least  three  others,  in  ancient  times. 

One  of  the  most  famous  of  these,  in  Christ's  day,  was 
known  as  the  Pool  of  Bethesda,  which  recent  explorations 
appear  to  have  re-discovered  at  the  north-west  corner  of  the 
Temple  enclosure.  If  the  identification  be  valid,  the  pool 
was  a  gi^eat  reservoir,  165  feet  in  length,  he^uTi  in  the  limestone 
rock  to  a  breadth  of  48  feet,  and  divided  in  halves  by  a 
pier  of  masonry  5  feet  thick,  built  across  it.  Water  still 
enters  it  from  the  north-west  corner,  and  is  probably  an  abun- 
dant spring,  though  now  so  mixed  with  drainage  as  to  be 
unfit  for  drinking.  Eusebius  speaks  of  the  Bethesda  of  his 
day  as  "  twin  pools,  one  of  which  is  filled  by  the  rains  of  the 
year,  but  the  other  has  Avater  tinged  in   an   extraordinary 

^  onomasticon,  wav  with  red."  "^     This  effect  was  likely  produced  by  the 

quoted  "».,.„  ^      ^  J 

jeiSem,i9G  ''^pi^  mflux  of  Water  through  underground  channels,  after 
heavy  rains.  It  is  said  by  St.  John  to  have  been  close  to 
the  "Sheep  Gate" — the  entrance,  doubtless,  of  the  numerous 
flocks  for  the  Temple  market." 

Bathing  in  mineral  waters  has,  in  all  ages,  been  regarded  as 

one  of  the  most  potent  aids  to  recovery  from  various  diseases, 

and  in  the  East,  where  water  is  everything,  this  belief  has 

3  vaihinger,  in  always   prevailed.^     The   Pool  of  Bethesda,  from  whatever 

Herzog,  i  6o7.  ''        ^      .  -lo  i.        •  •  i-i 

cause,  was  m  especial  favour  for  its  curative  powers,  which 


TEE   POOL   OF   BETHESDA.  93 

were  supposed  to  be  most  effective  when  the  waters  were  en.  ssxvm. 
"  troubled,"  either  by  the  discoloration  after  heavy  rains,  or 
by  periodical  flo-sving  after  intermission,  as  is  still  the  case 
with  the  Fountain  of  the  Virgin,  near  Siloam."^ 

Natural  explanations  of  ordinaryphenomenawere  unknown 
in  these  simple  times,  for  there  was  no  such  thing  as  science. 
Among  the  Jews,  as  among  other  races,  everything  was 
attributed  to  the  direct  action  of  supernatural  beings.  In 
the  Book  of  Jubilees,*  which  shows  the  popular  ideas  of*  ^^pj;.,  ''^^ 
Christ's  day,  there  are  angels  of  adoration,  of  fire,  wind,  Jn'^efSog,  iv. 
clouds,  hail,  hoar  frost,  valleys,  thunder,  hghtning,  winter, 
spring,  summer,  and  autumn,  and  of  "all  things  in  the 
heavens  and  earth,  and  in  all  valleys;  of  darkness,  of  light,  of 
dawn,  and  of  evening."  The  heahng  powers  of  the  Bethesda 
waters  were,  hence,  ascribed  to  periodical  visits  of  an  angel, 
who  "troubled  the  water."  Popular  fancy  had,  indeed, 
created  a  complicated  legend  to  account  for  the  wonder.  At 
least  as  far  back  as  the  days  of  Nehemiah,'  the  ebbing  and  =  cimp.  2. 13. 
flowing  of  some  springs  had  been  ascribed  to  a  great  dragon 
which  lived  at  the  source,  and  drank  up  the  waters  when  it 
woke,  lea-sdng  them  to  flow  only  while  it  was  asleep.  It  Avas  even 
said  that  a  good  angel  dwelt  beside  healing  springs,  and  each 
morning  gave  them  their  vii-tue  afresh,  and  a  Rablji  had  gone 
so  far  as  to  report  that,  as  he  sat  by  a  fountain,  the  good  angel 
who  dwelt  in  it  appeared  to  him,  and  said  that  a  demon 
was  tr}ing  to  get  into  it,  to  hurt  those  who  frequented  it. 
He  was,  therefore,  to  go  and  tell  the  townsfolks  to  come 
with  hammers,  or  iron  rods  or  bars,^  and  beat  the  water  till'  yajim.??*. 

'       *  '  _  Sepp,  u.  37. 

it  grew  red  with  thick  drops  of  blood — the  sign  that  the    ^g^;;'- °^''- '"• 
demon  was  conquered  and  slain." 

Some  such  fanciful  notions,  based,  very  probably,  on  real 
curative  powers  in  the  water  at  certain  seasons,  attracted 
daily  to  Bethesda  a  multitude  of  unfortunates  who  hoped  to 
be  healed  of  bhndness,  atrophy,  lameness,  and  other  infirmities, 
by  bathing  at  the  right  moment  a  sufficient  number  of  times. 
Charity  had  built  five  porches  round  the  pool,  to  afford  the 
crowd  a  shelter,  and  these,  and  the  great  steps  leading  down 
to  the  waters,  were  constantly  thronged,  like  the  steps  of  a 
sacred  bathing-place  to-day,  on  the  Ganges. 


oaxxxvnt 


94  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

Among  the  sufferers  was  one  who  had  been  helplessly 
crippled  l)y  rheumatism*  or  paralysis  for  thirty-eight  years, 
but  still  clung  to  the  hope  that  he  would,  one  day,  be  healed. 
He  had,  apparently,  had  himself  brought  from  a  distant  part, 
for  he  had  no  friends  on  the  spot,  and,  hence,  had  the  pain 
of  many  times  seeing  others,  less  helpless,  crowd  into  the 
waters,  while  he  lay  on  his  mat  for  want  of  some  pitying 
aid. 

Jesus  had  every  motive,  at  this  time,  to  avoid  atti'acting 
attention  in  Jerusalem,  for  it  might  rouse  the  open  hostility 
of  the  Church  authorities,  which  already  only  waited  an 
opportunity.  The  pitiful  plight  of  the  sufferer,  however, 
awoke  His  compassion,  and  in  s}'mpathy  for  his  story,  though 
without  conunitting  Himself  to  his  notions,  he  healed  him 
by  a  word,  telling  him  to  "  rise,  take  up  his  sleeping-mat, 
and  walk." 

The  common  feelings  of  humanity,  one  might  have  thought, 
would  have  followed  an  act  so  tender  and  beautiful,  Avith 
admiration  and  heart}-  approval.  But  there  is  no  crime  that 
may  not  be  done  by  fanaticism  allied  to  religious  opinions  ; 
no  deadness  to  true  religion  too  profound  for  the  champion- 
ship of  fancied  orthodoxy.  Pity,  charity,  recognition  of 
worth,  or  nobleness  of  act  or  word,  give  place  to  remorseless 
hatred  and  bloodthirsty  vengeance  where  there  is  religious 
hatred.  Inquisitors  who  sent  thousands  to  the  stake  for  an 
abstract  proposition,  or  immured  them  in  dungeons,  and 
feasted  on  their  torture  for  incapacity  to  repeat  some 
wretched  Shibboleth,  have  been  amiable  &hd  gentle  in  all 
other  relations.  The  hierarchical  party  in  Jerusalem  com- 
prised men  of  all  dispositions,  and  of  every  shade  of  sincerity, 
and  its  opposite.  But  it  had  been  touched  in  its  tenderest 
susceptibilities  by  the  preaching  of  the  Baptist ;  for  it  had 
been  called  to  account,  and  had  had  its  shortcomings  held 
up  before  the  nation.  The  instinct  of  self-preser-\-ation,  and 
the  conservatism  of  a  priestly  and  legal  order,  were  instantly 
roused,  and  assailed  the  Reformer  with  the  cry  that  the  Law 
and  the  Temple  were  in  danger.  The  Baptist  had  already 
fallen  ;  most  likely  by  their  help ;  but  a  successor  more  to  be 
dreaded,  had  risen  in  Jesus.     They  had  watched  His  course 


SABBATH   STRICTNESS.  '  95 

in  Galilee  with  anxiety,  which  had  already  shown  itself  ch.sxxviii. 
during  His  first  short  visit  to  Jerusalem  at  the  Passover 
before,  and  in  His  subsequent  circuits  through  Judea. 
Spies,  sent  from  Jerusalem,  dogged  His  steps  and  noted  His 
words  and  acts,  to  report  them  duly  to  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities,  who  had  seen  more  clearly,  day  by  day,  that  a 
mortal  struggle  was  inevitable  between  the  old  Theocracy 
and  the  Innovator.  Everything  was  in  theu'  favour.  They 
were  in  power,  and  could  at  any  moment  bring  Him  before 
their  own  courts  on  trial,  even  for  life.  But  they  dreaded 
overt  hostility,  and  for  a  time  preferred  to  undermine  Him 
secretly,  by  mooting  suspicions  among  the  people  of  His 
being  a  heretic,  or  affecting  to  think  Him  a  mere  crazed 
enthusiast.  His  most  innocent  sayings  Avere  perverted  to 
evil ;  His  purest  aims  purposely  misconstrued.  Only  the 
favour  of  the  peojile,  and  His  own  moderation,  prudence, 
and  wisdom,  warded  off  open  violence. 

He  had  now,  however,  given  a  pretext  for  more  decided 
action  than  they  had  yet  taken.  No  feature  of  the  Jewish 
system  was  so  marked  as  their  extraordinary  strictness  in 
the  outward  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  as  a  day  of  entire 
rest.  The  Scribes  had  elaborated  from  the  command  of 
Moses,  a  vast  array  of  prohibitions  and  injunctions,  covering 
the  whole  of  social,  individual,  and  pubhc  hfe,  and  carried 
it  to  the  extreme  of  ridiculous  caricature.  Lengthened 
rules  were  prescribed  as  to  the  kinds  of  knots  which 
might  legally  be  tied  on  Sabbath.  The  camel-driver's  knot 
and  the  sailor's  were  unla^vful,  and  it  was  equally  illegal  to 
tie  or  to  loose  them.  A  knot  which  could  be  untied  with 
one  hand  might  be  undone.  A  shoe  or  sandal,  a  woman's 
cup,  a  wine  or  oil-skin,  or  a  flesh-pot  might  be  tied.  A 
pitcher  at  a  spring  might  be  tied  to  the  body-sash,  but  not 
with  a  cord. 

It  was  forbidden  to  write  two  letters,  either  with  the  right 
hand  or  the  left,  whether  of  the  same  size  or  of  different 
sizes,  or  with  different  inks,  or  in  different  languages,  or 
with  any  pigment;  with  ruddle,  gum,  vitriol,  or  anything 
that  can  make  marks ;  or  even  to  write  two  letters,  one  on 
each  side  of  a  corner  of  two  walls,   or  on  two  leaves  of 


96  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

cH.xixvML  a  writing-tablet,  if  they  could  be  read  together,  or  to  write 
them  on  the  body.  But  they  might  be  written  on  any  dark 
fluid,  on  the  sap  of  a  fruit-tree,  on  road-dust,  on  sand,  or  on 
anything  in  which  the  writing  did  not  remain.  If  they 
were  written  with  the  hand  turned  upside  do'\\Ti,  or  with 
the  foot,  or  the  mouth,  or  the  elbow,  or  if  one  letter  were 
added  to  another  previously  made,  or  other  letters  traced 
over,  or  if  a  person  designed  to  -svi'ite  the  letter  n  and  only 
wrote  two  t  t,  or  if  he  wrote  one  letter  on  the  ground  and 
one  on  the  wall,  or  on  two  walls,  or  on  two  pages  of  a  book, 
so  that  they  could  not  be  read  together,  it  was  not  illegal. 
If  a  person,  through  forgetfulness,  wrote  two  characters  at 
different  times,  one  in  the  morning,  the  other,  perhaps 
towards  evening,  it  was  a  question  among  the  Rabbis 
whether  he  had  or  had  not  broken  the  Sabbath. 

The  quantity  of  food  that  might  be  carried  on  Sabbath 
from  one  place  to  another  was  duly  settled.  It  must  be  less 
in  bulk  tlian  a  dried  fig :  if  of  honey,  only  as  much  as 
would  anoint  a  wound  ;  if  water,  as  much  as  would  make 
eye-salve  ;  if  paper,  as  much  as  would  be  put  in  a  phylactery ; 
'  sohurer,  490.  if  ink,  as  much  as  would  form  two  letters.'' 

To  kindle  or  extinguish  a  fire  on  the  Sabbath  was  a  great 
desecration  of  the  day,  nor  was  even  sickness  allowed  to 
violate  Rabbinical  rules.     It  was  forbidden  to  give  an  emetic 
on  Sabbath — to  set  a  broken  bone,  or  put  back  a  dislocated 
e  MSchabb.     joint,*  though  some  Rabbis,  more  liberal,  held  that  whatever 
endangered  life  made  the  Sabbath  law  void,  "  for  the  com- 
mands were  given  to  Israel  only  that  they  might  live  by 
sLeT.i8.i.      them."^s     One  who  was  buried  under  ruins  on  Sabbath, 
might  be  dug  for  and  taken  out,  if  alive,  but,  if  dead,  he  was 
10  joma,viii.7.  to  be  left  where  he  was,  till  the  Sabbath  was  over.^° 

The  holy  day  began  with  sunset  on  Friday,  and  ended 
with  the  sunset  of  Saturday,  but  as  the  disappearance  of  the 
sun  was  the  only  mark  of  the  time,  its  commencement  was 
different  on  a  hiU-top  and  in  a  valley.  If  it  were  cloudy, 
the  hens  going  to  roost  was  the  signal.  The  beginning  and 
close  of  the  Sabbath  were  announced  by  a  trumpet  from  the 
Temple,  and  in  the  different  to^vns.  From  the  decline  of 
the  sun  on  Friday,  to  its  setting,  was  Sabbath-eve,  and  no 


THE   SABBATH   DAY   JOTIRNET.  97 

work  wliicli  would  continue  into  the  hours  of  Sabbath,  ch.  sxsviu. 
could  be  done  in  this  interval.  All  food  must  be  prepared, 
all  vessels  washed,  and  all  lights  kindled,  before  sunset.  The 
money  girdle  must  be  taken  off,  and  all  tools  laid  aside. 
"  On  Friday,  before  the  beginning  of  the  Sabbath,"  said  one 
law,  "no  one  must  go  out  of  his  house  with  a  needle  or  a 
pen,  lest  he  forget  to  lay  them  aside  before  the  Sabbath 
opens.  Every  one  must  also  search  his  pockets  at  that  time, 
to  see  that  there  is  nothing  left  in  them  with  which  it  is 
forbidden  to  2;o  out  on  the  Sabbath."^^     The  refinements  of"  orach 

o  Chajun,  ed. 

Rabbinical  casuistry  were,   indeed,  endless.     To  wear  one    Liivre,p.5o. 

kind  of  sandals  was  carrjing  a  burden,  while  to  wear  another 

kind  was  not.     One  might  cany  a  burden  on  his  shoulder, 

but   it  must   not   be   slung   between  two.^^      It   was  un- '^  ongen;^^ 

la-iv-ful  to  go  out  ■^^^th  wooden  sandals  or  shoes  which  had    G'™er,i.i8. 

nails  in  the  soles,  or  with  a  shoe  and  a  slipper,  unless  one 

foot  were  hurt.^^     It  was  unlawful  for  any  one  to  carry  a  '=  Mi^^^^m^ 

loaf  on  the  public  street,  but  if  two  carried  it,  it  was  not    ==•  ^■ 

unlawful."     The  Sabbath  was  beUeved  to  prevail  in  all  its"  ofrsrer, i. is. 

strictness,  from  eternity,  throughout  the  universe.     All  the 

Rabbinical  precepts  respecting  it  had  been  revealed  to  Jacob 

from  the  orioinals  on  the  tablets  of  heaven. ^^     Even  in  hell  '=  B.d.jubii. 

O  c.  oU. 

the  lost  had  rest  from  their  torments  on  its  sacred  hours, 
and  the  waters  of  Bethesda  might  be  troubled  on  other  days, 
but  were  still  and  unmoved  on  this."''  "  sepp.iv.as. 

In  an  insincere  age  such  excessive  strictness  led  to  constant 
evasions  by  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  ahke.  To  escape  the 
restrictions  which  limited  a  journey  on  Sabbath  to  2,000 
cubits  from  a  town  or  city,  they  carried  food  on  Friday 
evening  to  a  spot  that  distance  beyond  the  walls,  and 
assumed,  by  a  fiction,  that  this  made  that  spot  also  their 
dwelling.  They  could  thus  on  the  Sabbath  walk  the  fuU 
distance  to  it,  and  an  equal  distance  beyond  it,  this  journey 
being  only  the  legal  distance  from  the  fictitious  place  of 
residence!^'  To  make  it  la-\\'ful  to  eat  together  on  the  "-^Derenbonra 
Sabbath  the  Rabbis  put  chains  across  the  two  ends  of  a 
street,  in  which  the  members  of  a  special  fraternity  lived, 
and  called  it  a  single  dwelling,  while  to  excuse  their  carrpng 
the  materials  of  their  Sabbath  repast  to  the  common  hall, 

VOL.  n.  46 


98  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CH.  xxxvm.  they  eacli  laid  some  food  in  it  on  Friday  evening,  to  create 
the  fiction  of  its  being  part  of  the  common  dwelling.  The 
priestly  Sadducees,  on  the  other  hand,  made  no  scruple  to 
have  even  the  beasts  destined  for  their  kitchen  driven  to 
their  shambles  on  the  Sabbath,  on  the  pretext  that  their 
common  meals  were  only  a  continuation  of  the  Temple 
service,  by  which  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath  was  not  legally 
broken. 

Nor  were  such  equivocations  the  only  liberties  taken  with 
the  sacred  day,  for,  however  uncompromising  with  others, 
the  Pharisees  were  disposed  to  violate  the  Sabbath  laws 
when  occasion  demanded.  They  had  one  maxim,  timidly 
applied  it  is  true,  but  still  theii's :  "The  Sabbath  is  for  you, 
but  you  are  not  for  the  Sabljath  ;  "  and  another,  still  bolder, 
"  ^lake  a  common  day  of  }-our  Sabbath  rather  than  go  to 

IS  Derenbonrg,   your  ucidibour  for  hclp."^** 

IW,  1«.  -'  O  i  1.11 

The  priests  and  Rabbis,  thus  secretly  indulgent  to  them- 
selves, but  austerely  strict  before  the  world,  found  an 
opportunity  in  the  cure  at  Bethesda  for  parading  their 
hollow  puritanism,  and  at  the  same  time  raising  a  charge 
against  Jesus,  for  the  man  had  been  healed  on  the  Sabbath, 
'•  See  page  M.  and  had  been  told  to  carry  his  sleeping-mat^^  with  him  to 
his  home.  This  was  enough.  ]\Iet  in  the  street,  cai-rying 
his  pallet,  by  one  of  these  purists,  he  had  been  reprimanded 
for  doing  so  as  contrary  to  the  Law,  and  had  shielded  himself 
by  the  command  of  Him  who  had  miraculously  cured  him. 
It  was  not  till  some  time  after,  when  Jesus  had  come  upon 
him  in  the  Temple,  that  he  knew  the  name  of  his  benefactor, 
for  Jesus  had  hurried  away  from  the  pool,  after  curing  him, 
to  avoid  exciting  the  multitude  round. 

It  seems  from  the  caution  given  him  at  this  second 
meeting,  to  "  sin  no  more,  lest  something  worse  should 
befall  him,"  as  if  the  man  had  brought  his  infirmity  on  him- 
self by  misconduct.  Nor  did  his  after-conduct  do  him 
much  credit.  He  had  no  sooner  discovered  the  fact  than  he 
went  to  the  officials  and  told  who  had  healed  him.  From 
that  moment  the  doom  of  Jesus  was  fixed.  Pharisee  and 
Sadducee,  Rabbi  and  priest,  forgetting  their  mutual  hatreds, 
caballed,  henceforth,  to  fasten  such  accusations  upon  Him 


THE   AUTHORITIES   TAKE   ACTION. 


99 


as  Avould   secure  His   death,  and  never  faltered  in  their  oh.xsxvui 
resolve  till  they  carried  it  out,  two  years  later,  on  Calvary. 

Jesus  seems  forthwith  to  have  been  for  the  first  time  cited 
before  the  authorities,  on  the  formal  charge  of  Sabbath- 
breaking  ;  but  His  judges  were  little  prepared  for  the  tone  of 
His  defence.  Left  to  answer  for  Himself,  He  threw  the 
assemljly  into  a  paroxysm  of  rehgious  fury  by  claiming  to 
work  at  all  times  for  the  good  of  men,  since  it  was  only  what 
God,  His  Father,  had  done,  notwithstanding  the  Sabbath 
Law,  from  the  beginning.  As  His  Son,  He  was  as  little 
to  be  fettered  by  that  Law  or  subject  to  it,  and  was  Lord  of 
the  Sabbath.  The  assembly  saw  what  this  implied.  He 
had  added  to  His  Sabbath  desecration  the  higher  crime  of 
blasphemously  "  making  Himself  equal  with  God,  by  calling 
Him  specially'  His  father."  ^o  The  excitement  must  have  *"  Joi>°  5.  w. 
been  greiat,  for  Orientals  give  free  vent  to  their  feelings, 
under  any  circumstances.  Some  years  after,  the  same 
tribunal,  with  the  crowd  of  spectators,  gnashed  their  teeth 
at  the  martyr  Stephen  in  their  infuriated  bigotr}^,  and  cried 
out  "with  loud  voices,  and  stopped  their  ears  at  his  words.'^  ='  Acta  ^.  s4, 57. 
In  all  probability  a  similar  storm  rose  around  Jesus  now. 
But  He  remained  perfectly  calm,  and  when  silence  was  in  a 
measure  restored,  proceeded  with  His  defence  against  this 
second  charge. 

He  did  not  for  a  moment  deny  that  they  were  right  in 
the  meaning  they  put  on  His  Avords,  but  stated  more  fully 
why  He  used  them.  It  was  impossible  for  Him  to  act  inde- 
pendently of  His  Father;  He  could  only  do  so  if  He  were  not 
His  Son.  There  was  absolute  oneness  in  the  spirit  and  aim 
of  the  works  of  both,  as  in  those  of  a  son  who  looks  mth 
reverence  at  the  acts  of  a  Father,  and  has  no  thought  but 
to  reproduce  them.  "  My  Father,  God,  in  His  love  for  me, 
the  Son,  lays  ever  open  before  me,  in  direct  self-disclosure, 
all  that  He  Himself  does,  that  I  may  do  the  same.  You 
marvel  at  my  healing  the  lame  man,  but  the  Father  vnM 
show  me  greater  works  than  this,  that  I  may  repeat  them 
here  on  earth,  and  that  you  may  wonder,  not  in  ciu-iosity  as 
now,  but  in  shame  at  your  unbelief" 

"Let  me  teU you,"  He  continued,  "  what  these  gi-eater  works 


100  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

OH.  xxxvm.  are.     In  your  Law  it  is  the  special  prerogative  of  the  Father 

«  Deut.32.39.   to  awaken  and  quicken  the  dead,^^  but  it  is  mine  also,  for  I, 
1  Sam.  2.6.  ,       i  ,    '  .     ,    . 

|^*j'™2      the  Son,  quicken  whom  I   will.     And  as  to  judging  men 

le.'is?™"       here  (as  to  their  spiritual  state),  it  is  left  to  me  alone  by  my 

Father,  that  all  men  may  honour  me  as  His  representative, 

as  they  honour  Him.     He  who  does  not  honour  me,  the 

Son,  does  not  honour  the  Father  who  sent  me.     If  you  wish 

to  know  whom  I  spiritually  quicken,  they  are  those  who 

hear  my  Avord,  and  beheve  Him  who  sent  me,  for  they  have 

everlasting  hfe  even  here,  and  are  not  under  condemnation, 

but  have  passed  from  death  to  life.     Verily,  verily,   I  say 

unto   you.  The   hour   is   coming,   and  now   is,    when   the 

(spiritually)  dead  will  hear  my  voice — the  voice  of  the  Son 

of  God,  and  they  that  hear  it  shall  live.     I  thus  wake  them 

to  life,  because  the  Father  has  made  me  the  divine  fountdn 

of  life,  as  He  Himself,  the  living  God,  is.     He  has  also  given 

me  authority  to  judge  men,  because  I  am  the  Son  of  man. 

"  But  marvel  not  at  what  I  have  said  of  Avaking  and 
judging  the  spiritually  dead,  for  I  will  do  yet  greater  works. 
I  shall  one  day  raise  the  actually  dead  from  their  graves, 
and  wiU  judge  them  at  the  great  day,  raising  those  that  did 
good  in  this  world  to  the  resurrection  of  life,  and  those 
that  did  evil  to  a  resurrection  of  judgment.  Nor  is  there  a 
fear  of  error,  for  I  can  do  nothing  of  myself  I  judge  as  I 
hear  from  God,  who,  in  His  abiding  communion  with  me, 
makes  known  His  divine  judgment,  which,  alone,  I  utter. 
Hence  my  judgment  cannot  err,  because  I  speak  only  that 
of  God. 

"  You  may  say  that  I  am  bearing  witness  respecting  my- 
self, and  that,  therefore,  it  is  of  no  value,  but,  if  you  think 
thus,  there  is  another  that  bears  witness  to  me,  and  ye  know 
that  His  testimony  is  true — I  mean  God,  Himself  You 
sent  to  John,  and  he  bore  witness  to  the  truth.  But  the 
testimony  I  receive  is  not  that  of  man.  I  only  say  these 
things  that  you  may  be  saved,  by  taking  John's  testimony  to 
heart,  and  being  waked  by  it  to  faith  in  Me,  and  a  share  in 
the  salvation  which,  as  the  Messiah,  I  oflFer  you.  "WQiat  a 
wondrous  appearance  John  was !  He  was  a  burning  and 
shining  lamp,  and  3'ou  wished  for  a  time  to  rejoice  in  his 


JESUS   MAKES   HIS   DEFENCE.  101 

liglit,  but  when  you  found  that  he  called  you  to  repentance  ch.  xxxyiu. 
rather  than  to  national  glory  and  woi-ldly  prosperity,  you 
forsook  him  and  became  his  enemies.     The  light  he  shed  was 
not  of  the  kind  you  desired. 

"  But  I  have  a  witness  which  is  greater  than  that  of  John. 
The  work  which  the  Father  has  given  me  to  bring  to 
completion — the  work  of  founding  and  raising  the  new 
kingdom  of  God,  as  His  Messiah, — this,  in  all  that  it  implies 
of  outward  and  spiritual  wonders,  bears  witness  that  the 
Father  has  sent  me.  And  not  only  does  God  Himself  testify 
of  me  indirectly,  by  my  work  as  His  Messiah  :  He  does  so 
directly,  in  your  Scriptures.  But  ye  have  not  recognized 
the  voice  of  this  testimony,  nor  realized  the  image  of  me  it 
presents.  You  are  spiritually  deaf  to  the  one,  and  blind  to 
the  other.  Ye  have  not  the  true  sense  of  God's  word  in 
your  consciences,  for  you  do  not  believe  in  His  Messiah, 
whom  He  has  sent,  and  of  whom  these  Scriptures  testify. 
They  witness  to  me  as  the  mediator  of  eternal  life,  and, 
therefore,  every  one  who  humbly  studies  them  as  the  guide 
to  that  life,  will  be  pointed  by  them  to  me.  You  search 
the  Scriptures  professing  to  wish  to  find  life,  and  yet 
refuse  to  accept  me !  How  self-contradictory  and  self- 
condemning  ! 

"I  do  not  reproach  you  thus,  from  any  feeUng  of 
wounded  pride,  for  I  care  nothing  for  the  applause  of  men. 
I  do  it  because  I  know  the  ground  of  your  disbelief — you 
have  not  the  love  of  God  in  your  hearts.  If  you  had,  you 
would  recognize  and  receive  His  Son  whom  He  has  sent.  I 
have  come  in  my  Father's  name,  as  His  commissioned  repre- 
sentative— the  true  Messiah — and  you  have  rejected  me 
with  unbeUeving  contempt,  but  when  a  false  Messiah  comes 
in  his  own  name,  you  ynU.  receive  him !  It  is  no  wonder 
you  have  rejected  me,  for  how  is  it  possible  that  such  as 
you  could  beheve,  who  have  no  higher  craving  than  to 
give  and  accept  empty  earthly  honours,  and  are  indifferent 
to  the  only  true  honour  that  comes  from  being  acknowledged 
and  praised  of  God  ? 

"  You  trust  in  Moses,  who,  you  think,  has  promised  you 
favour  with  God,  here  and  hereafter.     Beware  !  there  is  no 


102  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST, 

CH  xxxvm.  need  that  I  should  accuse  you  before  my  Father,  for  your 
unbelief  in  me.  j\Ioses,  himself,  in  the  books  in  Avhich  you 
trust,  is  your  accuser,  for  if  ye  had  believed  His  writings  ye 
would  have  believed  me,  for  he  wrote  of  me.  But  if  ye  be 
so  blinded  as  neither  to  see,  nor  to  believe  his  writings,  how 
will  ye  believe  my  words  ?" 

The  authorities  had  never  had  such  a  prisoner  before 
them.  They  knew  not  what  to  do  with  Him,  and,  in  their 
confusion  and  utter  defeat,  could  only  let  Him  depart  un- 
harmed. They  had  not  yet  summoned  courage  to  proceed 
to  open  violence. 

This  was  the  turning  point  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  Till  now. 
He  had  enjoyed  a  measui'e  of  toleration  and  even  of  accept- 
ance, but,  henceforth,  all  was  changed.  Jerusalem  was  no 
longer  safe  for  Him,  and,  even  in  Gahlee,  He  was  dogged  by 
»  Eiucott,  143.  determined  enmity.^^  The  shadow  of  the  Cross  darkened 
His  whole  future  career. 

Free  from  His  enemies,  Jesus  appears  to  have  returned  at 
once  to  Galilee,  in  the  hope,  perhaps,  that  there,  far  from 
Jerusalem,  •with  its  fierce  religious  fanaticism  and  malevolent 
hypocrisy,  He  could  breathe  more  freely,  in  the  still  and 
clear  air  of  the  hills.  But  religious  hatred  is  beyond  all 
others  intense  and  persistent.  There  Avere  Rabbis  and 
priests  there,  as  well  as  in  the  south,  and  they  watched  His 
every  step. 

A  fresh  occasion  for   accusation    could  not  be  long  of 
'  rising.     He  had  left  Jerusalem  immediately  after  the  Pass- 

over,  and   on   the    Sabbath   after   the   second   day  of  the 
=•  Ewaid's        Feast  "^ — or,  it  may  be,  a  Sabbath  later  ^* — a  new  charge  was 
V.380  brought  against  Him.     In  the  short  distance  which  it  was 

Bibel  Lei.  v.  o  o 

foot,  in'to^''  lawful  to  walk  on  a  Sabbath — ^less  than  three-quarters  of  a 

Marii2f^     mile' — the  path  lay  through  ripening  fields  of  barley — for 

Luke  6. 1-5.  Nisan,  the  Passover  month,  was  the  ancient  Abib,  or  month 

of  earing,  and  the  first  early  sheaf  was  offered  on  the  second 

day  of  the  Passover.     It  was  by  the  Law,  and  by  Eastern 

custom,  free  to  all  to  pluck  ears  enough  in  a  corn-field,  or 

«  Land  and      grapcs  cnough  from  a  vine,  to  supply  hunger,-"  and  the 

EWd^s^Ait.    disciples,  as  every  Oriental  stiU  does  in  the  same  circum- 

%y^l'^\^%  stances,  availed  themselves  of  this  liberty,  plucking  some 

Eutll2.'2. 


SPIES   AND    INFORMEES.  103 

ears  of  the  barley,  and  rubbing  them  with  their  hands  as  CH.rsxvia 

they  went  on.     The  field  must  have  been  near  some  town, 

most  likely  Capernaum,  for  a  number  of  people  were  about, 

and  among  others,  some  spies."*     It  was  no  wonder  both  He 

and  the  disciples  were  hungry,  for  no  Jew  could  break  his 

fast  till  after  the  morning  service  at  the  synagogue,  or  take 

supper  till  after  the  evening  service,  but  He  had  sanctioned 

two  offences  against  the  Sabbath  laws.     The  plucking  the 

ears  was  a  kind  of  reaping,  and  the  rubbing  was  a  kind  of 

grinding  or  threshing.    Besides,  it  was  required  that  all  food 

should  be  prepared  on  Friday,  before  sunset,  and  the  rubbing 

was  a  preparation."    On  any  other  day  there  would  have 

been  no  cause  of  blame,  but  to  break  the  Sabbath  rather 

than  suffer  hunger  for  a  few  hours,  was  guilt  worthy  of 

stoning."     Was  it  not  their  boast  that  Jews  were  known, 

over  the  world,  by  their  readiness  to  die  rather  than  break 

the  holy  day  ?    Every  one  had  stories  of  grand  fidelity  to  it. 

The  Jewish  sailor  had  refused,  even  when  threatened  with 

death,  to  touch  the  helm  a  moment  after  the  sun  had  set  on 

Friday,  though  a  storm  was  raging ;  and  had  not  thousands 

let  themselves  be  butchered  rather  than  touch  a  weapon 

in  self-defence  on  the  Sabbath  ?     The  "  new  doctrine  "  of 

Jesus  would  turn  the  world  upside  down^^  if  not  stopped !    m  Actar.  e. 

The  spies  of  the  hierarchical  party,  who  had  seen  the 
oflfence,  at  once  accused  Him  for  allowing  it,  but  His 
answer  only  made  matters  worse.  He  reminded  them  how 
David,  when  pressed  by  hunger,  in  his  flight  from  Saul, 
had  eaten  the  holy  bread  and  given  it  to  his  followers, 
though  it  Avas  not  lawful  for  any  but  priests  to  eat  it."P»  isain.21.1. 
Did  that  not  show  that  the  claims  of  nature  overrode  those 
of  a  ceremonial  rule  ?  that  the  necessity  of  David  and  his 
followers  was  to  be  considered  before  the  observance  of  a 
tradition  ?  The  law  of  nature  came  from  God ;  the  theo- 
cratic prohibition  Avas  of  man.  "And  have  you  not  read  in 
the  Law,"^^  added  He,  "how  the  priests  Avork  at  their  duties  =9  Namb.  28. 9 1. 
on  the  Sabbath,  and  yet  are  held  blameless,  though  they  are 
in  fact  breaking  the  holy  day,  if  your  traditions  and  rules 
are  to  be  the  unbending  standard  ?  1  What  is  laAvful  for  the 
servants  of  the  Temple  to  do  on  Sabbath  must  much  more 


104 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


cH.xsxvni.  bo  lawful  fox-  ray  servants  to  do  on  that  day,  for  I  am 
greater  than  the  Temple.  You  condemn  my  disciples 
because  your  thoughts  are  so  fixed  on  outward  rites  that 
you  have  forgotten  how  God  thinks  less  of  them  than  of 

==  Hos.  6. 6.  acts  of  mercy.  Does  He  not  say,-'*  '  I  wiU  have  mercy  and  not 
sacrifice  ? '  It  is  in  your  want  of  mercy  that  you  accuse  my 
followers.  They  have,  besides,  acted  under  my  authority. 
The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  not  man  for  the  Sabbath, 
as  even  the  Phai'isees  allow,  and  therefore,  in  any  case,  its 
laws  must  give  way  before  human  necessities.  But  I,  the 
Son  of  IMan — the  representative  of  man  as  man — the  ]\Iessiah 
of  God — am  still  higher  than  any  individual  man  and  above 
all  your  Sabbath  laws." 

Such  a  retort  and  such  transcendent  claims  may  well  have 
startled  His  accusers,  but  they  only  deepened  their  hatred, 
for  bigotry  is  blind  and  deaf  to  any  reason.  Charge  was 
being  added  to  charge,  accusation  to  accusation.  He  had 
claimed  the  power  to  forgive  sins ;  He  had  associated  with 
publicans  and  sinnei-s ;  He  had  shown  no  zeal  for  washings 
or  fasts,  and,  now,  He  had,  a  second  time,  openly  desecrated 
the  Saljbath. 

His  defence  had  only  made  His  position  towards  the  Phari- 
saic laws  more  antagonistic  than  ever,  for  it  had  denied  that 
they  were  unconditionally  binding.  Their  authority  depended 
on  circumstances :  they  Avere  not  owned  as  directly  divine. 
God  had  planted  a  higher  law  in  the  human  breast,  and  the 
system  of  the  Rabbis  must  yield  before  it.  He  had  vii-tually 
alleged  that  the  time  was  come  to  free  Israel  from  the  yoke 
of  traditional  observance,  and  to  raise  a  new  spiritual  king- 
s'' scbenkei,  87.  dom  ou  the  imperishable  basis  of  truly  divine  law.^°  By 
their  system  man  was  subordinated  to  the  Sabbath,  not  the 
Sabbath  to  man.  This  harshness  was  not  the  design  or  wiU 
of  God.  The  Sabbath  had  been  given  by  Him  for  the  good 
of  man,  and  was  to  be  a  day  of  refreshment,  peace,  and  joy, 
not  of  pain,  sorrow,  and  teiTor.  Jesus,  therefore,  proclaimed 
expressly  that  man  is  greater  than  the  Sabbath,  in  direct 
contradiction  to  the  Pharisaic  teaching,  which  made  the 
Sabbath  of  immeasurably  greater  worth  than  man.  Man, 
and  still  more  Himself,  as  the  representative  of  humanity,  in 


THE   SABBATH   QUESTION   AGAIN. 


105 


its  abiding   dignity  and  rights — the  Son   of  ^lan — is  tlie  ch.  xssvnL 
Lord  of  the  Sabbath.     It  was  a  proclamation  of  spiritual 
freedom. 

The  lowering  schoolmen  of  the  day,  and  the  priest!}^  P^ii'ty, 
felt  themselves  threatened  in  their  most  cherished  hopes, 
wishes,  and  interests.  The  breach  between  them  and  Jesus 
had  been  final,  since  His  half-contemptuous  words  about  the 
old  garment  and  the  old  bottles.  They  had  marked  Him, 
definitely,  as  opposed  to  traditional  Rabbinism,  as  a  danger- 
ous agitator,  and  an  enemy  of  the  venerated  "  Hedge  of  the 
Law,"  the  glory  of  successive  generations  of  Rabbis.  The 
hierarchy  would  at  once  have  indicted  Him  pubUcly,  but  for 
His  wide  popularity  ;  the  devotion  felt  for  Him  by  the  multi- 
tudes He  had  healed  or  comforted ;  the  transparent  singleness 
of  His  aims  and  labours ;  the  gentleness  and  dignity  of  His 
character,  which  enforced  reverence ;  and  His  divine  humility 
and  lowliness  of  heart,^^  which  made  Him  so  unassailable.      "  sehentei,  so. 

The  s}Tiagogues  were,  as  yet,  open  to  Him,  and  He  still 
frequented  them,  for  the  facilities  they  ofifered  of  teaching 
the  people.  Another  violation  of  the  Pharisaic  laws  of  the 
Sabbath  soon  followed,  in  one  of  the  services.  He  had  gone 
to  the  synagogue,  and  was  teaching  in  it,  when  He  noticed  a 
man^^  whose  right  hand,  withered  by  long-standing  local 
paralysis  and  its  consequent  atrophy,"^  hung  helpless  by  his 
side.  Meanwhile,  the  Scribes  and  other  Pharisees,  now 
constantly  on  the  watch  against  Him,  sat  with  keen  eyes  to 
see  if  he  would  venture  to  break  their  Sabbath  laws  once 
more,  by  healing  the  sufferer,  who  could  claim  no  help  till 
the  sacred  day  was  over,  as  he  was  in  no  immediate  danger 
of  life.  Their  fine-spun  casuistry  had  elaborated  endless 
rides  for  the  treatment  of  all  maladies  on  the  sacred  day. 
A  person  in  health  was  not  to  take  medicine  on  the  Sabbath. 
For  the  toothache,  vinegar  might  be  put  in  the  mouth,  if  it 
were  afterwards  swallowed,  but  it  must  not  be  sjaat  qut 
again.  A  sore  throat  must  not  be  gargled  with  oil,  but  the  oil 
might  be  swallowed.  It  was  unlawful  to  rub  the  teeth  with 
sweet  spice  for  a  cure,  but,  if  it  were  done  to  sweeten  the 
breath,  it  was  permitted.  No  fomentations,  &c.,  could  be 
put  to  aiFected  parts  of  the  body.^*     One  prohibition  I  must "  Hor.  Heb. » 


Matt.  12. 
9—14. 

Mark  3.  1—6. 
LukeG.  6— 11. 


106  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

OH. xzsvin.  give  in  Latin.  "Qui  pediculum  occidit  sabb.  idem  est  ac 
si  occidcret  caniolum."  The  school  of  Schaimnai  held  it 
unlawful  to  comfort  the  sick,  or  visit  the  mourner  on  the 
Sabbath,  but  the  school  of  Hillel  permitted  it. 

It  ■was  clear,  therefore,  that,  if  any  cure  of  the  withered 
hand  were  attempted,  there  would  be  ground  for  another 
formal  charge  of  Sabbath-breaking,  Avliich  brought  with  it 
death  by  stoning. 

But  Jesus  never  feared  to  do  right.  No  thought  of  self 
ever  came  between  Him  and  His  witness  to  the  truth. 
Looking  over  at  His  enemies,  as  they  sat  on  the  chief  seats. 
He  read  their  hearts,  and  felt  that  fidelity  to  the  very  law 
which  His  expected  action  would  be  held  to  have  broken, 
demanded  that  that  act  be  done. 

His  whole  soul  was  kindled  with  righteous  anger  and 
sorrow  at  the  hardness  which  forced  conscience  to  be  silent, 
rather  than  confess  the  truth.  It  was  needful  that  such 
hoUowness  and  wilful  perversity  should  be  exposed.  As  the 
Son  of  God — the  jMessiah — sent  to  found  a  kingdom  of  pure 
spiritual  religion.  He  felt  that  the  wisdom  of  the  schools, 
priestly  mediation,  sacrifices,  Temple  rites,  and  Sabbath 
laws,  were  only  a  glittering  veil,  which  shut  out  the  know- 
ledge of  eternal  truth,  alike  towards  God  and  towards  man. 
He  had  taught  and  healed,  announced  the  kingdom  of  spirit 
and  truth,  cheered  the  poor,  reproved  sinners,  lifted  the 
humble  from  tlie  dust,  and  gathered  the  godly  round 
Himself.  Dull,  mechanical  obedience  to  worthless  forms;  or 
love,  from  tlie  fulness  of  the  heart,  was  noAv  the  question,  in 
religion  and  morals.      Should  true  religion  be  spread,   or 

M  schenkei, 01.  CH'or  Confirmed?^*  Should  He  silently  let  blinded  men 
fancy  their  blind  leaders  right,  or  should  He  brave  all,  to 
open  their  e3-es  and  lead  them  into  the  true  Avays  of  His 
Father?  Looking  at  the  paralyzed  man.  He  bade  him  rise 
from  the  floor,  on  which,  with  the  rest  of  the  congregation, 

«  schuror,445.  hc  had  bccn  sitting,^''  and  stand  forth  in  the  midst,  and,  on 
his  doing  so,  in  ready  obedience  to  one  so  famous,  turned 
once  more  to  the  scowling  Rabbis  on  the  dais.  "  Is  it  lawful 
on  the  Sabbath  days,"  He  asked  them,  "to  do  good,  or  to  do 
evil,  to  save  life,  or  to  destroy  it  ?  "    But  they  held  their 


THE   WITHERED    ARM.  107 

peace,  fearing  they  might  commit  themselves  by  answering  ch.xx5viii. 
without  careful  reflection.     "  It  is  allowable,  is  it  not,"  He 
resumed,  "  to  lay  hold  on  a  sheep  which  has  fallen  into  a  pit 
on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  help  it  out  ?  ^'^     How  much  then,  is  37  Hor.Heb.u. 
a  man  better  than  a  sheep  ?     Wherefore  it  is  lawful  to  do    ^"^^ 
well  on  the  Sabbath."     "Stretch  forth  thy  hand,"  said  He, 
continuing,  to  the  sufferer ; — and  the  hand  which,  till  then, 
had  hung  wasted  and  lifeless  at  his  side,  was  healthy  and 
strong  as  the  other. 

Jesus  felt  the  significance  of  the  moment.  He  felt  that 
the  silence  of  His  accusers  was  not  from  conviction,  but 
sullen  obstinacy,  which  had  shut  its  ears  against  the  truth. 
He  felt  that,  between  him  and  the  leaders  of  the  nation,  there 
was  henceforth  a  hopeless  separation.  They  had  finally 
rejected  Him,  and  could  henceforward  onlj^  seek  His  destruc- 
tion. Their  fanaticism,  now  fairly  roused,  forgot  all  minor 
hatreds,  and  united  the  hostile  factions  of  the  nation  in 
common  zeal  for  His  destruction.  No  parties  could  be 
more  opposed  than  the  nationalists  or  Pharisees,  and  the 
Friends  of  Rome''  gathered  round  Herod  Antipas  at  Tiberias, 
but  they  now  united  to  hunt  Jesus  to  the  death.  The 
alliance  boded  the  greatest  danger,  for  it  showed  that,  in 
addition  to  religious  fanaticism.  He  had  now  to  encounter 
the  suspicion  of  designing  poUtical  revolution.  The  Church 
and  the  State  had  banded  together  to  put  "  the  deceiver  of 
the  people  "  out  of  the  way  as  soon  as  possible. 

It  had  been  inevitable  from  the  first  that  it  should  be  so. 
The  Jerusalem  party  expected  the  "Salvation  of  Israel" 
froln  the  unconditional  restoration  of  the  theocracy,  with 
theinselves  at  its  head,  and  from  the  strictest  enforcement  of 
outward  legal  observances.  While  the  contrast  between 
Judaism  and  heathenism  was,  meanwhile,  intensified  and 
embittered  to  the  utmost,  they  hoped  before  long  to  crush 
Rome,  or  perish  in  the  attempt.  They  would  have  greeted 
any  one  who  proved  able  to  impose  their  law,  in  all  its 
strictness,  on  mankind, — as  a  d'eUverer,  as  the  stem  from  the 
root  of  David,  as  the  Saviour  and  Messiah.  In  Jesus,  on  the 
contrary,  there  appeai-ed  one  who,  while  constraining  their 
wonder  at  His  lofty  morality  and  spiritual  greatness,  was 


108  ■  THE  LIFE    OF  CHRIST. 

cH.xxxvm,  the  very  opposite  of  all  tliey -wished  and  hoped.  He  claimed 
to  be  the  Messiah,  but  His  ideal  of  the  Messiahship  was  the 
antithesis  of  that  of  the  Rabbis  and  priesthood.  He  had 
announced  Himself  as  the  founder  of  a  new  theocracy  more 
spiritual  and  more  holy  than  that  of  ]\Ioses.  He  had  thrown 
a  new  light  on  the  Scriptures  ;  had  revealed  God  in  a  new 
aspect — as  no  mere  national  deity,  but  the  Father  of  all 
mankind,  and  He  had  taught  the  most  startling  novelties  as 
to  the  freedom  of  the  individual  conscience.  The  Rabbis 
had  enjoyed,  as  their  exclusive  prerogative,  the  exposition 
of  Scripture,  but  now  found  themselves  dethroned  by  the 
religious  freedom  Jesus  had  proclaimed,  and  He  had  even 
spoken  of  them  as  a  hindrance  of  true  knowledge.  The  spirit 
of  His  teaching  compromised  the  whole  state  of  things  in  the 
religious  world.  He  proclaimed  a  new  future  :  the  vested 
rights  of  the  day  clung  to  the  past,  mth  which  their  in- 
terests and  their  passions  were  identified. 

The  new  wine  was  thus  already  bursting  the  old 
bottles,  and  the  result  covild  not  be  doubtful.  Conservatism 
felt  itself  imperilled,  for  it  had  been  weighed,  and  found 
wanting.  The  priesthood  had  become  a  dividing  wall  be- 
tween God  and  Israel.  The  religious  decay  of  the  nation 
found  in  it  its  expression.  The  sacrifices  were  mere  out- 
ward forms;  the  Temple,  notwithstanding  the  glory  with 
which  Herod's  love  of  magnificence  and  hypocritical  piety 
had  adorned  it,  was  a  symbol  of  exclusiveness,  intolerance, 
and  hatred  of  humanity  at  large  ;  the  high  officialism  of  the 
day,  a  dam  against  every  reform,  every  breath  of  fresh 
religious  thought,  and  every  attempt  at  a  purer  spiritual 

a  Schenkel,!.     lifc.^* 


GALILEE.  109 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

GALILEE. 

THE  opposition  of  the  Rabbis  and  priests,  however  chap,  ssxix 
mahgnant  and  fixed,  was  as  yet  confined  to  secret 
plottings.^  With  the  people  at  large,  Jesus  continued  even  •  J^^f^/^- 
increasingly  popular.  It  was  advisable,  however,  to  avoid  *i'"'''3.7, 12. 
any  pretext  for  overt  hostility,  and  hence  He  withdrew  from 
Capernaum  for  a  time,  on  another  mission  to  the  towns  and 
villages  on  the  edge  of  the  Lake,  tiU  the  storm,  in  a  measure, 
blew  over.  To  the  chagrin  of  his  enemies,  the  multitudes 
attracted  to  see  and  hear  Him  were  larger  than  ever.  The 
excitement  was  evidently  spreading  through  all  Palestine, 
for  numbers  still  continued  to  come  from  Jerusalem  and 
Idumea  on  the  south ;  from  Perea  and  Decapolis  and  other 
parts  on  the  east,  and  even  from  the  heathen  district  round 
Tyre  and  Sidon  on  the  north.  There  were  many  Jews 
settled  in  every  part  of  the  land,  and  the  concourse  was  no 
doubt  of  such  almost  exclusively.  It  was  even  found  neces- 
sary that  a  boat  should  attend  Him,  as  He  journeyed  along 
the  shore,  that  He  might  betake  Himself  to  it  when  the 
throng  gi-ew  oppressive.  Miraculous  cases  in  great  number 
increased  the  excitement,  many  who  crowded  round  Him 
finding  relief  by  touching  even  His  clothes,  and  unclean 
spirits  falling  down  before  Him  in  involuntary  confession  of 
His  being  the  Son  of  God.  But  though  His  pity  would  not 
refuse  to  heal  any  who  came,  He  still  sought  to  avoid  the 
offence  of  too  great  notoriety,  by  requiring  secrecy.  His 
gentle  and  unostentatious  progress  was  in  such  ^dvid  con- 
trast to  the  noisy  and  disputatious  ways  of  the  Rabbis,  that 
St.  Matthew  saw  in  it  a  fulfilment  of  the  Messianic  visions 
of  Isaiah,  for  He  did  not  strive,  nor  cry  aloud,  nor  was  His 


110  THE    LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xxxTx.  voice  heard  in  the  streets,  and  in  His  tender  gentleness  He 
would  not  break  a  bruised  reed,  or  quench  even  the  smoking 

!  Isaiah42.1— 3.  flaX." 

The  Gospels  do  not  enable  us  to  follow  any  chronological 
sequence  in  the  incidents  recorded  by  them,  of  these  months 
of  our  Lord's  ministry,  but  it  must  have  been  about  this 
time,  perhaps  on  His  return  to  Capernaum,  from  this  mis- 
sion, that  we  must  date  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  their 
1  Mnu.8.i>-i3.  narratives.^     He  had  scarcely  reached  home,  after  His  cir- 
cuit, when  a  deputation  of  "  the  elders  of  the  Jews  "  waited 
on  Him.     They  were  the  foremost  men  in  the  Capernaum 
community — the  governing  body  of  the  synagogue,  and,  as 
such,  the  Jewish  magistrates  of  the  town.     It  is  the  habit 
in  the  East  to  send  such  embassies  when  any  request  is  to 
be  made  or  in\'itation  given  with  circumstances  of  special 
«  undand      Tcspcct,*  but  thcfc  was  a  feature  in  this  case  that  made  it 
very  unusual.     The  members   of  the  deputation,    though 
Jewish  ecclesiastical  officials,  came  as  the  representatives  of 
a  heathen,  possibly  of  a  Samaritan.     Lj'ing  on  the  edge  of 
his  territory,  Herod  Antipas  kept  a  small  garrison  in  Caper- 
naum,  and  this,  at  that  time,   was  under  command  of  a 
centurion,  who,  like  many  of  the  better  heathen  of  the  day, 
had  been  drawn  towards  Judaism  by  its  favourable  contrast 
with  idolatr}'.     He  had  shown  his  sj-mpathy  with  the  nation, 
and  his  generous  spirit,  in  a  way  then  not  uncommon  among 
»iiiacauedrt«  the  Wealthy,  by  building  a  sjoiagogue^  in  the  town — j^er- 
a'^'^rentV"''  ^^V^  ^^at  of  wliich  tliB  massive  ruins  still  remain.''     One  of 
wasui'^Liy    his  slaves  had  been  struck  with  a  paralytic  affection,  and 
« iCrer,324.    ^^  ^^^^  sinking ;  and  with  a  tenderness  that  did  him  infinite 
honour  in  an  age,  when  a  slave,  "n^ith  many  masters,  and 
even  in  the  eye  of  the  Roman  law,"  was  treated  as  a  mere 
chattel,  he  prayed  Jesus,  through  the  Jewish  elders,^  to  heal 
him.     Their  request  was  at  once  comphed  with,  and  Jesus 
forthwith  set  out  with  them  to  the  centurion's  quarters. 

But  the  zeal  of  the  messengers  had  outrun  their  commis- 
sion, for,  as  Jesus  approached  the  house,  a  second  deputation 
met  Him,  to  deprecate  His  being  put  to  so  much  trouble, 
and  to  apologize,  by  an  humble  expression  of  the  centurion's 
sense  of  his  unworthiness  of  the  honour  of  such  an  One 


THE    CENTUEIOn's   SLAVE.  Ill 

coming  under  his  roof.  He,  liimself,  appears  to  have  fol-  c!h.\p,  xs: 
lowed,  as  if  it  had  been  too  great  a  liberty  to  approach  Jesus 
except  at  the  distance  of  two  mediations.  "Lord,"  said  he, 
"  trouble  not  Thyself;  for  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou 
shouldest  enter  under  my  roof.  Wherefoi'e,  neither  thought 
I  myself  worthy  to  come  to  Thee  ;  but  say  in  a  word,  and 
my  servant  shall  be  healed.  For  I,  also,  am  a  man  set  under 
authority  (and  render  obedience  to  my  superiors),  and  have 
soldiers  under  me,  and  I  say  to  this  one,  Go,  and  he  goes ; 
to  another,  Come,  and  he  comes ;  and  to  my  servant.  Do 
this,  and  he  does  it.  If,  therefore,  You  indicate  Your  plea- 
sure only  by  a  word,  the  demons  who  cause  diseases  wiU  at 
once  obey  You  and  leave  the  sick  man,  for  they  are  under 
Your  authority''  as  my  servants  are  under  mine." 

Faith  so  clear,  undoubting,  and  humble,  had  never  before 
cheered  the  heait  of  Jesus,  even  fi-om  a  Jew,  and,  coming  as  it 
did  from  the  lips  of  a  heathen,  it  seemed  the  first-fruits  of  a 
vast  harvest,  outside  the  limits  of  the  Ancient  People.  He  had 
found  a  welcome  in  Samaria  when  rejected  in  Judea;  and  now 
it  was  from  a  heathen  He  received  this  lowly  homage.  The 
clouds  that  had  lain  over  the  world  through  the  jsast  seemed 
to  break  away,  and  a  new  earth  spread  itself  out  before  His 
soul.  The  kingdom  of  God,  rejected  by  Israel,  would  be 
welcomed  by  the  despised  Gentile  nations.  "  Yerily,"  said 
He,  "  I  teU  you,  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in 
Israel.  And  I  say  unto  you  that  many  shall  come  fi'om  the 
east  and  the  west,  and  lie  down  at  the  table  of  God  in  the 
kingdom  of  the  Jlessiah,  as  honoured  guests,  with  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  while  the  Jew,  who  pi-ided  himself  on 
being,  by  birth,  the  child  of  the  heavenly  kingdom,  and 
despised  all  others,  as  doomed  to  sit  in  the  darkness  outside 
the  banquet  haU  of  the  ]\Iessiah,  will  have  to  change  places 
with  them ! "  To  His  hearers  such  language  would  sj^eak 
with  a  force  to  be  measured  only  by  their  fierce  pride  and 
intolerance.  To  share  a  gi'and  banquet  with  the  patriarchs 
in  the  Messianic  kingdom,  Avas  a  favourite  mode  with  the 
Jews  of  picturing  the  blessedness  that  kingdom  would 
bring.  "  In  the  future  world,"  they  made  God  say,  in  one 
of  their  Rabbinical  lessons,   "  I  shall  spread  for  you  Jews  a 


112  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP^xxxix.  grgfit  table,  which  the  Gentiles  will  see  and  be  ashamed."  ^ 
'  sS'Sn"  But  now  the  rejection  and  despair  are  to  be  theirs !.  The 
contrast  betAveen  Jesus  and  the  Rabbis  was  daily  becoming 
more  marked,  for  now  He  adds  to  all  else  a  gi*and  vision  of 
a  universal  religion,  and  of  a  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  no 
longer  national,  but  sending  a  welcome  to  all  humanity  who 
will  submit  to  its  laws. 

"  Go  thy  way,"  added  He,  to  the  centurion,  "  and  as  thou 
hast  believed,  so  be  it  done  to  thee."  And  his  slave  was 
healed  in  that  very  hour. 

He  had  apparently  left  Capernaum  the  same  day,  for  we 
find  Him,  the  next,  at  a  village  called  Nain,  twenty-five 
miles  to  the  south-west,  on  the  northern  slope  of  "  Little 
Hermon,  a  clump  of  hills  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  great 
plain  of  Esdraelon.  It  was  still  the  early  and  popular  time 
of  His  ministry,  and  crowds  followed  Him  wherever  He 
appeared.  Nain,  which  is  now  a  poor  and  miserable  hamlet, 
inhabited  only  by  a  few  fanatical  Mahometans,  may  then 
have  deserved  its  name — the  beautiful.  The  only  antiquities 
about  it  are  some  tombs  hewn  in  the  hills,  seen  as  you 
approach,  beside  the  road,  which  winds  up,  to  the  village. 
The  pi-esence  of  the  Prince  of  Life,  with  a  throng  of 
disciples  and  followers,  might  well  have  banished  thoughts 
of  sadness,  but  shadows  everywhere  lie  side  by  side  with 
the  light.  As  He  came  near,  another  procession  met  Him, 
descending  from  Nain,  the  dismal  sounds  rising  from  it, 
even  at  a  distance,  telling  too  plainly  what  it  was.  Death 
had  been  busy  under  these  blue  summer  skies,  and  its  prey 
was  now  being  borne,  amidst  the  wail  of  the  mourner,  to  its 
last  resting-place.  A  colder  heart  than  that  of  Jesus  Avould 
have  been  touched,  for  it  was  a  case  so  sad  that  the  Avhole 
town  had  poured  forth  to  show  its  sympathy  Avith  the 
broken  heart  that  folloAved  next  the  bier.*^  It  was  the  funeral 
of  a  young  man,  the  only  son  of  a  AvidoAv,  now  left  in  that 
saddest  of  all  positions  to  a  Jew — to  mourn  alone  in  the  deso- 
lated home  in  Avhich  he  had  died,  doubtless  only  a  very  few 
hours  before.®  Moved  with  the  pity  at  all  times  an  instinct 
Avith  Him,  Jesus  could  not  let  the  train  sweep  on.  It 
was  not  meet  that  death  should  reap  its  triumph   in  His 


RAISING   THE   WIDOW's   SON.         '  113 

presence.  Stepping  towards  the  poor  mother,  He  dried  up  the  chap,  xxxix. 
fountain  of  her  tears  by  a  soft  appeah  "  Weep  not,"  said 
He,  and  then  moved  to  the  bier,  careless  of  the  defilement 
which  would  have  made  a  Rabbi  pass  as  far  as  He  could 
from  the  dead.  Touching  it,  those  who  bore  the  body  at 
once  stood  still.  It  was,  doubtless,  a  mere  open  frame,  like 
that  still  used  for  such  purposes  in  Palestine.  "Young 
man,"  said  He,  "  I  say  unto  thee,  Arise."  It  was  enough. 
"  He  that  was  dead  sat  up  and  began  to  speak.  And  He 
delivered  him  to  his  mother." 

It  was  at  Shunem,  now  Solani,^  a  village  on  the  other  side  8  smith-sBiwe 
of  the  very  hill  on  which  Nain  stood,  that  Elisha  had  raised  """"^'^• 
the  only  son  of  the  lady  who  had  hospitably  entertained 
him;  and  the  luxuriant  plain  of  Jezreel,  stretching  out 
beneath,  had  been  the  scene  of  the  greatest  events  in  the  life 
of  Elijah,  who  had  raised  to  life  the  son  of  the  widow  in  the 
Phenician  village  of  Sarepta,  on  the  far  northern  coast.  No 
prouder  sign  of  their  greatness  as  prophets  had  lingered  in 
the  mind  of  the  nation  than  such  triumphs  over  the  grave, 
and  in  no  place  could  such  associations  have  been  more  rife 
than  in  the  very  scene  of  the  life  of  both.  At  the  sight  of 
the  young  man  once  more  alive,  the  memory  of  Elijah  and 
Elisha  was  on  every  lip,  and  cries  rose  on  all  sides  that  a 
great  prophet  had  again  risen,  and  that  God  had  visited  His 
people.  Nor  did  the  report  confine  itself  to  these  upland 
regions.  It  flew  far  and  near  to  Judea  in  the  south,  and 
even  to  the  remote  Perea. 

For  now,  six  months;  it  maybe  for  more  than  ayear,^  the 
Baptist — the  one  man  hithei'to  recognized,  in  these  days, 
as  a  prophet,  had  lain  a  prisoner  in  the  dungeons  of 
Machaerus — doubtless,  in  hourly  expectation  of  death — 
a  man,  young  in  years,  but  wasted  with  his  own  fiery  zeal, 
and  now  by  the  shadows  of  his  prison-house.  But  Antlpas 
had  not  yet  determined  what  to  do  with  him.  Shielding 
him  from  the  fuiy  of  Herodias,  and  yet  dreading  to  let  him 
go  free,^  he  still  suffered  him,  as  Felix  permitted  Paul  long  »  Acts  24. 28. 
afterwards,  at  Ctesarea,  to  receive  visits  from  his  disciples, 
as  if  almost  ashamed  to  confine  one  so  blameless.  The 
rumours  of  Christ's  doings  had  thus,  all  along,  reached  the 

VOL.  II.  47 


114  THE   LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP. xssis.  lofty  castle  where  he  lay,  and,  cloul)tk'SS,  were  the  one  f^reat 
subject  of  his  thought  and  conversation.  As  a  Jew,  he  had 
clung  to  Jewish  ideas  of  the  Messiah,  expecting,  apparently, 
a  national  movement  which  would  establish  a  pure  theo- 
cracy, under  Jesus.  Why  had  He  left  him  to  languish 
in  prison?  Why  had  He  not  used  His  supernatural  powers 
to  advance  the  kingdom  of  God  ? 

To  solve  such  questions,  which  could  not  be  repressed, 
two  of  his  disciples  were  deputed  to  visit  Jesus,  and  learn 
from  Himself  whether  He  was,  indeed,  the  Messiah,  or 
whether  the  nation  should  still  look  for  another?  From 
first  to  last,  more  than  sixty  claimants  of  the  title  were  to 
rise.  John  might  well  wonder  if  the  past  were  not  a  dream, 
and  Jesus  only  a  herald  like  liimsclf.  He  had  everything 
to  depress  him.  A  child  of  the  desert,  accustomed  to  its 
wild  freedom,  he  was  now  caged  in  a  dismal  fortress,  with 
no  outlook  except  black  lava-crags,  and  deep  gorges,  ya-\vn- 
ing  in  seemingly  bottomless  depths.  Burning  with  zeal,  he 
found  himself  set  aside  as  if  forgotten  of  God,  or  of  no  use 
in  His  kingdom.  Even  the  people  appeared  to  have  forgotten 
him,  for  their  fickle  applause  had  begun  to  lessen,  even 
before  his  imprisonment.  His  work  seemed  to  have  been 
without  results;  a  momentary  excitement  Avhich  had  already 
died  away.  He  could  not  hope  for  visits  from  Jesus  which 
could  only  have  given  a  second  prisoner  to  Machaerus  — 
"  the  Black  Castle." 

The  reaction  from  the  sense  of  boundless  liberty  in  the 
desert  to  the  forced  inaction  and  close  Avails  of  a  prison, 
and  from  the  stir  and  enthusiasm  of  the  great  assemblies  at 
the  fords  of  the  Jordan,  affected  even  the  strong  and  firm 
soul  of  the  hero,  as  similar  influences  have  afifected  even  the 
bravest  heai-ts  since  his  day.  Moses  and  Elijah  had  had 
their  times  of  profound  despondency,  and  it  was  no  wonder 
that  a  passing  cloud  threw  its  shadow  even  over  the  Baptist. 
The  answer  of  Jesus  was  full  of  calm  dignity.  Isaiah,  the 
special  favourite  of  John,  had  given  the  marks,  ages  before, 
by  which  the  Messiah  should  be  known,  and  these  Jesus 
proceeded  at  once  to  display  to  the  disciples  sent  from 
]\Iachaerus.     Amonfj  the  crowds   around  Him,  there  were 


PKAISE    OF   THE    BAPTIST. 


115 


alwa}'s  many  who  had  been  attracted  by  the  hope  of  a  "hap.  xxxix. 
miraculous  cure  of  their  diseases  or  infirmities,  and  these 
He  forthwith  summoned  to  His  j^resence,  and  healed.  John 
would  understand  the  significance  of  such  an  answer,  and  it 
left  undisturbed  the  delicacy  which  shrank  from  verbal  self- 
assertion.  His  acts,  and,  doubtless,  the  words  that  accom- 
panied them,  were  left  to  speak  for  Him.  It  was  enough 
that  He  should  refer  them  to  Isaiah,  and  to  what  they  had 
seen.  "  Go  your  way,  and  tell  John  what  you  have  seen 
and  heard.  The  blind  see,  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are 
cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised,  and  the  poor 
have  the  Gospel  preached  to  them.""°  "  Tell  him,  moreover,  w  isaiahss.s; 
that  I  know  how  he  is  tempted;  but  let  him  comfort  himself  ^'^'^-JIjIzJs: 
mth  the  thought  that  he  who  holds  fast  his  faith  in  spite  of 
all  fiery  trials,  and  does  not  reject  the  kingdom  of  God 
because  of  its  small  beginnings,  and  stiU,  spiritual  gentleness, 
so  different  from  the  worldly  power  and  glory  expected, 
already  has  the  blessings  it  is  sent  to  bring."^^  "  Ewaw, T.431 

The  messengers  had  hardly  departed,  when  His  full  heart 
broke  out  into  a  eulogy  on  John,  tender,  lofty,  and  fervent. 
"  It  was  no  weak  and  wavering  man,"  said  He,  "  bending 
this  way  and  that,  like  the  tall  Jordan  reeds,''  that  ye  went 
out  in  bands  to  the  desert  banks  of  the  Jordan  to  see !  No  soft 
and  silken  man,  tricked  out  in  splendid  dress,  and  hving  on 
dainty  fare,  like  the  glittering  courtiers  at  Tiberias !  John 
was  a  prophet  of  God — aye,  the  last  and  the  greatest  of  pro- 
phets, for  he  was  sent  as  the  herald  to  prepai-e  the  way  for 
Me,  the  Messiah  !  I  tell  you,  among  all  that  have  been  born 
of  women,  a  greater  and  more  honoured  than  John  the 
Baptist  has  not  risen !  " 

Passing  from  this  tender  tribute,  which  He  had  already 
paid  to  His  great  forerunner,  even  before  the  authorities  at 
Jerusalem, ^^  He  proceeded,  as  was  meet,  to  point  out  the '^  John  5. 35. 
gi-eater  privileges  enjoyed  by  His  hearers,  than  even  by  one 
so  famous.  "He  was  great  indeed  in  the  surpassing  dignity 
of  his  office,  as  the  herald  of  the  Kingdom ;  yet  one  far  less,' 
but  still  a  member  of  that  Kingdom,  which  is  now  set  up 
amons:  vou,  is  neater  in  the  honour  of  his  citizenship^^  than  13  Lightfoot,  a. 
he,  for  he  stood  outside.     But  he  did  a  mighty  work ;  he    Meyer,  .n  toe. 


116  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  xxxis.  roused  the  land  to  a  grand  earnestness  for  the  kingdom  of 
the  Messiah,  and  they  Avho  were  thus  stirred  by  him,  are 
those  now  being  received  into  it.  The  prophets  and  the  Law 
only  prophesied  of  my  coming :  John  announced  Me  as 
having  come.  Believe  Me,  he  was  the  Elias  who  was  to 
appear. "'' 

To  a  Jewish  audience,  no  honour  could  be  so  great  as  this, 
for  Elijah  Avas  the  greatest  of  all  the  prophets.  "  Elijah 
appeared,"  says  the  son  of  Sirach,  "  a  prophet  like  fire,  and 
his  words  burned  like  a  torch.  He  brought  doAvn  famine  on 
Israel,  and  by  his  stormy  zeal,  he  took  it  away.  Through 
the  Word  of  the  Lord  he  shut  up  the  heavens,  and  thrice 
brought  down  fire  from  them.  0  !  Iioav  wert  thou  magni- 
fied, 0  Elijah,  by  thy  mighty  deeds,  and  who  can  boast 
that  he  is  thine  equal !  He  raised  the  dead  to  life,  and 
brought  them  from  the  under  Avorld  by  the  word  of  the 
Highest.  He  cast  kings  to  destruction,  and  the  noble  from 
their  seats.  He  received  power  to  punish,  on  Sinai,  and 
judgments  on  Horeb.  He  anointed  kings  to  revenge  guilt, 
and  prophets  to  be  his  successoi's.  He  was  carried  up  in  a 
flaming  storm,  in  a  chariot  with  horses  of  fire;  he  is  appointed 
for  the  coiTection  of  times  to  come,  to  abate  God's  wrath 
before  judgment  be  let  loose,  to  turn  the  heart  of  the  father 
to  the  sons,  and  to  restore  the  tribes  of  Jacob.     It  is  well  for 

»  Ecdestasttoos  thosc  who  shall  behold  thee  !  "^*  All  the  majesty  of  the  pro- 
phetic office  seemed  incorporate  in  the  Tishbite,  and  yet  this 
did  not  seem  enough  to  Jesus  to  express  the  dignity  of  John, 
for  he  was  more  than  a  prophet,  and  no  greater  had  ever 

»  Hansmth,  i.    riscu  amoug  all  the  sons  of  men. ^^ 
4i''  Keim,         The  messag'e  from  John  was  only  the  expression  of  the 

iL  367—368.  °  . 

wiJ^st'  general  feeling  which,  by  its  want  of  spiritual  elevation,  ques- 
tioned the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  because  He  had  not  realized 
the  national  idea  of  a  Jewish  hero-king,  at  the  head  of  a 
great  revolt  from  Rome,  destroj'ing  the  heathen,  and  estab- 
lishing the  theocracy  by  wonders  like  the  dividing  of  the 
Red  Sea,  or  the  thunderings  of  Sinai.  It  struck  home  to  the 
heart  of  the  Saviour,  that  even  His  Herald  should  have  no 
higher  or  worthier  conception  of  the  true  nature  of  the 
kingdom  of  God, — that  even  he,  so  near  the  light, — should 


SELF-EIGHTEOUS   PRIDE   OF   THE   JEWS.  117 

have  caught  so  httle  of  its  brightness.  No  wonder  the  chap^xxxis. 
people,  as  a  mass,  rejected  Him.  How  long  had  he  taught 
in  the  towTis  of  Galilee,  and  yet  how  dispropoi-tionately 
small  was  the  number  He  had  really  won,  in  spite  of  the 
throngs  who  had  pressed  with  eager  curiosity  and  wonder 
roimd  Him,  and  the  respect  He  had  excited  by  His  teachings ! 
His  heart  was  bowed  with  sorrow.  He  had  come  to  His  own, 
and  His  oaati  did  not  receive  Him.  Infinite  love  and  pity 
for  them  fiUed  His  soul,  for  He  was  Himself  a  son  of  Israel, 
and  would  fain  have  led  His  brethren  into  the  Xew  King- 
dom, as  the  first-fruits  of  the  nations.  But  thej'  i-efused  to 
let  themselves  be  delivered  from  the  spiritual  and  moral 
slavery  under  which  they  had  long  sunk.  The  yoke  of 
the  Romans  was  not  their  greatest  misfortune.  That  of  the 
dead  letter,  and  of  frozen  forms  and  formute,  which  chilled 
every  nobler  aspiration,  and  shvit  up  the  heart  against  true 
repentance,  and  practical  holiness,  was  a  far  greater  calamity. 
Even  their  highest  ideal — the  conception  of  the  Messiah — 
had  become  a  heated  fantastic  dream  of  universal  dominion, 
apart  from  religious  reform.  A  glimpse  of  other  fields, 
which  promised  a  richer  harvest,  had,  however,  lifted  His 
spu'it  to  consoling  thoughts,  for  the  heathen  centurion  had 
shown  the  faith  which  was  w^anting  in  Israel.  His  homage 
had  been  like  the  wave-olFering  before  God,  of  the  first  sheaf 
of  the  Gentile  world !  Heathenism  might  be  sunk  in  error 
and  sin,  crime  and  lust,  and  all  moral  confusion  might  reign 
■widely  in  it ;  there  was  more  hope  of  repentance  and  a 
return  to  a  better  life,  from  heathen  indifference  or  guilt, 
than  from  Jewish  insane,  self-righteous  pride.-^''  k  schentei, ica. 

The  crowd  of  despised  common  people  and  publicans,^''  to  it  nattn. 
whom  Jesus  had  addressed  His  eulogy  of  John,  received  it  LvOie;.' 29-35. 
with  delight,  for  the}'  had  themselves  been  baptized  by  the 
now  imprisoned  prophet.  There  were  not  wanting  others, 
however,  whom  it  greatly  otFended — ^the  Pharisees  and  Scribes 
present  for  no  friendly  purpose.  With  the  instinct  of 
monopoly,  they  condemned  at  once  whatever  had  not  come 
through  the  legitimate  channels  of  authorized  teaching. 
They  had  gone  out  to  John,  but  with  the  foregone  conclusion 
to  hear,  criticize,  and  reject  him  with  supercihous  contempt, 


CHAP.  T-^TTJX. 


118  THE   LIFE    OF  CHRIST. 

as  only  fit  for  the  vulgar.  Though  a  priest's  son,  he  was 
virtually  a  layman,  for  he  had  not  been  duly  ordained.  He 
might  be  good  enough  in  His  way,  but  he  was  not  a  Rabbi. 
He  was  almost  guilty  of  schism,  like  Korah.  He  was  not 
licensed  by  the  authorities,  and  yet  preached,  as,  indeed,  for 
that  matter,  was  the  case  with  Jesus  Himself.  The  bitter 
hostiUty  both  John  and  He  had  met,  rose  the  more  in  the 
Saviour's  mind  at  the  sight  of  the  Rabbis  on  the  skirts  of  the 
crowd,  and  the  sadness  and  indignation  of  His  heart  broke 
out  in  stern  denunciation.  "To  what  shall  I  liken  the  men 
of  this  generation  ?  They  are  like  childi'en  in  the  empty 
market-places,  plaj^ing  at  marriages  and  mournings;  some 
making  music  on  the  flute  for  the  one;  some  acting  like 
mourners  for  the  other ;  but  neither  the  cheerful  piping, 
nor  the  sad  beating  on  the  breast,  pleasing  the  companion 
audience.  John  the  Baptist  came  upholding  the  traditions 
and  customs  of  you  Rabbis ;  for  He  fasted,  and  paid  attention 
to  washings,  and  set  prayers,  and  enjoined  these  on  his 
disciples;  but  you  said  he  was  too  strict,  and  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  him,  and  that  he  spoke  in  so  strange  a  way 
because  He  had  a  devil.  I  came  eating  and  drinking — 
neither  a  Nazarite  like  John,  nor  requiring  fasts  like  him ; 
nor  avoiding  the  table  of  all  but  the  ceremonially  pure,  like 
the  Pharisees  ;  and  you  say  I  am  too  fond  of  eating  and  of 
■wine,  and  still  worse,  am  a  friend  of  the  publicans  and 
sinners  you  despise.  But  the  true  divine  Avisdom  which 
both  he  and  I  have  proclaimed  is  justified  by  those  who 
honour  and  follow  it,  for  they  know  its  surpassing  worth, 
though  you  treat  it  as  folly!  The  divine  wisdom  of  both  his 
and  my  coming  as  we  have  come,  is  vindicated  by  all  who 
humbly  seek  to  be  wise,  and  the  folly  of  men  is  seen  in 
their  fancied  wisdom." 

He  would  fain  have  led  all  to  whom  He  had  preached  in 
His  frequent  journeys,  into  the  Avays  of  peace.  But  tender 
though  He  was,  He  was  also  stern,  when  stolid  obduracy 
shut  its  eyes  on  the  sacred  light  He  had  brought  to  them. 
Most  of  His  mighty  works  had  been  done,  and  most  of  His 
no  less  mighty  words  had  been  spoken,  in  Chorazin,  Beth- 
saida,  and  Capernaum,  the  district  which  He  had  made  His 


COXDEMNATION    OF   BIPEXITENCE.  119 

home.      But  they  had  led  to  no  general  penitence.     With  a  chap.sxxix 

voice  of  unspeakable  sadness,  mingled  with  holy  wrath,  He 

denounced  such  wilful  perversity.    "Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin, 

woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida,  for  if  the  mighty  works  I  have 

done  in  you  had  been  done  even  in  Tyre  and  Sidon,  the 

types  of  besotted  heathenism,   they  would  have  repented 

long  ago,  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.     But  I  say  unto  you,  It 

wiU  be  more  tolerable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon  in  the  Day  of 

Judgment  than  for  you.     And  thou,  Capernaum,  exalted  to 

heaven  by  my  dwelling  and  working  in  you,  shalt  be  thrust 

down  to  Hades,  at  the  Day  of  Judgment ;  for  if  the  mighty 

works  I  have  done  in  thee  had  been  done  in  Sodom,  it 

woidd  have  remained  until  this  day.     But  I  say  unto  you. 

It  will  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom,  in  the  Day 

of  Judgment,  than  for  thee  !  " 

It  would  seem  as  if  at  this  point,  some  communication 
that  pleased  Him  had  been  made  to  Jesus.  Perhaps  His 
disciples  had  told  Him  of  some  success  obtained  among  the 
simple  crowds  to  whom  they  had  preached  the  New  King- 
dom. Whatever  it  was.  He  broke  forth  on  hearing  it  into 
thanksgiving :  "  I  praise  Thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,  that  Thou  hast  hid  the  things  of  Thy  Kingdom  from 
those  who  are  thought,  and  who  think  themselves  wise,  and 
ciualitied  to  judge — the  Rabbis,  and  Priests,  and  Pharisees — • 
and  hast  revealed  them  to  simple  souls,  unskilled  in  the 
wisdom  of  the  schools.  I  thank  Thee  that  what  is  well- 
pleasing  to  Thee  has  happened  thus !  "  The  New  Kingdom 
was  not  to  rest  on  the  theology  of  the  schoolmen  of  the  day, 
or  on  official  authoritj',  or  on  the  sanction  of  a  corrupt 
Church,  or  on  the  support  of  privileged  classes,  but  upon 
child-like  faith  and  humble  love.  It  was  not  to  spread 
doA\Tiwards,  from  among  the  powerful  and  influential,  but 
to  rise  from  among  the  weak  and  ignoble,  the  poor  and 
lowly,  who  Avould  receive  it  in  love  and  humility.  It  was 
to  spread  upwards  by  no  artificial  aids,  but  by  the  attractions 
of  its  own  heavenly  worth  alone.  It  was  a  vital  condition 
of  its  nature  that  it  should,  for  it  can  only  be  received  in 
sincerity,  where  its  unaided  spiritual  beauty  wins  the 
heart. 


120  THE   LIFE   OP   CHRIST, 

cHAP.xsxis.  Among  the  "babes"  were  doubtless  included  the  con- 
fessors to  be  won  from  the  world  at  large,  and  not  from 
Israel  alone,  for  the  law  of  growth  from  below  upwards,  is 
that  of  religious  movements  in  all  ages  and  countries.  All 
reformations  begin  with  the  laity,  and  with  the  obscure. 
Jesus  had  nothing  to  hope  but  everything  to  fear  from  the 
privileged  classes,  the  leai'ned  guilds,  the  ecclesiastical  author- 
ities, and  the  officials  of  the  Church  generally.  It  sounds 
startling  to  read  of  His  thanking  God  that  these  all-powerful 
classes  showed  neither  sjinpathy  for  the  New  Kingdom 
founded  by  Him,  nor  even  the  power  of  comprehending  it, 
and  that  it  was  left  to  the  simple  and  child-like  minds  of  the 
common  people,  in  their  freedom  fi'om  prejudice,  to  embrace 
it  with  eagerness.  It  was  because  He  saw  in  the  fact,  the 
divine  law  of  all  moral  and  religious  progress.  New  epochs  in 
the  spiritual  liistory  of  the  world  always  spring  like  seeds, 
in  darkness  and  obscurity,  and  only  show  themselves  when 
they  have  already  struck  root  in  the  soil.  The  moral  and 
religious  life,  finds  an  unnoticed  welcome  in  the  mass  of 
the  people,  when  the  higher  ranks  of  lay,  and  even  of 
ecclesiastical  society,  are  morally  and  spiritually  eflfete,  unfit 
to  introduce  a  reform,  and  bound  by  their  interests  to  things 

IS  schenkei,      as  thcy  arc.^* 

The  overflowing  fulness  of  heart,  which  had  found  utter- 
ance in  prayer,  added  a  few  sentences  more,  of  undying 
interest  and  beauty.  It  might  be  feared  that,  if  old  guides 
were  forsaken,  those  who  took  Him  for  their  leader  might 
find  Him  unequal  to  direct  them  aright.  To  dispel  any  such 
apprehension  He  draws  aside  the  veil  from  some  of  the  awful 
mysteries  of  His  nature  and  His  relation  to  the  Eternal,  in 
words  which  must  have  strangely  comforted  the  simple 
souls  who  heard  them  first,  and  which  still  carry  with  them 
a  spiritual  support,  intensified  by  their  a^^'ful  sublimity  as 
the  words  of  one,  in  outward  seeming,  a  inan  like  ourselves. 
"  All  things  concerning  the  New  Kingdom  are  delivered 
unto  me  of  my  Father — its  founding,  its  estabhshment,  its 
spread.  I  am,  therefore,  the  king  and  leader  of  the  new 
people  of  God — the  head  of  the  new  Theocracy,  divinely 
commissioned  to  rule  over  it.     All  that  I  teach  I  have 


Christ's  easy  yoke.  121 

received  from  my  Father.  I  speak,  in  all  tilings,  the  mind  ciiap.xxkix. 
of  God,  and  thus  you  ai'e  for  ever  safe.  'No  one  knows  fully 
what  I  am,  and  what  measure  of  gifts  I  have  received  as 
Messiah,  but  the  Father,  Avho  has  commissioned  and  sent  me 
forth — Me,  His  Son.  Nor  does  any  man  know  the  Father, 
in  His  counsels  for  the  salvation  of  man,  as  I  His  Son  do,  and 
those  to  whom  I  make  Him  known.  I  am  the  true  Light, 
who  alone  can  lighten  men,  the  one  true  Teacher,  who  cannot 
mislead.^"  « Kuinocu 

"Come  unto  me,  therefore,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  '»'«• 
lieaA'y-laden  with  the  burden  of  rites  and  traditions  of  men, 
Avhich  your  teachers  lay  on  you — you,  who  can  find  no 
deliverance  from  the  misery  of  your  souls,  by  all  these 
observances,  and  I  will  give  your  spirits  rest.  Cast  off  their 
heavy  yoke  and  take  mine,  and  learn  of  me,  for  I  am  not 
hard  and  haughty  like  your  Rabbis,  but  meek  and  lowly  in 
heart,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls.  For  the  yoke  I 
lay  on  you — the  law  I  require  you  to  honour — is  not  like 
that  which  you  have  hitherto  borne,  but  brings  health  to 
the  spirit,  and  my  burden  is  fight,  for  it  is  tlie  Law  of 

love."^"  "  Meyer,  in  Ice. 

Language  like  this,  briefly  expanded,  for  greater  clearness, 
demands  reverent  thought.      Who  does  not  feel  that  such 
words  could  not  fell  from  the  fips  of  a  sinful  man,  but  only 
from  those  of  one  whose  nature  and  life  lay  far  above  all 
human  imperfection  ?     Who,  even  of  the  highest,  or  wisest, 
or  best,  of  human  teachers,  could  invite  all,  without  excep- 
tion, to  come  to  Him,  with  the  promise  that  He  would  give 
them  true  rest  for  their  souls  ?-^     And  who,  iia  doinsj  so,  «>  uiimann, 
could  speak  oi  it  as  a  thing  apparent  to  all  who  heard  Him,     g^^^^^^'^- 
that  He  was  meek  and  lowly  in  heart  ?     Who  would  think    cSistuI,'""^ 
of  claiming  the  stately  dignity  of  sole  representative  of  the    w'eidemann, 
Unseen  God,  and  who  could  speak  of  God  as  His  Father,  in    nagen,  s. 
the  same  way  as  Jesus  ?     And  who  would  dare  to  Unk  Him- 
self with  the  Eternal  in  a  Communion  so  aA\-ful  and  an  inter- 
revelation  so  absolute  ?     He  makes  us  feel  that  as  we  fisten 
we  are  face  to  face  with  the  Incarnate  Divine. 


122  TUE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

DARKENING   SHADOWS.— LIFE   IN  GALILEE. 


CHAP.  XL, 


THE  )-upture  with  the  hierarchical  party  was  not  as  yet  so 
pronounced  as  to  prevent  a  more  or  less  friendly  inter- 
course between  Jesus  and  some  of  its  members.  An  incident 
connected  with  one  happened  about  this  time. 

A  Pharisee  of  the  name  of  Simon,  who  seems  to  have  been 
in  good  social  position,  had  met  with  Jesus  in  some  of  the 
Galila'an  towns,  and  had  been  so  attracted  by  Him  that  he 
invited  Him  to  his  house,  to  eat  with  him.  This  was  a  mark 
of  high  consideration  from  one  of  a  party  so  strict,  for  a 
Pharisee  was  as  careful  as  a  Brahmin  is,  with  whom  he  ate. 
Defilement  was  temporary  loss  of  caste,  and  neutraUzed  long- 
continued  effort  to  attain  a  higher  grade  of  legal  purity,  and 
it  lurked,  in  a  thousand  forms,  behind  the  simplest  acts  of 
jost,i.2cii.  daily  life  and  intercourse.^  To  invite  one  who  was  neither 
a  Pharisee,  nor  a  member  of  even  the  lowest  grade  of  legal 
guilds,  was  amazing  liberality  in  a  Jewish  precisian.  It 
would  seem  as  if  the  courtesy  had  already  excited  timid  fear 
of  having  gone  too  far,  when  Jesus  accepted  the  invitation, — 
and  had  given  place  to  a  cold  patronizing  condescension, 
which  fancied  it  had  conferred,  rather  than  received,  an 
honour  by  His  presence. 

In  the  earlier  ages  of  the  nation  it  had  been  the  habit  to 

Judges  19.  G.    sit  at  meals'-  on  mats,  with  the  feet  crossed  beneath  the 

6, 2°^'  '"■      body,  as  at  present  in  the  East — round  a  low  table — noAV, 

proY.23.1.'     only  about  a  foot  in  height.     But  the  foreign  custom  of 

reclining  on  cushions,   long   in   use   among   the    Persians, 

Greeks,  and  Romans,  had  been  introduced  into  Palestine 

i  Amos  c.  4,7.    apparently  as  early  as  the  days  of  Amos,^  and  had  become 

(c.r.B.c.<    .   ggj^gj.jj-^  -j^  those  of  Christ,     Raised  divans,  or  table  couches, 


JEWISH   FORMS   OF   HOSPITALITY.  123 

provided  with  cushions  and  arranged  on  three  sides  of  a  chap,  xl. 
square,  supplied  a  rest  for  guests,  and  on  these  they  lay  on 
their  left  arm,  with  their  feet  at  ease  behind  them,  outside. 
The  place  of  honour  was  at  the  upper  end  of  the  right  side, 
which  had  no  one  above  it,  while  all  below  could  easily 
lean  back  on  the  bosom  of  the  person  immediately  behind. 
Hospitality  among  the  poor  was  prefaced  by  various  cour- 
tesies and  attentions  to  the  guest,  more  or  less  peculiar  to 
the  nation.  To  enter  a  house  except  Avith  bare  feet  was 
much  the  same  as  our  doing  so  without  removing  the  hat, 
and,  therefore,  all  shoes  and  sandals  were  taken  off,  and 
left  at  the  threshold.  A  kiss  on  the  cheek,  from  the  master 
of  the  house,  with  the  invocation  "The  Lord  be  with  you," 
conveyed  a  formal  Avelcome,  and  w^as  followed,  on  the  guest 
taking  his  place  on  the  couch,  by  a  servant  bringing  water 
and  washing  the  feet,  to  cool  and  refresh  them,  as  well  as  to 
remove  the  dust  of  the  road  and  give  ceremonial  cleanness. 
The  host  himself,  or  one  of  his  servants,  next  anointed  the 
head  and  beard  of  the  guests  with  fragrant  oil,  attention  to 
the  hair  being  a  great  point  with  Orientals.  Before  eating, 
water  was  again  brought  to  wash  the  hands,  as  the  require- 
ments of  legal  purity  demanded,  and  from  the  fact  that  the 
food  w^as  taken  by  dipping  tlie  fingers,  or  a  piece  of  bread, 
into  a  common  dish.  "  To  Avash  the  hands  before  a  meal," 
says  the  Talmud,  "  is  a  command ;  to  do  so  during  eating  is 
left  matter   of  choice,   but,    to   wash  them    after   it,    is   a 

tlUty.  1  Tract.  Cholia 

With  all  Jews,  but  especially  with  scrupulous  formalists    L^eT.so-so. 
like  the  Pharisees,  religious   observances  formed  a  marked 
feature  in  every  entertainment,  however  humble,  and,  as 
these  were  duly  prescribed  by  the  Rabbis,  we   are  able  to 
picture  a  meal  like  that  given  to  Jesus  by  Simon.* 

Houses  in  the  East  are  far  from  enjoying  the  privacy  we 
prize  so  highly.  Even  at  this  time,  strangers  pass  in  and 
out  at  their  pleasure,  to  see  the  guests,  and  join  in  conver- 
sation with  them  and  Avith  the  host.^  Among  those  who 
did  so,  in  Simon's  house,  was  one  at  whose  presence  in  his 
dwelling,  under  any  circumstances,  he  must  have  been 
equally  astonished  and  disturbed.     Silently  gliding  into  the 


124  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

cH^sx.  chamber,  perhaps  to  the  seat  round  the.  wall,  came  a  woman, 
though  women  could  not  with  proprietj'  make  their  appear- 
ance at  such  entertainments.  She  was,  moreover,  unveUed, 
whicli,  in  itself  was  contrary  to  recognized  rules.  In  the 
little  town  every  one  was  known,  and  Simon  saw,  at  the  first 
glance,  that  she  was  no  other  than  one  known  to  the  com- 
munity as  a  poor  fallen  woman.  She  was  e'S'idently  in  dis- 
tress, but  he  had  no  eyes  or  heart  for  such  a  consideration. 
She  had  compromised  his  respectability,  and  his  frigid  self- 
righteousness  could  think  only  of  itself.  To  eat  with  publi- 
cans or  sinners  was  the  sum  of  aU  evils  to  a  Pharisee.  It 
was  the  approach  of  one  under  moral  quarantine,  whose 
ver}'  neighbourhood  was  disastrous,  and  yet,  here  she  was, 
in  his  o\\Ti  house. 

A  tenderer  heart  than  his,  however,  knew  the  deeper 
aspects  of  her  case,  and  Aveleomed  her  approach.  She  had 
listened  to  the  words  of  Jesus,  perhaps  to  His  invitation 
to  the  weary  and  heavy-laden  to  come  to  Him  for  rest,  and 
was  bowed  down  with  penitent  shame  and  contrition,  which 
were  the  promise  of  a  new  and  purer  life.  Lost,  till  now, 
to  self-respect,  an  outcast  for  whom  no  one  cared,  she  had 
found  in  Him  that  there  was  a  friend  of  sinners,  who 
beckoned  even  the  most  hopeless  to  take  shelter  bj-  His  side. 
In  Him  and  His  words  hope  had  returned,  and  in  His  re- 
spect for  her  womanhood,  though  fallen,  quickening  self- 
respect  had  been  once  more  awakened  in  her  bosom.  She 
might  yet  be  saved  from  her  degradation ;  might  vet  retrace 
her  steps  from  pollution  and  sorrow,  to  a  pure  life  and 
peace  of  mind.  AMiat  could  she  do  but  seek  the  presence 
of  One  who  had  won  her  back  from  ruin  ?  ^Tiat  could  she 
do  but  express  her  lowly  gratitude  for  the  sympathy  He 
alone  had  shown ;  the  belief  in  the  possibihty  of  her  restora- 
tion that  had  itself  restored  her  ! 

The  object  of  her  A-isit  was  not,  howevei-,  long  a  mvsterw 
Kneeling  down  behind  Jesus,  she  proceeded  to  anoint  His 
feet  with  fragrant  ointment,  but  as  she  was  about  to  do  so, 
her  tears  fell  on  them  so  fast  that  she  was  fain  to  wipe  them 
with  her  long  hair,  which,  in  her  distress,  had  escaped  its 
fastenings.     To  anoint  the  head  was  the  usual  course,  but 


JESUS   AT   THE   PHAKISEe's   HOUSE.  125 

she  would  not  venture  on  such  an  honour,  and  would  only 
make  bold  to  anoint  His  feet.  Unmindful  of  her  disorder, 
which  Simon  coldly  noted  as  an  additional  shame,  she 
could  think  only  of  her  benefactor.  Weeping  and  wiping 
away  the  tears,  and  covering  the  feet  with  kisses,"  her  heart 
gave  itself  vent  tUl  it  was  calmed  enough  to  let  her  anoint 
them,  and,  meanwhile,  Jesus  left  her  to  her  lowly,  loving  will. 

The  Pharisee  was  horrified.  That  a  Rabbi  should  allow 
such  a  woman,  or,  indeed,  any  woman,  to  approach  him, 
was  contrary  to  all  the  traditions,  but  it  was  incredibly 
worse  in  one  whom  the  people  regarded  as  a  prophet.  He 
would  not  speak  aloud,  but  his  looks  showed  his  thoughts. 
"  This  man,  if  He  were  a  prophet,  would  have  known  what 
kind  of  woman  this  is  that  touches  Him,  for  she  is  a  sinner." 

Jesus  saw  what  was  passing  in  his  mind,  and  turning  to 
him,  requested  an  answer  to  a  question.  "  There  wiis  a 
certain  creditor,"'  said  He,  "  who  had  two  debtors.  The  one 
owed  him  five  hundred  pence,  the  other  fifty.  And  when 
they  had  nothing  to  pay,  he  frankly  forgave  them  both. 
Tell  me,  therefore,  which  of  them  will  love  him  most  ? " 
Utterly  unconscious  of  the  bearing  of  these  words  on  him- 
self, the  Pharisee  readily  answered  that  he  supposed  he  to 
whom  the  creditor  forgave  most,  Avould  love  him  most. 
''Thou  hast  rightly  judged,"  replied  Jesus.  Then  like 
Nathan  with  DaAid,  He  proceeded  to  bring  the  parable  home 
to  his  conscience. 

Turning  to  the  weeping,  penitent  woman  at  His  feet,  and 
pointing  to  her,  He  continued,  "  Simon,  seest  thou  this 
woman  ?  I  entered  into  thine  house ;  thou  gavest  me  no 
water  for  my  feet,  as  even  courtesy  demanded  ;  but  she 
has  washed  my  feet  with  tears,  and  wiped  them  with  her 
hair.  Thou  gavest  me  no  kiss ;  but  this  woman,  since  the 
time  I  entered,  has  not  ceased  to  kiss  my  feet  tenderly.  Thou 
didst  not  anoint  my  head  with  oil ;  but  she  has  anointed  my 
feet  with  ointment.  I  say  unto  thee,  therefore,  her  sins, 
which  are  many,  are  forgiven,  for  she  loved  much,  but  one 
to  whom  little  is  forgiven,  loves  little.  "  Then  addressing 
the  sobbing  woman  herself.  He  told  her,  "  Thy  sins  are  for- 
given.    Thy  faith  has  saved  thee :  go  in  peace  !  " 


126  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP^sx.  Tliat'He  should  claim  to  forgive  sins  had  already  raised  a 
charge  of  blaspheui}-  against  Him,  and  it  did  not  pass  un- 
noticed now.  But  the  time  had  not  yet  come  for  open 
hostiUty,  and  His  words,  in  the  meanwhile,  were  only  trea- 
sured up  to  be  used  against  Him  hereafter. 

=  ch»p.8.i5.  ^  e  are  indebted  to  a  notice  in  St.  Luke^  for  a  glimpse  of 
the  mode  of  life  of  Jesus  in  these  months.  He  seems  to 
have  spent  them  in  successive  circuits,  from  Capernaum  as 
a  centre,  through  all  the  towns  and  ^•illages  of  Galilee,  very 
much  as  the  Rabbis  were  accustomed  to  do  over  the  country 
at  large.  In  these  journeys  He  was  attended  by  the  Twelve, 
and  by  a  group  of  loving  women,  attracted  to  Him  by  re- 
lationship, or  by  His  ha-sing  healed  them  of  various  diseases ; 
who  provided,  in  part,  at  least,  for  His  wants,  and  those  of 
His  followers.  That  He  was  not  alisolutelv  poor,  in  the 
sense  of  suffering  from  want,  is  implied  in  His  recognition 
as  a  Rabbi,  and  even  as  a  prophet,  which  secured  Him  hos- 
pitality and  welcome,  as  an  act  of  supreme  religious  merit, 
wherever  He  went.     To  entertain  a  Rabbi  was  to  secure  the 

«  Gfrurer,  i.  i«.  favour  of  God,  and  it  was  coveted  as  a  special  honour.^ 
Thus,  though  He  had  no  home  He  could  call  His  own.  He 
would  never  want  ready  welcome  in  the  homes  of  others 
wherever  He  went,  so  long  as  popular  prejudice  was  not 

wuhnij.i.  excited  against  Him.  The  cottage  of  Lazai'us  at  Bethany'^ 
was  only  one  of  many  that  opened  its  doors  to  Him,  and 
He  could  even  reckon  on  a  cheerful  reception  so  confidently, 

e  Lake  10. 5.  as  to  iuvitc  Himsclf  to  houses  like  that  of  Zaccheus,^  or  that 
of  him  in  whose  upper  room  He  instituted  the  Last  Supper. 
Many  disciples,  or  persons  favourably  inchned,  were  scat- 
tered over  the  land."^  The  simplicity  of  Eastern  life  favoured 
such  kindly  relations,  and  hence  His  personal  support  would 
be  freely  supplied,  excejit  in  desert  j)arts,  or  when  He  was 
journeying  through  Samai-ia,  or  distant  places  on  the  fron- 

9  Matt.  14. 17.     tiei's  of  Galilee.^    The  willina;  eifts  of  friends,  throwii  into 

John  4. 8.  . 

a  common  fund,  supplied  so  fully  all  that  was  needed  in 
such  cases,  that  there  was  always  a  surplus  from  which 
••  John  12. 5;     even  to  give  to  the  poor.^** 
Hise-a  Leben      The  uamcs  of  somc  of  tlic   STOup  of  womcu  who  thvis 

Jesa,136.  >-  ^ 

ma^hi's       attended  Jesus  have  been  handed  down  as  a  fitting  tribute 

Leben  Jesn^ 
191. 


SIARY   MAGDALENE.  127 

to  their  devotion,  while  those  of  the  men  who  followed  Him,    chap.  sx. 
with  the  exception  of  the  twelve  apostles,  ai-e  lost.     The 
religious  enthusiasm  of  the  age,  always  seen  most  in  the 
gentler  sex,  had  already  spread  among  all  Jewish  women,  for 
the  Pharisees  found  them  theii'  most  eai'nest  supporters.  ^^ »  jos.  Ant.  xvu. 

2.  4;  iviiL  I. 

It  was  only  natural,  therefore,  that  Jesus  should  attract  a  3;3du.io.6.' 
similar  devotion.  His  purity  of  soul,  His  reverend  courtesy 
to  the  sex.  His  championship  of  their  equal  dignity  with 
man,  before  God,  and  His  demand  for  supreme  zeal  in  all, 
in  the  spread  of  the  Xew  Ivingdom,  drew  them  after  Him 
But  so  accustomed  were  all  classes  to  such  attendance  on 
their  own  Rabbis,  that  even  the  enemies  of  Jesus  found  no 
ground  for  censure  in  their  ministrations. 

Of  these  earUest  mothers  of  the  Church,  five  are  named. 
Mary,  or  ^Miriam,  of  the  town  of  ]\Iagdala,  from  whom  Jesus 
had  cast  seven  devils ;  Johanna,  the  wife,  not  the  widow,  of 
Chuoza,  a  high  official  in  the  palace  of  Herod  Antipas,  at 
Tiberias ;  Susanna,  of  Avhom  only  the  name  is  known ;  jMary, 
the  mother  of  James  the  Less  and  cf  Joses,  and  wife  of 
Klopas ;  and  Schelamith,  or  Salome,  mother  of  James  and 
John,  and  wife  of  Zebedee  or  Zabdai,  perhaps,  also,  the  sister 
of  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  i-  as  Mary,  the  wife  of  Klopas,  i^  johnis)  «. 
is  also  thought  by  many  to  have  been.     Of  the  other  three,     wmer.krt: 

,  ,  '       "Salome." 

whom  Jesus   had  cured  of  various    diseases,  a  surjiassing    Ha^buchd 
interest  attaches  to  Mary  Magdalene,  from  her  unfounded    ^'•■'^^'- '"''''• 
identification  -nith  the  fallen  penitent  w^ho  did  Jesus  honour 
in    the   house  of  the  Pharisee   Simon.     There   is  nothing 
whatever  to  connect  her  with  that  narrative,  for  it  confounds 
what   the   New  Testament    distinguishes   by    the   clearest 
language,  to  think  of  her  having  led  a  sinful  life  from  the 
fact  of  her  having   suftered   from  demoniacal   possession. 
Never,  perhaps,  has  a  figment  so  utterly  baseless  obtained  so 
wide  an  acceptance  as  that   which  we   connect  with  her 
name.^^     But  it  is  hopeless  to  try  to  explode  it,  for  the  word  "^  smith-sDicty 
has  passed  into  the  vocabularies  of  Europe  as  a  synonym  of    ^lagdaieae." 
penitent  frailty. 

^lary  appears  to  have  belonged  to  the  village  of  ]\Iagdala, 
or  Migdol — the  Towei* — about  three  miles  north  of  Tiberias, 
on  the  water's  edge,  at  the  south-east  corner  of  the  plain  of 


dala," 


128  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

Gennesareth.  It  is  now  represented  by  the  few  wretched 
hovels  which  form  the  ^lohammedan  village  of  El-Mejdel, 
with  a  solitary  thorn-bush  beside  it,  as  the  last  trace  of  the 
rich  groves  and  orchards,  amidst  Avhich  it  was,  doubtless, 
embowered,  in  the  days  of  our  Lord.  A  high  limestone 
rock,  full  of  caves,  overhangs  it  on  the  south-west,  and 
beneath  this,  out  of  a  deep  ravine  at  the  back  of  the  pliiin, 
a  clear  stream  rushes  past  to  the  sea,  which  it  enters  through 
a  tangled  thicket  of  thorn,  and  willows,  and  oleanders, 
covered  in  their  season  with  clouds  of  varied  blossoms. 
Who  ]\Iary  was,  or  what,  no  one  can  tell,  but  legend,  with  a 
cruel  injustice,  has  associated  her  name  for  ever  with  the 
spot  now  sacred  to  her,  as  the  lost  one  reclaimed  by 
Jesus.^* 
■rlVrf       The  circle  which  thus  attended  Him  on  His  iourneys  was 

Lex.,  Smiths  •' .  *' 

nlrzog*"'*  peculiar,  above  all  things,  m  an  age  of  intense  ritualism,  by 
its  slight  care  for  the  external  observances  and  mortifications, 
which  formed  the  sum  of  religion  with  so  many.  This 
simplicity  was  made  the  gi-eat  accusation  against  Jesus,  as, 
in  after  times,  the  absence  of  sacrifices  and  temples  led  the 

^MinncF,      heathcuto  charge   Christianity  with  atheisin.^^     Even  the 

ootav.  10.8.    jj-jj^jj^j-Qjy  yI^q  Qf  baptism  had   fallen   into  abeyance,  and 

fasting,  and  the  established  rules  for  prayer  and  ceremonial 

purifications  were  so  neglected,  as  to  cause  remark  and  anim- 

s  Matt.  9. 14;    adversion.^"     There  is,  indeed,  great  reason  for  the  belief 

l'»   1-   15.  1.  '      o 

Luke  5. 33.'  of  some,  that  Jesus  and  His  followers  differed,  alike  in  dress, 
demeanour,  mode  of  life,  and  customs,  from  the  teachers  of 

■  Keim,ii.28i.  tlic  day  and  their  followers.^"  The  simple  tunic  and  upper 
garment  may  have  had  the  Tallith  worn  by  all  other  Jews, 
but  we  may  be  certain  that  the  tassels  at  its  corners  were  in 

8  Matt  23. 5.  contrast  to  the  huge,  ostentatious  size  ^®  aifected  by  the 
Rabbis.  Nor  can  we  imagine  that  either  Jesus,  or  the 
Twelve,  sanctioned  by  their  use  the  superstitious  leathern 
phylacteries"  which  others  bound,  with  long  fillets,  on  their 
left  arm  and  their  forehead,  at  prayers.  The  countless  rules, 
then,  as  now,  in  force  for  the  length  of  the  straps,  for  the 
size  of  the  leather  cells  to  hold  the  prescribed  texts — for 
their  shape,  manufacture,  &c.,  and  even  for  the  exact  mode 
of  winding  the  straps  round  the  arm,  or  tying  them  on  the 


FAMILY  LITE   OF  JESUS. 


129 


forehead — marked  too  strongly  the  cokl,  mechanical  concep- 
tions of  prayer  then  prevailing,  to  let  us  imagine  that  our 
Lord  or  the  disciples  wore  them.  There  was  no  such 
neglect  of  His  person  as  many  of  His  contemporaries  thought 
identical  with  holiness,  for  He  did  not  dechne  the  anointing 
of  His  head  or  beard,  or  the  washing  of  His  feet,  at  each 
resting-place.^^  Nor  did  He  require  ascetic  restrictions  at 
table,  for  we  find  Him  permitting  the  use  of  wine,  bread, 
and  honey,^  and  of  fish,  flesh,  and  fowl.-"  In  Peter's  house 
He  invited  others  to  eat  with  Him,  and  He  readily  accepted 
invitations,  Avith  all  the  customary  refinements  of  the  kiss  of 
salutation,  and  foot-washing,  and  anointing  even  with  the 
costliest  perfume.^^  The  Pharisee  atoned  for  his  occasional 
entertainments  by  fasting  on  ]\Iondays  and  Thursdays,  but 
Jesus  exposed  Himself  to  the  charge  of  indulgence,  because 
He  never  j^ractised  even  such  intermittent  austerities.^^ 
Expense  was,  however,  the  exception  and  not  the  rule,  for  He 
praised  the  Baptist  for  having  nothing  costly  or  effeminate 
in  his  dress,  and  He  enjoined  the  strictest  moderation,  both 
in  dress  and  living,-^  on  His  disciples. 

It  is  the  great  characteristic  of  Jesus  that  He  elevated  the 
common  details  of  life  to  the  loftiest  uses,  and  ennobled  even 
the  familiar  and  simple.    In  His  company,  the  evening  meal, 
when  not  forgotten  in  the  press  of  overwhelming  labours, 
was  an  opportunity  always  gladly  embraced  for  informal 
instruction,  not  only  to  the  TavcIvc,  but  to  the  many  strangers 
whom  the  easy  manners  of  the  East  permitted  to  gather 
in  the  apartment.-*     After  evening  devotions,   the  family 
group  invited  the  familiar  and  unconstrained  exchange  of 
thought,  in  which  Jesus  so  much  delighted.     As  the  Father 
and  Head  of  the  circle,  He  would,  doubtless,  use  the  form  of 
thanks  and  of  blessing  hallowed  by  the  custom  of  His  nation, 
opening  the  meal  by  the  bread  and  wine  passed  round  to  be 
tasted  by  each,  after  acknowledgment  of  the  bounty  of  God 
and  His  gifts.     Then  would  follow  a  word  to  all,  in  turn : 
the  story  of  the  day,  and  each  one's  share  in  it,  would  be 
reviewed  with  tender  blame,  or  praise,  or  counsel ;  and  the 
faith,  and  hope,  and  love  of  all  would  be  refreshed  by  their 
very  meeting  round  the  table.     How  dear  these  hours  of 

VOL.  II.  48 


'  Matt.  6.  IS; 
26.  8. 
Luke  7.  4 1 

'  Matt.  11.19; 
7.10;  10.29; 
14.  17. 
Luke  24.  42. 
John  21.  13. 
Base's  Leben 
Jesu,  139. 


21  Matt.  8. 15; 
9.  10;  26.  6. 
Luke  7.  36 ; 
10.40;  11.37 
14.1. 
Mark  14.  3. 


-2   Matt  11.  8  ; 
8.  20 ;  10.  9. 
Compare 
Philipp.  4. 12. 


Matt.  9.  19. 
Luke  22  14; 
20.  14,  28,  t. 


ISO 


THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


a  Lake  22.  35. 
Matt.  10.  9; 
17.  27  ;  26.  9. 
Jolin  13.  29. 
Schleier- 
macher's 
Leben  Jesu, 


quiet  home  life  were  to  Jesus  Himself,  is  seen  in  the  tender- 
ness with  which  He  saw,  in  the  group  they  brought  around 
Him,  His  "  children," — as  if  they  replaced  in  His  heart  the 
household  affections  of  the  family;  and  in  the  pain,  and 
ahnost  womanly  fondness,  with  which  He  hesitated  to  pro- 
nounce His  last  farewell  to  them.  To  the  chsciples  themselves, 
they  grew  to  he  an  imperishable  memory,  which  they  were 
fain,  in  compliance  with  their  ]\Iaster's  wish,  to  perpetuate 
daily,  in  their  breaking  of  bread.  The  greatness  and  conde- 
scension, the  loving  familiarity  and  fond  endearments  of  close 
intercourse,  the  peace  and  quiet  after  the  strife  of  the  day, 
the  feeling  of  security  under  His  eye  and  care,  made  these 
hours  a  recollection  that  grew  brighter  and  more  sacred  with 
the  lapse  of  years,  and  deepened  the  longing  for  His  return, 
or  for  their  departure  to  be  Avith  Him. 

In  this  deUghtful  family  life  there  was,  however,  nothing 
like  communism,  for  there  is  not  a  trace  of  the  property  of 
each  being  thrown  into  a  common  fund.  His  disciples  had, 
indeed,  left  all;  but  they  had  not  sold  it,  to  help  the  general 
treasury.-^  Some  of  them  still  retained  funds  of  their  own,-'' 
and  the  women  who  accompanied  them  still  kept  their  pro- 
perty."^'' When  Jesus  paid  the  Temple  tax  for  Himself,  He 
did  not  think  of  doing  so  for  His  disciples  as  well.  It  was 
left  to  them  to  pay  for  themselves.  The  simple  wants  of 
each  day  were  provided  by  free  contributions,  when  not 
proffered  by  hospitality,  nor  did  He  receive  even  these  from 
His  disciples,  though  Rabbis  were  permitted  to  accept  a 
honorarium  from  their  scholars.  "Ye  have  received  for 
nothing"  said  He,  "  give  for  nothing."  ^*  He  took  no  gifts 
of  money  from  the  people,  nor  did  He  let  His  disciples  collect 
alms,  as  the  Rabbis  did  their  scholars.  The  only  bounty  He 
accepted  was  the  hospitaUty  and  shelter  always  ready  for  Him 
in  friendly  Galilee.  From  the  generous  women  who  followed 
Him,  He,  indeed,  accepted  passing  suj^port,  but,  in  contrast 
to  the  greed  of  the  Rabbis,  He  only  used  their  liberahty  for 
the  need  of  the  moment.  His  little  circle  was  never  allowed 
to  suffer  want,  but  was  always  able  to  distribute  charity,  and, 
though  He  seems  to  have  carried  no  money.  He  expressly 
distinguishes  both  Himself  and  His  disciples  from  the  poor.'^^ 


Matt.  16.  6; 
18.  1;  20.  2i 
Mark  10.  32, 


JESTJS   AMONG   HIS   DISCIPLES.  131 

His  presence  among  His  disciples  was  seldom,  even  for  a  chap,  xi. 
brief  interval,  interrupted.  He  might  be  summoned  to  heal 
some  sick  person,  or  invited  to  some  meal ;  or  He  might 
wish  to  be  alone,  for  a  time,  in  His  chamber  or  among  the 
hills,  while  He  prayed,  but  these  were  only  absences  of  a 
few  hours.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  kiss  of  salutation  in  such 
cases  greeted  His  return. ^^  He  gave  the  word  for  setting  out "  Matt.2e.«. 
on  a  journey,  or  for  going  by  boat,  and  the  disciples  pro- 
cured what  was  needed  by  the  way,  if  by  land,  and  pUed 
the  oar,  if  on  the  Lake.^^  "  f^^ff;^^' 

He  always  travelled  on  foot,  and  was  often  thankful  for  a 
draught  of  water,  as  He  toiled  along  the  hot  sides  of  the 
white  hills,  or  for  a  piece  of  bi'ead,  procured  in  some  village 
throuo;h  which  He  passed.^-     Sometimes  He  went  with  His  "  watj.  lo  «. 

O  I  Mark  6. 36. 

disciples,  sometimes  before  them ;  leaving  them  to  their  OAvn 
conversation,  but  noting  and  reproving,  at  once,  their  mis- 
understandings, or  momentary  misconceptions.^^  "  iT"' 

When  a  resting-place  had  to  be  found  for  the  night,  He 
Avas  wont  to  send  on  some  of  His  disciples  before,  or  He 
awaited  an  invitation  on  His  arrival ;  His  disciples  sharing 
the  protfered  hospitaUty,  or  distributing  themselves  in  other 
houses.^*  The  entertainment  must  have  varied  in  different  "  Lake  "'52. 
dAveUings,  from  the  simplicity  of  the  prophet's  chamber  '*»"•"•"• 
where  the  Shunamite  had  provided  a  bed,  a  table,  a  stool, 
and  a  lamp,  to  the  friendship,  and  busy  womanly  ministra- 
tions, and  homage  of  loAvly  discipleship,  of  homes  like  the 
cottage  of  Bethany.  "Where  He  Avas  welcomed,  He  entered 
Avith  the  invocation,  "  Peace  be  to  this  house  " — but,  unhke 
the  Pharisees — Avithout  asking  any  questions  as  to  the 
IcAdtical  cleanness  of  the  house,  or  its  tables,  or  benches,  or 
vessels.®^  It  was  very  rarely,  one  would  suppose,  that  He  "  Matiio.n.H. 
Avas  not  gladly  received,  but  Avhen  at  any  time  He  met 
inhospitality.  He  only  Avent  on  to  the  next  village.  Some- 
times He  bore  His  rejection  silently,  but  at  others,  moved  at 
their  hardness.  He  shook  the  very  dust  of  the  toAvn  from  His 
feet  on  leaAdng  it,  as  a  protest.  WTien  meekness  could  be 
shown  he  shoAved  it,  but  Avhere  the  circumstances  demanded, 
He  was  as  stern  as  commonly  He  Avas  gentle.^*^  "  fs^'^ise 

It  is  not  easy  to  reahze  the  daily  life  of  one  so  different 


132  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

OHAP.  XL.  from  ourselves  as  Jesus,  but  a  fine  poetical  mind  has 
imagined  the  scene  of  the  healing  of  Mary  Magdalene,  and 
the  appearance  and  acts  of  Christ  so  finely,  that  I  borrow 

Deiitzsch,     some  passages  from  his  pen.^'' 

EinTag,  &c,  1  O  1  i  l         •  T  /> 

120  ff.  Xhe  landing-place  at  Capernaum  was  at  the  south  side  of 

the  town.  Thither  the  boats  came  that  brought  over  wood 
from  the  forests  of  Gaulonitis,  and  thither  the  boat  steered 
that  bore  Jesus,  His  four  earliest  disciples  acting  as  boatmen. 
He  had  been  on  the  other  side  of  the  Lake,  and  had  returned 
now,  in  the  evening.  The  sun  was  just  setting,  but  a  few 
beams  seemed  to  have  lingered  to  die  away  on  His  face,  and 
the  full  moon  rose,  as  if  to  see  Him  from  behind  the  brown 
hills  still  bathed  in  purple.  The  soft  evening  wind  had  risen 
to  cool  His  brow,  and  the  waters,  sparkhng  in  the  moonlight, 
rose  and  fell  round  the  boat,  and  gently  rocked  it.  As  it 
touched  the  shore  there  were  few  people  about,  but  a  boat 
from  ]\Iagdalalay  near,  with  a  sick  person  in  it,  whom  it  had 
taken  her  mother's  utmost  strength  to  hold,  and  keep  from 
uttering  loud  cries  of  distress.  She  had  been  brought  in  the 
hope  of  finding  Jesus,  that  He  might  cure  her. 

"Master,"  said  John,  "there  is  work  yonder  for  you 
already."  "  I  must  always  be  doing  the  work  of  Him  that  sent 
me,"  replied  Jesus ;  "  the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can 
work."  The  mother  of  the  sick  woman  had  recognized  Him 
at  the  first  glance,  for  no  one  could  mistake  Him,  and  forth- 
with cried  out  with  a  heart-rending  voice,  "  0  Jesus,  our 
helper  and  teacher,  Thou  messenger  of  the  All-Merciful,  help 
my  poor  child, — for  the  Holy  One,  blessed  be  His  name,  has 
heard  my  prayer  that  we  should  find  Thee,  and  Thou  us." 
Peter  forthwith,  with  the  help  of  the  other  two,  who  had  let 
their  oars  rest  idly  on  the  water,  turned  the  boat,  so  that  it 
lay  alongside  the  one  from  Magdala.  Jesus  now  rose ;  the 
mother  sank  on  her  knees ;  but  the  sick  woman  tried  with 
all  her  might  to  break  away,  and  to  throw  herself  into  the 
water,  on  the  far  side  of  the  boat.  The  boatman,  however, 
and  John,  who  had  sprung  over,  held  her  by  the  arms,  while 
her  mother  buried  her  face  in  the  long  plaited  hair  of  her 
child.  Her  tears  had  ceased  to  flow ;  she  was  lost  in  silent 
prayer.    "Where  are  these  people  from?"  asked  Jesus  of  the 


MARY   MAGDAIJ3NE.  133 

boatman,  and  added,  to  His  disciples,  when  he  heard  that  chap.xl. 
she  came  from  Magdala,  "  Woe  to  this  ]\Iagdala,  for  it  will 
become  a  ruin  for  its  wickedness !  The  rich  gifts  it  sends  to 
Jerusalem  will  not  help  it,  for,  as  the  prophet  says,  '  They 
are  bought  with  the  wages  of  uncleanness,  and  to  that  they 
will  again  return.'"  ^^  "  Turn  her  face  to  me  that  I  may  see  "  Micahi.;. 
her,"  added  He.  It  was  not  easy  to  do  this,  for  the  sick  one 
held  her  face,  bent  over,  as  far  as  possible,  towards  the  water. 
John  managed  it,  however,  by  kind  words.  "  Mary,"  said  he, 
for  he  had  asked  her  mother  her  name,  "  do  you  wish  to  be 
for  ever  under  the  power  of  demons  ?  See,  the  conqueror  of 
demons  is  before  thee,  look  on  Him,  that  you  may  be  healed. 
We  are  all  praying  for  you,  as  Moses,  peace  be  to  him,  once 
prayed  for  his  sister, — '  0  God,  heal  her.'  Do  not  put  our 
prayer  to  shame ;  now  is  the  moment  when  you  can  make 
yourself  and  your  mother  happy."  These  words  told  ;  and  no 
longer  opposing  strength  to  strength,  she  let  them  raise  her 
head,  and  turn  her  face  to  Jesus.  But  when  she  saw  Him, 
her  whole  body  was  so  violently  convulsed,  that  the  boat 
swayed  to  and  fro,  and  she  shrieked  out  the  most  piercing 
wails,  which  sounded  far  over  the  Lake. 

Jesus,  however,  fixed  His  eyes  on  hers,  and  kept  them  from 
turning  away,  and  as  He  gazed.  His  look  seemed  to  enter 
her  soul,  and  break  the  sevenfold  chain  m  which  it  lay 
bound.s  The  poor  raving  creature  now  became  quiet  and 
did  not  need  to  be  held ;  her  convulsions  ceased,  the  contor- 
tions of  her  features,  and  the  wildness  of  her  eyes,  passed  off, 
and  profuse  sweat  burst  from  her  brow,  and  mingled  with 
her  tears.  Her  mother  stepped  back,  and  the  healed  one 
sank  down  on  the  spot  Avhere  her  mother  had  been  praying, 
and  muttered,  with  subdued  trembling  words,  to  Jesus, — "  0 
Lord,  I  am  a  great  sinner ;  is  the  door  of  repentance  still 
open  for  me?"  "  Be  comforted,  my  daughter,"  answered  He, 
"  God  has  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked ;  thou 
hast  been  a  habitation  of  evil  spirits,  become  now  a  temple 
of  the  living  God."  The  mother,  unable  to  restrain  herself, 
broke  out — "  Thanks  to  Thee,  Thou  Consolation  of  Israel," 
but  He  went  on, — "  Return  now,  quick!}',  to  Magdala,  and  be 
calm,  and  give  thanks  to  God  in  silence."     John  stepped 


134  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  XL.  back  into  the  boat  to  Jesus,  and  the  other  boat  shot  out  into 
the  Lake,  on  the  way  home.  The  two  women  sat  on  the 
middle  seat.  Mavy  hekl  her  mother  in  her  arms  in  grateful 
thanks,  and  neither  spoke,  but  both  kept  their  eyes  fixed  on 
Jesus,  till  the  shore,  jutting  out  westwards,  hid  Him  from 
their  sight. 

When  the  boat  with  the  women  was  gone,  Peter  bound 
his  to  the  post  to  which  the  other  had  been  tied,  but  Jesus 
sat  still  in  deep  thought,  Avithout  looking  round,  and  the 
disciples  remained  motionless  beside  Him,  for  reverence 
forbade  them  to  ask  Him  to  go  ashore.  Meanwhile,  the 
people  of  Capernaum,  men,  women,  and  children,  streamed 
down  in  bands ;  some  soldiers  of  the  Roman-Herodian  gar- 
rison, and  some  strange  faces  from  Perea,  Decapolis,  and 
Syria,  among  them. 

The  open  space  had  tilled,  and  now  Peter  ventured  to 
whisper,  in  a  low  voice  which  concealed  his  impatience, 
"  Martinu  we  Rabbinu- — Our  Lord  and  Master — the  people 
have  assembled  and  wait  for  Thee."  On  this  Jesus  rose. 
Peter  made  a  bridge  from  the  boat  to  the  shore  with  a 
plank,  hastening  across  to  make  it  secure,  and  to  open  the 
way;  for  the  crowd  was  very  dense  at  the  edge  of  the  water. 
Christ  now  left  the  boat,  followed  by  the  three  other 
disciples,  and,  when  He  had  stepped  ashore,  said  to  Peter, — 
"  Schim'on  Kefa  " — for  thus  He  addressed  him  when  He  had 
need  of  his  faithful  and  zealous  service  in  the  things  of 
the  kingdom  of  God — "  I  shall  take  my  stand  under  the 
palm-tree  yonder."  It  was  hard,  however,  to  make  way 
through  the  crowd,  for  those  who  had  set  themselves  nearest 
the  water  were  mostly  sick  people,  to  whom  the  others, 
from  compassion,  had  given  the  front  j^lace.  Lideed,  Jesus 
had  scarcely  landed,  before  cries  for  help  rose,  in  different 
dialects,  and  in  every  form  of  appeal.  "Rabbi,  Rabboni," 
"Holy  One  of  the  Most  High  !"  "Son  of  David  !"  "  Son  of 
God ! "  mingled  one  with  the  other.  Jesus,  however, 
waving  them  back  with  His  hand,  said,  "  Let  me  pass !  to- 
night is  not  to  be  for  the  healing  of  your  bodily  troubles, 
but  that  you  may  hear  the  word  of  life,  for  the  good  of 
your  souls."     On  hearing  this  they  pressed  towards  Him, 


A   DISCOURSE    OF  JESUS.  135 

that  they  might  at  least  touch  Him.  "When,  at  List,  -with  chap,  xl. 
the  help  of  His  disciples,  He  made  His  Avay  to  the  palm,  He 
motioned  to  the  people  to  sit  down  on  the  grass.  The  knoll 
fi"om  which  the  palm  rose  was  only  a  slight  one,  but  when 
the  crowd  had  sat  down  in  roAVS,  it  sufficed  to  raise  Him 
sufficiently  above  them.  The  men  sat  on  the  ground, 
leaving  any  better  spots  for  the  women  and  children. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  think  of  Jesus  standing  while  He  taught. 
He  stood  in  the  s}Tiagogue  at  Nazareth  while  the  Prophets 
were  being  read,  but  He  sat  down  to  teach.  He  sat  as  He 
taught  in  the  Temple,  and  when  He  addressed  the  multi- 
tude whom  He  had  miraculously  fed;  and  when  He  spoke 
from  Simon  Peter's  boat,  he  did  so  sitting. 

Under  the  palm  lay  a  large  stone,  on  which  many  had 
sat  before,  to  enjoy  the  ^dew  over  the  Lake,  or  the  shade  of 
the  branches  above.  The  Rabbis  often  chose  such  open  air 
spots  for  their  addresses.  There  was  nothing  extraordinary, 
therefore,  when  Jesus  sat  down  on  it,  and  made  it  His 
pulpit.  His  dress  was  clean  and  carefully  chosen,  but 
simple.  On  His  head,  held  in  its  place  by  a  cord.  He  wore  a 
white  sudar,  the  ends  of  which  hung  down  His  shoulders. 
Over  His  tunic,  which  reached  to  the  hands  and  feet,  was  a 
blue  Tallith,  with  the  prescribed  tassels  at  the  four  corners, 
but  only  as  large  as  Moses  required.  It  was  so  thrown  over 
Him,  and  so  held  together,  that  the  grey  red-striped  under- 
garment was  little  seen,  and  His  feet,  which  had  sandals, 
not  shoes,  were  only  noticed  occasionally,  when  He  moved. 
AMien  He  had  sat  down  and  looked  over  the  people,  they 
became  stiller  and  stiller,  till  nothing  was  heard  but  the 
soft  plash  of  the  ripple  on  the  beach. 

As  He  sat  on  the  stone,  Simon  and  Andrew,  the  sons  of 
Jonas,  stood  on  His  right  and  left  hand,  with  James  and 
John,  the  sons  of  Zabdai.  The  people  stood  around  the 
slope,  for  as  yet  Rabbis  were  heard,  standing.  "  Sickness  came 
into  the  world,"  says  the  Talmud,  "when  Rabban  Gamaliel 
died,  and  it  became  the  rule  to  hear  the  Law  sitting."^^  "  Sons  ^  ughtfoot,  a 
of  Israel,  Men  of  Galilee,"  He  began,  "  the  time  is  fulfilled, 
and  the  kingdom  of  God  has  come :  repent,  and  believe  the 
Gospel.     Moses,  your  teacher,  peace  be  to  him,  has  said — 


136  THE   LIFE    OF   CHEIST. 

CHAP.  XL  '  A  prophetwill  the  Lord  your  God  raise  unto  you  from  your 
brethren,  like  unto  me.  Him  shall  ye  hear.  But  He  who 
will  not  hear  this  prophet  shall  die ! '  Amen,  I  say  unto 
you  :  He  Avho  believes  on  me  has  everlasting  life.  No  man 
knows  the  Father  but  the  Son,  and  no  man  knows  the  Son 
but  the  Father,  and  he  to  whom  the  Son  reveals  Him."  Then, 
with  a  louder  voice,  He  continued,  "  Come  to  me,  all  ye  that 
labour  and  are  heavy-laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take 
my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me,  for  I  am  meek  and 
lowly  in  heart,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls.  For 
my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light."  Then,  drawing 
to  a  close.  He  added,  "  Take  on  you  the  yoke  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
Law  and  the  Prophets.  Give  up  that  which  is  worth  little, 
that  you  may  have  what  is  of  great  price.  Become  wise 
changers  who  value  holy  money  above  all  other,  and  the 
pearl  of  price  above  all.^  He  that  has  ears  to  hear,  let  him 
hear."* 


THE   BURSTING  01'   THE   STORM.  137 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

THE  BURSTING  OF  THE  STORM. 

THE  summer  passed  in  a  succession  of  excitements  and  an 
unbroken  recurrence  of  exhausting  toil.  Wherever 
Jesus  appeared  He  was  surrounded  by  crowds,  anxious  to 
see  and  to  liear.  The  sick  everyAvhere  pressed  in  His  Avay, 
and  friends  brought  the  bed-ridden  and  helpless  to  Him, 
from  all  quarters.  From  eai'ly  morning  tiU  night,  day  by 
day,  without  respite,  there  was  a  strain  on  mind,  heart,  and 
body,  alike.  Even  the  retirement  of  the  house  in  which  He 
might  be  resting,  could  not  save  Him  from  intruding  crowds, 
and  time  or  free  space  for  meals  was  hardly  to  be  had.  Such 
tension  of  His  whole  nature  must  have  told  on  Him,  and 
must  have  affected  His  whole  nervous  and  physical  system. 
To  be  continually  surrounded  by  misery,  in  every  form,  is 
itself  distressing ;  but,  in  addition  to  this,  to  be  kept  on  the 
strain  by  the  higher  spiritual  excitement  of  a  great  religious 
crisis,  and  to  be  overtaxed  in  mere  physical  demands,  could 
not  fail  to  show  results,  in  careworn  features,  feverishness  of 
the  bi-ain,  and  the  need  of  tempoi-ary  quiet  and  rest.  Yet 
sympathy  was  felt  for  Him  only  by  a  few.  The  thoughtless 
crowds  did  not  realize  that  they  were  consuming  in  the  fires 
of  its  own  devotion  the  nature  they  intended  to  honour,  and 
His  enemies,  seeing  everything  only  through  the  disturbing 
light  of  their  hatred,  invented  a  theory  for  it  all  that  was 
sinister  enough. 

The  continued  and  increasing  suj^port  Jesus  received  from 
the  people,  was  a  daily  growing  evil  in  the  eyes  of  the 
ecclesiastical  authorities.  They  were  in  danger  of  losing 
their  authority,  which  they  identified  with  the  interests 
of  orthodoxy,  and  national  favour  with  God.     They  had  let 


138 


THE  LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


Him  choose  four  or  five  disciples,  Avitliont  feeling  alarmed, 
for  a  movement  as  yet  so  insignificant  Avas  almost  beneath 
their  notice.  The  choice  of  a  publican  as  one  of  this  handful 
had,  indeed,  apparently  neutralized  any  possible  danger,  by 
the  shock  it  gave  to  pubUc  feeling.  The  further  choice  of 
the  Twelve  was,  however,  more  serious.  It  seemed  like 
consolidation,  and  progi-ess  towards  open  schism.  There 
were,  already,  parties  in  Judaism,  but  there  were  no  sects, 
for  all  were  alike  fanatically  loyal  to  the  Law,  the  Temple,  afid 
the  Scribes,  and  ready  to  unite  against  any  one  who  was  not 
as  much  so  as  themselves,  in  their  o-\vn  sense.  Criticism  was 
utterly  proscribed :  bhnd  worship  of  things  as  they  were 
was  imperatively  required,  and,  hence,  Jesus,  A\dth  His  free 
examination  of  received  opinions,  provoked  the  bitterest 
hostility.  As  long,  however,  as  He  had  no  following  He 
was  little  dreaded,  but  signs  of  organization  and  permanence, 
such  as  the  choice  of  the  Twelve,  and  the  growing  enthusiasm 
of  the  people  towards  Him,  determined  the  authorities  on 
vigorous  action.  Information  was  laid  against  Him  at  Jeru- 
salem, where  He  had  already  been  challenged,  and  Rabbis 
•were  sent  dowTi  to  investigate  the  whole  question. 

Every  movement  which  did  not  rise  in  the  Rabbinical 
schools  was  suspected  by  the  Rabbis  and  their  disciples,  and 
there  were  circumstances  in  that  of  Jesus,  which  were 
especially  formidable.  The  superhuman  powers  He  displayed 
could  not  be  questioned,  and  the  Rabbis  could  boast  of 
nothing  as  imposing.  They  Avere  falling  into  the  shade. 
Respect  was  gromng  for  Jesus  among  the  people,  in  spite  of 
them.^  His  claims  were  daily  urged  more  frankly,  and  the 
masses  were  disposed  to  assent  to  them.  On  His  return  to 
Capernaum  He  had  cured  a  man  who  was  blind,  dumb,  and 
mad,  and  possessed  besides  Avath  a  devil ;  and  so  astounding  a 
miracle  had  i-aised  the  question,  far  and  wide,  Avhether,  in 
spite  of  their  former  ideas.  He  Avere  not  the  Son  of  David^ — 
the  Messiah,-  after  all.  Men  had,  indeed,  expected  an  out- 
ward political  kingdom,  AAdth  a  blaze  of  miracle  Avrought  on 
behalf  of  the  nation  at  large,  but  they  began  to  ask  each  other, 
"When  the  Christ  cometh  Avill  He  do  more  miracles  than 
this  man  has  done?"^      It  could  not  be  endured.      The 


EABBmiCAL   MAGIC   ARTS.  139 

movement  of  John  had  just  been    crushed,  and,  now,  in    ch.vp.  xli. 
restless  Galilee,  one  far  more  dangerous  to  the  Jerusalem 
authorities  was  rapidly  taking   shape  and    consistence.     It 
must  be  put  down  at  any  cost. 

The  Rabbis  from  the  capital,  reverend  and  grey,  did  not 
know  whether  to  be  more  bitter  at  the  discredit  thrown  on 
their  o-svn  claims  to  supernatural  powers,  or  at  the  popular 
favour  shoA\ai  to  Jesus.  He  cast  out  de\ils,  indeed,  but  so 
did  they,  and  their  disciples,-*  the  exorcists.  It  was  enough  '  Jf«M^i|-222|;; 
for  Him,  however,  to  speak,  and  the  suflferer  was  cured  of  f:"^!,^"' 
all  ailments  alike,  Avhile  they  used  adjurations,  spells,  and 
magic  formula}  which  were  dangerously  like  the  supersti- 
tions of  the  despised  heathens.  They  laid  stress  on  their 
knowledge  of  the  secret  names  of  God  and  the  angels. 
To  utter  the  cipher  which  stood  for  these,  was,  in  their 
belief,  to  set  in  motion  the  divine  and  angelic  powers  them- 
selves, and  a  whole  science  of  the  black  art  had  been  invented, 
defining  how  and  for  what  ends  they  could  be  pressed  into 
the  service  of  their  invoker,  like  the  genii  of  the  Arabian 
Nights  into  that  of  a  magician. 

The  calm  dignity  and  simplicity  of  Jesus,  contrasted  with 
their  doubtful  rites,  -was,  indeed,  humiliating  to  them.  The 
mightiest  of  all  agencies  at  their  command  was  the  unutter- 
able name  of  "Jehovah" — called  in  the  Book  of  Enoch,  in  the 
jargon  of  the  Rabbinical  exorcists — the  oath  Akal  and  "  the 
number  of  Kesbeel."  ^  By  this  number,  or  oath,  it  was  held,  5  or"Beka." 
all  that  is  has  its  being.  It  had  also  a  secret  magical  power.  i2'!'i3.  i5°69, ' 
It  was  made  known  to  men  by  the  wicked  angels — "the 
sons  of  God  "  —  who  allied  themselves  with  -svomen,  and 
brought  on  the  flood.''  "It  was  revealed  by  the  Head  of «  Gen. 6.2. 
the  Oath  to  the  holy  ones  who  dwell  above  in  majesty ;  and 
his  name  is  Beqa.''  And  he  said  to  the  holy  Michael 
that  he  should  reveal  to  them  that  secret  name,  that 
they  might  see  it,  and  that  they  might  use  it  for  an 
oath,  that  they  who  reveal  to  the  sons  of  men  all  that 
is  hidden,  may  shrink  aAvay  before  that  name  and  that 
oath.  And  this  is  the  power  of  that  oath,  and  these 
are  its  secret  works,  and  these  things  were  estabhshed  by 
the    swearing    of  it.     The    heaven  was  hung  up  for  ever 


140 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


'   DasBnch 
Henoch,  60. 
12—26. 


Hansiath,! 


and  ever  (by  it),  before  the  world  was  created.  By  it  the 
earth  was  founded  above  the  Avater,  and  the  fair  streams 
come  by  it  for  the  use  of  the  living,  from  the  hidden  places 
of  the  hills,  from  the  foundation  of  the  earth,  for  ever.  And 
by  that  oath  was  the  sea  made,  and  underneath  it  He  spread 
the  sand,  to  restrain  it  in  the  time  of  its  rage,  and  it  dare 
not  overstep  this  bound  from  the  creation  of  the  world  to 
eternity.  And  through  that  oath  the  abysses  are  confirmed, 
and  stand,  and  move  not  from  their  place,  from  eternity  to 
eternity.  And  through  that  oath  the  sun  and  the  moon 
fulfil  their  course,  and  turn  not  aside  from  the  path  assigned 
thcni,  for  ever  and  ever.  And  through  that  oath  the  stars 
fulfil  their  course,  and  He  calls  their  names,  and  they  answer, 
from  eternity  to  eternity.  And  even  so  the  spirits  of  the 
waters,  of  the  winds,  of  all  airs,  and  their  ways,  according 
to  all  the  combinations  of  the  spirits.  And  by  that  oath  are 
the  treasuries  of  the  voice  of  the  thunder  and  of  the  bright- 
ness of  the  lightning  maintained,  and  the  treasuries  of  the 
rain,  and  of  the  hoar  frost,  and  of  the  clouds,  and  of  the  rain, 
and  of  the  dew.     And  over  them  all  this  oath  is  mighty."'' 

Possessing  spells  so  mighty  as  they  believed  the  secret  names 
of  the  higher  powers  thus  to  be,  the  Rabbis  had  created  a 
va.st  science  of  magic,  as  fantastic  as  that  of  mediaival  super- 
stition, to  bring  these  awful  powers  to  bear  on  the  mys- 
teries of  the  future,  and  the  diseases  and  troubles  of  the 
present.  Combinations  of  numbers  of  lines,  or  of  letters 
based  on  them,  were  believed  to  put  them  at  the  service  of  the 
seer,  or  the  exorcist.  Resistless  talismans,  protecting  amu- 
lets, frightful  curses,  by  which  miracles  could  be  wrought, 
the  sick  healed,  and  demons  put  to  flight,  were  formed  in 
this  way.  Ai-med  with  a  mystic  text  from  the  opening  of 
Genesis,  or  the  visions  of  Ezekiel,^  or  the  secret  name  of  God, 
or  of  some  of  the  angels,  or  with  secret  mysterious  unions  of 
letters,  the  Rabbis  who  dealt  in  the  dark  arts  had  the  power 
to  draw  the  moon  from  heaven,  or  to  open  the  abjsses  of 
the  earth  !  *=  The  uninitiated  saw  only  unmeaning  signs  in 
their  most  awful  formula?,  but  he  who  could  reckon  their 
mj-stic  value  aright  was  master  of  angelic  or  even  divine 
attributes.^ 


THE   PRINCE    OF   THE   DEVILS. 


141 


The  appearance  of  Jesus  as  a  miracle-worker  so  diiFerent    ' 
from  themselves,  must  have  excited  the  Rabbinnical  schools 
greatly.    They  made  no  little  gain  from  their  exorcisms,  and 
now  they  were  in  danger  of  being  wholly  discredited.^'^     At » 
a  loss  Avhat  to  do,  they  determined  to  slander  what  they 
could  not  deny,  and  attribute  the  miracles  of  Jesus  to  a 
league  with  the  devil.     They  had,  indeed,   for  some  time 
back  been  whispering  this  insinuation  about,"    to    poison " 
the  minds  of  the  people  against  Him,   as   an    emissary    of 
Satan,  and  thus,  necessarily,  a  disguised  enemy  of  Israel, 
and  of  man.     It  would  raise  superstitious   terror,   if  they 
could  brand  Him  as  a  mere  instrument  of  the  kingdom  of 
darkness. 

The  cure  of  a  man,  blind,  dumb,  and  possessed,  was  so 
astounding,  that  the  Rabbis  ventured  to  spread  their  malig- 
nant slanders  more  widely  than  heretofore.  Jesus  had  re- 
tired to  Peter's  house,  wearied  and  faint,  after  the  miracle, 
but  the  multitude  were  so  greatly  excited  that  they  crowded 
into  the  room,  so  that  He  could  not  even  eat,  and  among 
them  the  Jerusalem  Scribes,  who  were  so  bitter  against  Him, 
took  care  to  find  themselves.  He  read  their  faces,  and  knew 
their  words.  "This  fellow,  unauthorized  and  uneducated 
as  He  is,  casts  out  devils,  under  Beelzebub,  as  their  prince." 
They  believed  that  the  world  of  evil  spirits,  like  that  of  the 
angels,  formed  a  great  army,  in  various  di\isions,  each  with 
its  head  and  subordinates,  its  rank  and  file;  the  whole 
under  the  command  of  Satan.  Beelzebub^"^ — the  "  fifth  '■ 
god," — was  the  name  given  by  Jewish  wit  and  contempt  to 
Beelzebul,'^ — "  the  lord  of  the  (royal)  habitation" — a  god  of 
the  Phenicians.  To  him  was  assigned  the  control  of  that 
division  which  inflicted  disease  of  all  kinds  on  man, 
and  Jesus,  they  hinted,  was  playing  a  part  under  him, 
in  pretending  to  di'ive  out  devils  from  the  sick,  that  He 
might  win  the  people  to  listen  to  His  pestiferous  teaching. 
They  would  not  admit  that  His  power  was  divine,  and  the 
ideas  of  the  times  necessarily  assumed  that  it  must  be  the 
opposite.  It  was  of  no  avail  that  light  streamed  in  on 
them  ;  for  bigotry,  like  the  pupil  of  the  eye,  contracts  in  pro- 
portion to  the  outward  brightness.     He  was,  with  them,  an 


Schrader's 
Paulus,  ii.  3' 
Acts  16. 16. 


Bmtorf,  334, 
389.    Gfrorer, 
L  372.    Light- 
foot,  ii.  203 ; 
iii.  114. 
Langen,  324. 
Herzog,  i.  769. 
Derenbourg, 
SI3. 
Tristram,  327. 


142 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


Derenbourpr, 
106.     MclviU'; 
Sermons,  i. 
219. 


"Weidemann, 
Daretel 
luogen,  99. 


emissary  and  champion  of  the  kingdom  of  the  devil,  and  an 
enemy  of  God. 

They  even  went  farther.  Not  only  was  He  in  league  with 
the  devil;  He  Himself  was  possessed  with  an  unclean  spirit/^ 
and  the  demon  in  Him  had  turned  His  brain  :  "He  had  a 
devil,  and  was  mad."^^  They  had  spread  this  far  and  wide, 
and  yet,  ventured,  now,  into  His  presence. 

Jesus  at  once  challenged  them  for  their  slanders,  and 
brought  them,  in  the  presence  of  the  multitude,  to  an 
account.  "  His  whole  life  was  before  the  world.  The  aim 
and  spirit  of  it  were  transparent.  "Was  it  not  expressly  to 
fight  against  the  evil  and  confused  spirit  of  the  day;  to 
overthrow  all  wickedness  and  all  evil ;  to  restore  moral  and 
spiritual  soundness  in  the  people  ;  did  He  not  strive  after  all 
this,  Aiith  the  fulness  of  His  power  ?  Who  could  deny  that 
He  only  sought  good,  and  spent  all  His  energy  to  advance 
it  ?  And  could  He  league  Himself  with  the  prince  of  dark- 
ness to  do  good?  What  a  ridiculous,  self-contrudictory 
charge !  To  think  of  Him  overcoming  evil  by  evil ;  fighting 
against  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  with  the  weapons  of  dark- 
ness, was  almost  too  foolish  to  repeat !  No  kingdom  is  in 
conflict  with  itself,  or  if  there  be  division  in  it,  it  is  already 
in  process  of  dissolution,  for  it  needs  nothing  more  to  bring 
it  quickly  to  ruin."®  There  was  no  answering  such  an  argu- 
ment.    But  Jesus  had  still  more  to  say. 

"  If  I,"  said  He,  "  ca.st  out  devils  by  the  power  of  Beelzebub, 
by  whom  do  your  disciples  cast  them  out  ?  ^^  You  do  not 
attribute  their  works  to  the  prince  of  devils,  why  do  you  do 
so  with  mine  ?  But  if  I  do  these  things  by  the  power  of 
God,  I  prove  myself  to  be  sent  from  Him,  and  to  be  His 
Messiah,  and  where  the  Messiah  is,  there  also  is  His  Kingdom.^® 
Do  you  still  hesitate  to  draw  this  conclusion '?  Ask  your- 
selves, then,  how  I  can  invade  the  kingdom  of  Satan,  and 
take  from  him  his  servants,  instruments,  and  victims,  the 
sick,  and  the  possessed,  without  having  first  overcome  him- 
self ?  The  strong  man's  palace  can  only  be  spoiled  when  he, 
himself,  is  first  bound.  It  is  no  light  matter  to  jDut  your- 
selves in  the  position  you  take  towards  me.  He  who  is  not 
with  me,  is,  as  may  be  seen  in  your  case,  my  enemy.     No 


THE   SLANDER   CONFUTED. 


143 


neutrality  between  the  Messiah  and  the  devil  is  possible.  If 
you  do  not  help,  with  me,  to  gather  in  the  harvest,  you 
scatter  it,  and  hinder  its  being  gathered  !"^'  ■ 

The  arguments  of  Jesus  were  so  irresistible  that  the  Rabbis, 
taken  in  the  snares  they  had  set  for  Him,  could  say  nothing, 
and,'  now,  while  they  were  silenced  before  the  people  they 
had  striven  to  pervert,  He  advanced  from  defence  to  attack. 
They  claimed  to  be  the  righteous  of  the  land,  but  had  no  idea 
of  what  true  righteousness  meant.  Jesus  had  come  to  offer 
forgiveness  to  sinners,  not  to  judge  them.  He  desired  rather 
to  deliver  them  from  their  guilt.  But  He  saw  that  His 
enemies,  the  theologians  and  clergy  of  the  day,  and  the 
privileged  classes  generally,  had  determined  to  reject  Him, 
whatever  proofs  of  His  divine  mission  He  might  advance. 
Their  prejudices  and  self-interest  had  blinded  them  till  their 
religious  faculty  was  destroyed.  They  had  deliberately 
refused  to  be  convinced,  and  conscience  grows  dead  if  its 
convictions  are  slighted.  The  heart  gets  incapable  of  seeing 
the  truth  against  which  it  has  closed  itself.  They  dared  to 
speak  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  who  inspired  the  New 
Kingdom,  and  in  whose  fulness  Jesus  wrestled  against 
selfishness  and  ambition,  soothed  the  woes  of  the  peoj^le, 
opened  a  pure  and  heavenly  future,  and  sought  to  win  men 
to  eternal  Hfe,  as  a  spirit  of  evil.  Light  was  to  them  dark- 
ness, and  darkness  light.  They  even  sought  to  quench  the 
light  in  its  source  by  j^lotting  against  His  life.  This,  He 
told  them,  was  blasphemy  against  the  Divine  Spirit.  They 
had  wilfully  rejected  the  clear  revelation  of  His  presence 
and  power,  and  had  shown  deliberate  and  conscious  enmity 
against  Him.  "This  awful  sin,"  said  He,  "cannot  be  forgiven, 
because,  when  it  occurs,  the  rehgious  faculty  has  been 
voluntarily  destroyed,  and  mlful,  declared  opposition  to 
heavenly  truth  has  possessed  the  soul  as  with  a  devil."  "  To 
speak  against  me  as  a  man,"  He  continued,  "  and  not 
recognize  me  as  the  Messiah,  is  not  a  hopeless  sin,  for  better 
knowledge,  a  change  of  heart,  and  faith,  may  come,  and  I 
may  be  acknowledged.  But  it  is  difi'erent  w^hen  the  truth 
itself  is  blasphemed ;  when  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  whom  alone 
the  heart  can  be  chano^ed,  is  contemned  as  e"sdl.^^     The  soul  " 


Ullmann,  226. 
Schleier- 
macher's 
Predigten,  iii. 

cm. 


Keim.  ii.  342 
Schenkel,  lOfi. 
Heraog,y.2S3 


144  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

OHAP.  xLi.    lias  then  shut  out  the  light,  and  has  chosen  darkness  as  it-s 
portion.^ 

"  I  warn  you  to  beware  of  speaking  thus  any  longer. 
Either  decide  that  the  tree  is  good  and  its  fruit  conse- 
quently good,  or  that  it  is  bad  and  its  fruit  bad,  but  do  not 
act  so  foolishly  as  you  have  done  in  your  judgment  on  me, 
by  calling  the  tree  bad — that  is,  calling  me  a  tool  of  the 
devil,  and  yet  ascribing  good  fruit  to  me — such,  I  mean,  as 
the  casting  out  devils.  Do  not  think  what  you  say  is  mere 
words,  for  words  rise  from  the  heart,  as  if  from  the  root  of 
the  man :  as  the  tree  and  the  stem,  such  is  the  fruit.  See 
that  you  do  your  duty  by  yourselves,  that  the  tree  of  your 
own  spiritual  being  be  good  and  bear  good  fruit.  The  tree 
is  known  by  its  fruits.  It  is  no  Avonder  you  blaspheme  as 
you  have  done  ;  a  generation  of  vipers,  your  hearts  are  evil, 
and  you  are  morally  incapable  of  acknowledging  the  truth, 
for  the  lips  speak  as  the  heart  feels.  Witness  to  the  truth 
flows  from  the  lips  of  the  good ;  such  language  as  yours, 
from  the  lips  of  the  evil.  But,  beware,  for  I  tell  you  that, 
as  such  Avords  are  the  utterance  of  the  heart,  and  show  how 
you  are  alFected  towards  God  and  His  Spirit,  you  will  have 
to  give  account  of  them  when  I  come  as  the  Messiah,  to 
judgment.     Your  words  respecting  me  and  my  Kingdom 

i»  soueier-  Will  then  justify  or  condemn  you."^^ 
i^7r?*°'  ^*  *^^i^  point,  as  was  common  in  the  most  solemn  Jewish 
assembUes,  He  was  interrupted  by  some  of  the  Rabl:)is  present. 
They  demanded  in  strange  contradiction  to  the  theory  that 
He  was  a  secret  agent  of  Beelzebub,  some  astounding  miracle, 
as  a  sign  from  heaven  in  support  of  His  claims  as  the 
Messiah :  as  hereafter  they  did,  in  every  part  of  the  world, 

w  1  Cor.  1.22.  from  the  Apostles. -°  The  masses,  and  even  their  leaders, 
expected  the  repetition  of  all  the  great  deeds  of  Moses  and 
Joshua,  to  inaugurate  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  other 
claimants  did  not  venture  to  resist  the  demand.  Under  the 
Procurator  Fadus,  a  certain  Theudas  drew  out  the  people  to 
the  Jordan  to  see  Israel  walk  through,  once  more,  on  dry 

"  Aiit.is.5. 1.  ground. ^^  Under  Felix,  a  prophet  promised  to  throw  down 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  as  Joshua  did  those  of  Jericho,  and 
gathered  thirty  thousand  men  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  to  see 


THE    SIGN   OF  JONAH. 


145 


13.5. 
Bell.  Jud. 
13.4. 


them  fall.^^  Others  in\-ited  the  nation  to  follow  them  into  cm\p.  xu. 
the  wilderness,  where  they  promised  to  show  them  stupen- «  bcu.  jud. 
dous  signs  of  the  kingdom  of  God  having  come.^^  It  might 
have  seemed  a  temptation  to  One  possessing  supernatural 
power,  to  silence  all  cavil  by  a  miracle  of  iiTesistible  grandeur. 
But  outward  acknowledgment  of  His  claims  was  of  no  worth 
in  a  kingdom  like  that  of  Christ's,  resting  on  love,  and 
homage  to  hohness.  He  cared  nothing  for  popularity  or 
fame,  and  lived  in  unbroken  self-restraint,  using  His  mighty 
power  only  to  further  spiritual  ends.  It  was  easy,  there- 
fore, to  repel  the  seduction,  which  He  had  akeady  overcome 
in    His    first   2;reat    wilderness   strufrgle.       "An   evil  and 

o  Co 

adulterous  generation,"  said  He — "  unfaithful  to  God,  who 
chose  Israel  for  His  bride — asks  for  a  sign,  grand  beyond  all 
I  have  given,  that  I  am  the  Messiah."  Then,  predicting  His 
violent  death.  He  went  on — "  There  shall  be  no  sign  given 
it,  but  that  of  the  prophet  Jonah.  For,  as  he  was  three  days 
and  three  nights  in  the  belly  of  the  fish,  so  shall  the  Son  of 
Man  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
dead."°  The  spiritual  miracle  of  His  life  and  words  were  the 
only  signs  He  could  vouch.safe  while  He  lived,  for  at  no 
time  did  He  lay  stress  on  miracles  alone  as  a  means  of 
gaining  disciples,  but  subordinated  them  to  His  proclamation 
of  the  Truth.''  His  preaching  would  itself  be  a  sign  hke 
that  of  the  preaching  of  Jonah  to  the  Ninevites.-*  "The 
men  of  that  city,"  said  He,  "  would  rise  in  the  judgment 
day,  to  witness  against  this  generation,  for  they  repented 
at  the  preaching  of  Jonah,  and  He  was  gi'eater  than  that 
prophet.  The  Queen  of  the  South,  who  came  from  Sheba 
to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  would  then  condemn  them, 
for  she  came  from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  and 
great  as  they  thought  the  glory  of  Solomon,'  they  had  one 
gi'eater  than  He  before  them,  in  Himself.  Vast  multitudes 
had  gone  out  to  hear  John,  and  had  professed  repentance; 
vast  multitudes  had  followed  Himself,  and,  yet,  the  result 
had  been  only  temporary  and  superficial.  It  would  prove 
with  this  generation  as  with  a  man  from  whom  an  unclean 
spirit  has  for  a  time  gone  out.  Meeting  no  suiting  rest  else 
where,  it  retm'ns,  and  finding  its  foi-mer  dwelling  in  the 
VOL.  II.  49 


Keim,  ii.  434. 
Matt.12.38 — 45. 
Lukell.24— 2C, 
29—32. 


146 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


Hausnlth,  i 
878. 
Keim,  li.  4^ 


man's  soul  ref\dy  for  it,  it  allies  itself  with  seven  demons 
still  worse  than  itself,  and  with  their  help  enters  the  man 
once  more.  The  Reformation  under  John,  and  under  Him- 
self, was  only  tem2:)orary  ;  the  nation  would  fall  back  a<iain 
to  its  old  sinful  ways,  and  become  worse  than  ever."-^  He 
foresaw  His  rejection,  and  thus  foretold  it. 

He  had  silenced  the  Rabbis,  and  no  doubt  by  doing  so  had 
intensified  their  hatred ;  but  a  ncAV  trial  awaited  Him.  The 
insinuation  that  His  brain  was  affected  had  reached  His 
family,  who  still  lived  at  Nazareth.  The  effects  of  the  ex- 
hausting toil,  and  constant  excitement  of  these  months,  had, 
apparently,  led  even  His  friends  to  fear  that  He  Avould  give 
way  under  such  tension,  and,  now,  the  hints  of  the  Rabbis 
that  He  was  possessed,  and  spoke  and  acted  as  He  did,  under 
demoniacal  influence,  raised  the  fear  that  judicial  action 
would  be  begun  against  Him,  on  the  part  of  the  Jerusalem 
authorities.-"  Very  possibly  the  simple  household  at  Naza- 
reth, who,  like  other  Jews,  must  have  looked  on  the  Rabbis 
with  superstitious  reverence,  and  have  shrunk  from  rpiestion- 
ing  anything  they  said,  had  innocently  accepted  the  insinua- 
tion, that  He  was  really  out  of  His  mind,  as  a  result  of 
being  possessed.  Prejudiced  in  favour  of  the  common  idea 
of  the  Messiah  as  a  national  hero,  at  the  head  of  Jewish 
armies,  they  had  not  risen  to  any  higher  conception,  and 
felt  impelled  by  every  motive  to  interfere,  and,  if  possible, 
put  a  stop  to  what  seemed  to  them  an  unaccountable 
course  of  action  on  His  part.  It  was  only  about  ten  hours' 
distance  from  Nazareth  to  Capernaum,  over  the  hills ;  they 
would  go  and  see  for  themselves;  and  so,  Mary,  and  the 
brothers  and  sisters  of  Jesus — the  whole  household,  for 
Joseph  was  dead — set  out  for  Peter's  house. 

They  arrived  while  the  crowd,  excited  by  the  miracle  they 
had  just  seen,  and  half  beheving  that  Jesus  must  be  the 
expected  Messiah,  stiU  filled  the  house  and  thronged  the 
courtyard,  so  that  the  Rabbis,  overawed,  could  do  nothing 
against  Him.  Anxious  to  withdraw  Him  from  His  dangerous 
course,  and  unable  as  yet  to  understand  Him,  they  had  come 
to  the  conclusion,  jserhaps  at  the  instigation  of  the  Rabbis, 
that  the  best  plan  would  be  to  lay  hold  on  Him,  and  take 


••  MY  MOTHER  AND  MY  BRETHREN."         147 

Him  home  by  force,  as  one  beside  Himself.  If  they  could  keep  ch-vp.  sli. 
Him  for  a  time  at  Nazareth;  if  necessary,  under  restraint;  the 
quiet,  they  hoped,  would  calm  His  mind  and  free  Him  from 
His  hallucinations.  It  is  wonderful  that  they  could  argue 
with  themselves  in  such  a  way — especially  that  ]\Iary  could 
have  fancied  it  madness  that  He  acted  as  he  did  and  called 
Himself  the  Messiah ;  but  vision,  in  spiritual  things  as  in 
nature,  depends,  not  on  the  flood  of  light  around  us,  but  on 
the  eye  on  which  it  falls. 

On  coming  near,  however,  they  found  they  could  not  make 
their  way  through  the  crowd,  and  had  to  request  those  near 
to  let  Him  know  their  presence,  and  that  they  wished  to 
speak  with  Him.  At  any  moment  when  busy  with  the 
work  of  the  Kingdom,  all  lower  relations,  bonds,  and  cares, 
of  His  earlier  hfe,  ceased  to  engage  Him,  but  much  more 
was  it  so  at  a  time  hke  this,  when  engrossed  with  its  supreme 
interests,  and  with  the  victoi-y  over  its  enemies  which  He 
had  hardly  as  yet  completed.  The  most  sacred  of  earthly 
ties  lost  its  greatness  before  the  grandeur  of  spiritual  kinship 
in  the  new  deathless  communion  He  was  founding.  "  Who  is 
my  mother?"  asked  He,  "and  who  are  my  brethren?"  Then, 
stretching  His  hands  towards  those  around  Him — "  Behold," 
said  He,  "  my  mother  and  my  brethren !  For  whosoever 
shall  do  the  wiU  of  my  Father  in  Heaven,^'  the  same  is  my  ^  uumann,  so. 
brother,  and  sister,  and  mother."^^  It  was  the  same  answer, ' 
in  effect,  as  He  had,  perhaps  before  this,  given,  when  a 
woman  in  the  crowd,  unable  to  restrain  herself,  had  expressed 
aloud  her  sense  of  the  surpassing  honour  of  her  who  had 
borne  and  nui-sedHim.  "Yea,"  replied  He,  "rather,  blessed 
are  they  that  hear  the  Word  of  God  and  keep  it." 

It  was  from  no  want  of  tenderness  Jesus  thus  spoke.  A 
holy  duty  to  Himself,  His  honour,  and  His  calling,  demanded 
His  acting  as  He  did.  It  was  imperative  that  He  should 
keep  Himself  from  the  hands  even  of  His  nearest  friends,  to 
prevent  their  unconsciously  carrying  out  the  plans  of  His 
enemies,  by  violently  restraining  Him.  He  had,  moreover, 
founded  a  new  family  of  which  He  was  the  Spiritual  Head, 
and  this,  henceforth,  as  it  spread  among  men,  Avas  to  be  His 
supreme    earthly   relationship.      The   ready  faith   of  tlie 


Ewald, 

V.  413. 

Matt.  12.  46— 

60. 

Marks. 

31— 

35. 

Lukes. 

19— 

21;  11. 5 

17,  lis. 

148 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


Mark  7.  4. 
Nork,  140. 
Godwyn,  3S 
Hausrath, 


Samaritans,  and  tlie  surpassing  example  of  the  heathen 
centurion,  had  foreshadowed  the  extension  of  the  New 
Kingdom,  beyond  Israel,  to  all  nations.  To  do  the  will  of 
mere  men,  whether  priests,  or  Rabbis,  was  no  longer  the 
condition  of  heavenly  favour.  Henceforth,  over  the  earth, 
to  do  the  will  of  God  was  the  one  condition  required  to  open 
the  gates  of  the  way  of  life. 

Foiled  in  their  attempt  to  brand  Jesus  publicly  as  in 
league  with  the  deidl,  the  Pharisees'^  resolved  to  try  the 
subtler  plan  of  pretending  friendhness,  and  inviting  Him  to 
partake  of  their  hospitality,  that  they  might  watch  what  He 
said,  and,  if  possible,  provoke  Him  to  commit  Himself  in 
some  way  that  would  bring  Him  within  the  reach  of  the 
Law.  It  was  yet  earl}',  and  one  of  them  asked  Him,  with 
this  treacherous  object,  to  join  the  light  morning  meal, 
then  lately  introduced  into  Palestine  by  the  Romans.'  He 
accepted  the  invitation,  -with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  spirit 
in  which  it  had  been  given.  It  had  been  expected,  perhaps, 
that  the  honour  of  entertainment  in  a  circle  of  Rabbis,  would 
awe  a  layman  of  humble  standing  like  Jesus,  but  He  took 
care  to  show  His  true  bearing  to^vards  them  from  the  moment 
He  reclined  at  table.  Washing  the  hands  before  eating 
was,  in  all  cases,  a  vital  requirement  of  Pharisaic  duty.  A 
Rabbi  would  rather  have  suffered  death  than  eat  before  he 
had  done  so.  "  It  is  better,"  said  Rabbi  Akiba,  "in  a  time 
of  persecution,  to  die  of  thirst  than  to  break  the  command- 
ment, and  thus  die  eternally,"  and  pi-oceeded  to  wash  his 
hands  before  touching  food,  with  the  allowance  of  di'inking 
water  brought  him  by  his  jaUor."-''  But  observance  of  Phari- 
saic rules  required  much  more.  Christ  had  just  come  from 
among  a  crowd,  and  had,  besides,  cast  out  a  devil,  and,  thus 
doubly  defiled,  ought  to  have  purified  Himself  by  a  bath, 
before  coming  to  table  with  those  who  were  Le^•itically  clean. 
A  Pharisee  always  bathed  himself  Itefore  eating,  on  coming 
from  the  market-place,^"  to  wash  away  the  defilement  of  con- 
tact with  the  unclean  multitude,  and  it  was  to  liave  been 
expected  that  Jesus  would  liave  been  equally  scrupulous." 
He  had  committed  Himself,  however,  to  uncompromising 
opposition  to  a  system  which  substituted  forms  for  true 


THE  OUTSIDE  OF  THE  PLATTER. 


149 


spiritual  religion,  and  took  His  place  on  the  couch  -wath-  charxli. 
out  any  ceremonial  purification.  The  host  and  his  guests 
Avere  astonished,  and  betrayed,  at  least  in  their  looks,  their 
real  feelings  towards  Him ;  bitter  enough  before,  but  now 
fiercer  than  ever,  at  this  defiant  affront  to  their  cherished 
usages. 

Roused  by  their  uncourteous  hostility,  He  instantly  took 
His  position  of  calm  independence  and  superiority,  for  He 
feared  no  human  face,  nor  any  combination  of  human  violence. 
Knowing  perfectly  that  He  was  alone  against  the  world.  He 
felt  that  the  Truth  required  Him  to  witness  for  it,  come  what 
might  to  Himself. 

"  I  see,"  said  He,  "  what  you  are  thinking.  You  Pharisees 
clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  the  platter,^^  but  you  fill "  Luke  u.  37- 
both,  Avithin,   with  the  gains   of  hypocritical  robbery  and 
Avickedness ;  you  cleanse  the  outside  of  a  cup,  and  think 
nothing  of  your  OAvn  souls  being  full  of  all  eA'il."    Fools !  did 
not  He  who  made  the  outside  of  a  cup  make  the  inside  as 
well  ?    As  He  made  all  outAA'ard  and  A^isible  things,  has  He 
not  also  made  allinAvard  and  spiritual?  Hoav  absurd  to  take 
so  much  care  of  the  one,  and  to  neglect  the  other !    Let  me 
tell  you  hoAV  you  may  attain  true  jmrification.     Give  AAdth 
willing,  loving  hearts,  what   you  have  in   your  cups  and 
platters,  as  alms,  and  this  will  make   all  your  ceremonial 
Avashings  of  the  outside  superfluous,  and  cleanse  both  the 
A'essels  and  your  hearts.     The  Rabbis  have  told  you  that 
'charity  is  worth    all  other  virtues  together, '^^  but  your "  Bava Bathm, 
coA'etousness  is  a  proverb,  for  you  devour  Avidows'  houses, 
and  haA'e  in\^ented  excuses  for  a  son  robbing  e\'en  his  father 
for  your  good.^^    But  woe  to  you,  Pharisees !  for  it  is  vain  to  ■ 
expect  this  of  you,  who  know  nothing  of  true  loA^e.    You  lay 
stress  on   external  trifles,   and  neglect  the  principles  and 
duties  of  the  inner  life — you  tithe  petty  garclen  herbs,  like 
mint,  and  rue,  and  all  kinds  besides,  and  are  indifferent  to 
right  and  AATong,  and  to  the  loA^e  of  God.      If  you  wish  to 
tithe  the  garden  herbs,^^  it  is  AveU  to  do  so,  but  vou  should  "  Tristram,4i!>, 

'  ■'  471, 478. 

be  as  zealous  for  AA'hat  is  much  more  important."  Your  vanity 
is  as  great  as  your  grasping  hypocrisy !  Woe  unto  you, 
Pharisees  !  for  ye  love  the  chief  seats  in  the  sj-nagogues,  and 


Matt.  23.  14. 
Mark  7.  11. 
Nork,  141. 


150  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

to  be  flattered  by  men  rising  up  as  you  pass  in  the  crowded 
mai'ket-place,  and  greeting  you  with  reverend  salutations 
of  Rabbi,  Rabbi,  your  reverence,  your  reverence.^^  Woe 
unto  you  !  you  are  like  graves  sunk  in  the  earth,  over  which 
men  Avalk,  thinking  the  ground  clean,  and  are  defiled 
when  they  least  suspect  it.P  Men  think  themselves  with 
saints  if  in  your  company,  but  to  be  near  you  is  to  be  near 
pollution  !" 

A  Rabbi'i  among  the  guests  here  interrupted  Him. 
"Teacher,"  said  he,  "you  are  condemning  not  only  the 
common  lay  Pharisees,  but  us,  the  Rabbis."  The  interruption 
only  directed  Jesus  against  the  "lawyers"  specially.  "Woe 
to  you,  lawyers,  also!"  said  He,  "for  ye  burden  men  with 
burdens  grievous.to  be  borne,  while  3'e,  yourselves,  touch  not 
these  burdens  with  one  of  your  fingers  to  help  the  shoulders 
to  bear  them.  Ye  sit  in  your  chambers  and  schools,  and 
create  legal  rules,  endless,  harassing,  intolerable,  for  the 
people,  but  not  affecting  yourselves, — shut  out  as  you  are 
from  busy  life.  Woe  unto  you !  for  ye  build  the  tombs  of 
the  prophets,  but  your  fathers,  in  whose  acts  you  glory, 
killed  them.  Shame  for  their  having  done  so  might  make 
you  wish  those  sacred  tombs  forgotten  ;  but  you  have  no 
shame,  and  rebuild  these  tombs  to  win  favour  with  the 
people,  while  in  your  hearts  you  are  ready  to  repeat  to  the 
prophets  of  to-day  the  deeds  of  your  fathers  towards  those 
of  old !  Your  pretended  reverence  for  these  mart}TS,  shown 
in  restoring  their  sepulchres,  while  you  are  ready  to  repeat 
the  wickedness  of  their  murderers,  makes  these  tombs  a 
witness  against  you.  The  Holy  Spirit  had  this  in  view, 
when  He  said  by  Me,  sometime  since,''  '  I  Avill  send  them 
prophets  and  apostles,  and  some  of  them  they  will  perse- 
cute and  kill;  that  the  blood  of  all  the  prophets,  shed 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  may  be  required  of  this 
generation — from  the  blood  of  Abel  to  that  of  Zachariah, 
who  perished  between  the  altar  and  the  Temple.'  Yes,  I  say 
unto  you,  it  will  be  required  of  this  generation.  Under  the 
guidance  of  you  law}-ers  it  Avas,  that  the  people  treated  them 
as  they  did  !  Woe  to  you !  you  have  taken  away  from  the 
nation  the  key  to  the  temple  of  heavenly  knowledge — have 


A   REQUEST   DENIED. 


151 


made  tlaem  incapable  of  recognizing  the  trutli, — b)'  your 
teaching.  You,  yourselves,  have  not  entered,  and  you  have 
hindered  those  from  entering  who  were  on  the  point  of 
doing  so ! " 

The  die  was  finally  cast.  Henceforth  Jesus  stood  con- 
sciously alone,  the  rejected  of  the  leaders  of  His  nation. 
There  was  before  Him  only  a  weary  path  of  persecution, 
and,  at  its  end,  the  Cross.  An  incident,  recorded  by  St. 
Luke,  seems  to  belong  to  this  period.  The  multitudes 
thronging  to  hear  the  new  teaching  were  daily  greater,  in 
spite  of  the  hostility  of  the  Rabbis,  for  their  calumnies  and 
insinuations  had  not  yet  abated  the  general  excitement. 
"  An  innumerable  multitude"  waited  for  the  reappearance 
of  Jesus,  and  hung  on  His  lips  to  catch  every  word.  He 
might  be  attacked  and  slandered  in  the  house  of  the 
Pharisee,  but,  as  yet,  the  crowd  looked  on  Him  -oath  astonish- 
ment and  respect.  Opinions  differed  only  as  to  the  scope  of 
His  action  :  that  He  was  a  great  Rabbi,  was  felt  by  all. 

It  was  the  custom  to  refer  questions  of  all  kinds  to  the 
Rabbis  for  their  counsel  and  decision,  which  carried  great 
weight,  though  it  might  be  informal  and  extra-judicial.  Their 
words  were  virtually  law,  for  to  dispute  or  oppose  them  was 
well-nigh  criminal.^''  To  get  the  support  of  one  so  great  as  3 
Jesus,  therefore,  in  any  matter,  would,  as  it  seemed,  decide 
a  point  at  once  in  his  favour  whom  He  supported. 

One  of  the  crowd,  reasoning  thus,  chose  an  opportunity 
to  solicit  His  weighty  interference  in  a  question  of  inheri- 
tance,^'' in  which  there  was  a  strife  "uith  a  brother. ' 
"  Teacher,"  said  he,  "  speak  to  my  brother,  that  he  divide  the 
inheritance  with  me."  But  he  had  utterly  misconceived 
Christ's  spirit  and  sphere.  In  the  briefest  and  most  direct 
words,  the  idea  that  He  had  anything  to  do  with  "judging" 
or  "  dividing"  in  woi'ldly  atfau's  was  repudiated.  It  was  not 
His  province. 

The  question,  however,  gave  an  occasion  for  solemn 
warning  against  the  unworthy  greed  and  selfishness  which 
lie  at  the  root  of  all  such  strife,  on  one  side  or  the  other. 
Addressing  the  crowd,  who  had  heard  the  request.  He 
gave  them  a  caution  against  all  forms  of  covetousness,  or 


152  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLi.  excessive  desire  of  worldly  possessions,  in  the  following 
parable. 

"Watch,"  said  He,  "and  keep  yourselves  from  all  covetous- 
ness.  For,  though  a  man  may  abound  in  riches,  his  life 
does  not  depend  on  his  wealth,  but  on  the  will  of  God,  who 
can  lengthen  or  shorten  his  existence,  and  make  it  happy 
or  sad,  at  His  pleasure.     Let  me  show  you  what  I  mean. 

"  The  gi'ound  of  a  certain  rich  man  brought  forth  plenti- 
fully. And  he  reasoned  within  himself,  saying,  '  What 
shall  I  do,  because  I  have  no  room  to  stow  away  my  crops  ? ' 
And  he  said,  '  This  will  I  do.  I  will  pull  down  my  barns  and 
build  greater,  and  I  will  gather  together  into  them  all  my 
crops  and  my  property,  and  will  say  to  my  soul,  Soul,  thou 
hast  much  property  laid  up  for  many  years ;  take  thine  ease, 
cat,  drink,  and  be  merry.' 

"  But  God  said  unto  him,  '  Fool,  this  night  thy  soul  is 
required  of  thee,  and  whose  will  those  things  be  which  thou 
hast  prepared  ? ' " 

"  So,"  added  Jesus,  "  is  he  who  heajis  up  treasures  for 
himself,  and  is  not  rich  towards  God.  Death,  coming  un- 
expectedly, and,  at  latest,  soon  strips  him  of  all,  if  he  has  only 
thought  of  himself  and  of  this  world.  The  true  wisdom  is  to 
use  what  we  have  so  as  to  lay  up  treasures,  by  its  right 
employment,  in  heaven,  that  God  may  give  us  these,  after 
death,  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah." 


AFTER   THE   STORM.  153 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

AFTER  THE   STORM. 

THE  meal  in  the  house  of  the  Pharisee  was  a  turning  chap.xlh. 
point  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  The  fierceness  of  His  enemies 
had  broken  out  into  open  rage,  so  that,  as  He  left.  He  was 
followed  by  the   infuriated  Rabbis,  gesticulating,^  as  they »  Luke  n.  53. 
pressed  round  Him,  and  provoking  Him  to  commit  Himself 
by  words  of  which  they  might  lay  hold.     A  vast  crowd  had 
meanwhile  gathered,"^  partly    on   His    side,    partly   turned  ^^  luuo  12. 1. 
against  Him  by  the  arts  of  His  accusers.     The  excitement 
had  reached  its  highest. 

With  such  a  multitude  licfore  Him,  it  was  certain  that 
He  would  not  let  the  opportunity  pass  of  proclaiming  afresh 
the  New  Kingdom  of  God.  It  had  been  called  a  kingdom  of 
the  devil,  and  it  was  meet  that  He  should  turn  aside  the 
calumny.  His  past  mode  of  teaching  did  not,  however, 
seem  suited  for  the  new  circumstances.  It  had  left  but 
small  permanent  results ;  and  a  new  and  still  simpler 
style  of  instruction,  specially  adapted  to  their  dulness  and 
untrained  minds  and  hearts,  would  at  least  arrest  their 
attention  more  sm-ely,  and  force  them  to  a  measure  of  reflec- 
tion. Pressing  through  the  vast  throng,  to  the  shore  of  the 
Lake,  He  entered  a  fishing-boat,  and,  sitting  down  at  its 
prow,  the  highest  part  of  it,  began,  from  this  convenient 
pulpit,  as  it  lightly  rocked  on  the  waters,  the  first  of  those 
wondrous  parables,  in  which  He  henceforth  so  frequently 
embodied  His  teachings. 

The  Parable  or  Mashal  was  a  mode  of  instruction  already 
familiar  to  Israel  since  the  days  of  the  Judges,^  and  was  in  fami- '  Ji^gss  9. 7. 

J  o      3  ^  Isaiah  5. 1, 

liar  and  constant  use  among  the  Rabbis.     Its  characteristic    Ezek.i3.ii,io. 
is  the  presentation  of  moral  and  religiovis  truth  in  a  more 


154  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP^Lii.  Aavid  form  than  is  possible  by  mere  precept,  or  abstract 
statement,  use  being  made  for  tliis  end  of  some  incident 
drawn  from  life  or  nature,  by  whicli  the  lesson  sought  to  be 
given  is  pictured  to  the  e3'e,  and  thus  imprinted  on  the 
memory,  and  made  more  emphatic.  Analogies  hitherto 
unsuspected  between  familiar  natural  facts  and  spiritual 
phenomena;  lessons  of  duty  enforced  by  some  simple  imagi- 
nary narrative  or  incident;  striking  parallels  and  comparisons, 
which  made  the  homeliest  trifles  symbols  of  the  highest 
truths,  abound  in  all  the  discourses  of  Jesus,  but  are  still 
more  frequent  from  this  time.  Nothing  was  henceforth  left 
unused.  The  light,  the  darkness,  the  houses  around,  the 
games  of  childhood,  the  sightless  wayside  beggar,  the  foxes 
of  the  hills,  the  leathern  bottles  hung  up  from  every  rafter, 
the  patched  or  new  garment,  and  even  the  noisy  hen  amidst 
her  chickens,  served,  in  turn,  to  illustrate  some  lofty  truth. 
The  soAver  on  the  hill-side  at  hand,  the  flaming  weeds 
among  the  corn,  the  common  mustard  plant,  the  leaven  in  the 
woman's  dough,  the  treasure  disclosed  by  the  passing  plough- 
share, the  pearl  brought  by  the  travelling  merchant  from 
distant  lands  for  sale  at  Bethsaida  or  Tiberias, — at  Philip's 
court  or  that  of  Antipas, — the  draw-net  seen  daily  on  the  Lake, 
the  pitiless  servant,  the  labourers  in  the  vineyards  around — 
any  detail  of  every-day  life — was  elevated,  as  occasion  de- 
manded, to  be  the  vehicle  of  the  sublimest  lessons.  Others 
have  uttered  parables ;  but  Jesus  so  far  transcends  them,  that 
He  may  justly  be  called  the  creator  of  this  mode  of  instruc-. 

<  Benan'sVie      tlOn.* 

de  J(<sus,  167.  f^    ^  1  1?     J 

Ma^i"i-M.  The  first  of  the  wondrous  series  Avas,  fitly,  that  ot  the 
LSes-jTil'-  Sower,  for  the  planting  of  the  New  Kingdom  must  needs  be 
the  first  stage  toAvards  further  truths  respecting  it.  In  a 
country  like  Galilee  no  illustration  could  be  more  easily 
intelligible,  and  it  is  no  Avonder  that  Jesus  often  uses  it.  As 
He  sat  in  the  boat,  Avith  the  multitude  standing  on  the  shore, 
each  feature  of  the  parable  Avould  be  before  Him, — the 
sower  going  out  from  the  neighbouring  toAvn  or  A'illage  to 
sow  his  patch  on  the  unenclosed  hill-side,  Avith  its  varied  soil ; 
here  Avarm  and  deep ;  there  a  mere  skin  over  the  limestone 
rock ;  invaded  at  some  spots  by  thorns,  then,  as  noAV,  so 


THE   PARABLE.  155 

plentiful  iu  Palestine,  and  crossed  by  the  bridle  path,  along  charxlii. 

which  men  and  beasts  were  passing  constantly.     The  seed 

was  good,  and  the  sower  faithfully  did  his  work,   but  it 

depended  on  the  soil  itself,  what  would  be  the  result,  for  the 

rain,  and  the  light,  and  the  heat,  came  equally  on  all.  Part  fell 

on  the  trodden  path, — which,  itself,  though  now  beaten  hax-d, 

was  once  as  soft  and  yielding  as  any  part  of  the  field, — and 

was  crushed  under  foot,  or  picked  up  by  the  birds  hovering 

near.    Some  fell  on  spots  in  which  the  springing  thistles  had 

already  taken  root,  and  were  about  to  shoot  up  in  rank  vigour; 

some  on  the  shallow  sldn  of  earth  over  the  rock,  where  the 

hot  sun  hastened  the  groAvth,  while  the  hard  rock  hindered 

the  root  from  striking  down;  and  only  a  part  fell  on  good 

soil,  and  yielded  a  return  for  the  sower  s  toil.'^ 

This  parable,  apparently  so  self-illustrative,  only  troubled 
the  minds  of  the  Twelve,  and  of  the  wider  circle  in  His  hearers 
who  had  any  interest  in  His  Avords.^     The  mode  of  teaching  '^  uark  4. 12. 
was  new  to  them  from  Jesus, ''  and  the  conceptions  embodied"  Mark 4. 33. si 

'     .  .    ^  Matt.  13. 34; 

m  what  they  had  heard  were  directly  opposite  to  all  they  had  i"-  "■ 
been  accustomed,  as  Jews,  to  associate  with  the  Messianic 
kingdom.  The  careless  multitude,  drawn  together  only  by 
curiosity,  had  scattered  when  Jesus  had  finished  His  address, 
and  He  had  returned  to  Peter's  house.  Thither,  however,  a 
number  of  graver  spirits  followed,  with  the  Twelve,  to  seek 
the  explanation  they  felt  assured  would  be  vouchsafed.  It 
was,  indeed,  precisely  what  Jesus  desired,  for  it  afforded  an 
opportunity  for  the  fuller  instruction  of  all  Avhose  state  of 
heart  fitted  them  to  receive  it,  and  it  drew  them  into  closer 
personal  intercourse  with  Him.  He  received  them  with  frank 
dehght.  "Unto  you,  who  thus  show  your  interest  in  the 
mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  God,"  said  He,  "it  is  given  to 
know  them,  but  to  the  indifferent  outside  multitude,"  they ;  Mart  4.  n. 
are  designedlj^eft  veiled  in  parable."  To  understand  spiritual 
truth,  the  heart  must  be  in  sympathy  with  it  ;  otherwise,  to 
try  to  explain  it,  would  be  as  idle  as  to  speak  of  colours  to 
the  blind,  or  of  music  to  the  deaf.  "When  the  religious 
faculty  was  dead  or  dormant,  rehgious  truth  was  necessarily 
incomprehensible  and  undesii-ed.  "  He  came  to  be  a  Light  to 
men,8  and  to  reveal  the  truth,  not  to  hide  it,  but  men  must  =  Mark  4. 21 


156  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLii.  have   -willing   ears,^   and   take   heed   to  what  they  hear/" 

'"  Malt'^^i  pondering  over  it  in  their  hearts.  To  Hsten  only  with  the 
outward  ear,  like  the  careless  multitude,  is  to  draw  down 
the  punishment  of  God.  In  natures  thus  wilfuUy  indifferent, 
hardness  only  grows  the  worse  the  more  they  hear.  To 
such,  the  very  word  of  life  becomes  a  word  of  death. 
Rejecting  me,  the  Light,  they  are  given  up  by  God  to  the 
darkness  they  have  chosen,  and  lose,  erelong,  even  the  super- 
ficial interest  in  higher  things  they  may  have  had." 

"Ye,  on  the  other  hand,"  He  continued,  "who  really 
have  received  the  truth  into  a  willing  heart,  have  thereby 
proved  your  fitness  for  higher  disclosures,  and  shall  have 

II  Mark  4. 24.  thcm.^^  The  honest  interest  you  show  determines  the 
measure  of  knowledge  you  are  able  to  receive,  and  it  Avill  be 
given  you.*^  He  who  has  opened  his  soul  to  Me  will  receive 
continually  richer  insight  into  the  truth.  Alas  for  those  who 
shut  their  eyes  and  stop  their  ears !  But  blessed  are  your 
eyes,  into  which  you  have  let  the  truth  enter,  and  blessed 
are  your  ears,  into  which  you  have  let  it  sink.  Amen !  I 
say  to  you,  many  prophets  and  righteous  men  longed  to  see 
those  things  which  ye  see,  and  did  not  see  them ;  and  to  hear 

2  Matt.i3.ic,i7.  those  things  which  ye  hear,  and  did  not  hear  them."^' 

Such,  in  brief  explanatory  paraphrase,  was  the  welcome  to 
those  really  anxious  to  understand  the  pai'able,  which  Jesus 
foi'thwith  expounded  to  them,  disclosing,  as  He  did  so, 
conceptions  and  principles  which  required  a  complete  revo- 
lution in  their  minds  to  understand  and  appropriate.  He 
announced  that  the  ancient  kingdom  of  God  was,  hencefoi'th, 
spiritualized,  so  that  the  only  relation  of  man  to  it,  from  this 
time,  was  a  moral  one;  not,  as  heretofore,  in  part,  a  pohtical. 
So  entii'ely,  indeed,  was  this  the  case,  that  He  did  not  even 
speak  of  the  external  agencies  or  organization  by  which  men 
should  be  outwardly  received  as  its  citizens,  but  assumed  that 
acceptance  depended  on  the  man  himself;  on  His  will  and 
His  sympathy  with  what  the  New  Kingdom  offered.  "The 
Word  is  the  only  Seed  of  the  Gospel.  As  the  embodiment  of 
aU  truth,  it  is  by  following  it  that  the  Will  of  God  is  realized 
by  men,  and  the  one  grand  law  of  the  kingdom  thus  obeyed. 
It  is  given  to  men,  as  the  seed  to  the  ground,  and  they  can 


THE   EXPOSITION   BY   JESUS.  157 

hear  and  understand  it  if  they  choose,  but  all  depends  on  oh.u'.  xlii. 

theii*  doing  so.     As  the  strewn  seed  neither  springs  nor  bears 

fruit  on  much  of  the  ground,  and  fails  except  Avliere  it  sinks 

into  good  soil,  so  the  relations  of  men  to  the  Word  of  God 

are  very  various.     Few,  it  may  be,  receive  it  aright,  but  it 

is  always  the  fault  of  men  themselves  if  it  be  not  living  seed 

in  their  hearts.     Worldly  indifference  may  have  made  the 

soil  impenetrable  as  the  trodden  path,  or  have  left  only  a 

skin  of  sentiment  over  hidden  callousness ;    or  worldly  cares 

or  pleasures  may  be  let  spring  i;p,  and  choke  the  better 

growth ;  in  all  cases  it  is  the  man,  not  the  seed,  or  the  sower, 

on  whom  the  result  turns.     Before  all  things,  this  is  to  be 

felt,  so  that  no  one  may  imagine  that  entrance  into  the  New 

Kingdom   depends  on    any  but  moral  conditions.     Every 

merely  outward  claim  to  citizenship  must  be  laid  aside ;  it 

is  a  matter  strictly  between  God  and  the  soul.     The  more 

completely  this  is  done,  the  greater  the  fitness  for  entrance. 

He  must  be  willing  simply  to  receive,  without  a  thought  of 

merit,  or  right,  what  God  is  pleased  to  give,  of  His  free 

bounty.     The  New  Kingdom  is,  in  truth,  altogether  spiritual. 

It  works  directly  on  the  soul,  by  spiritual  truth.     It  advances 

in  the  individual  and  the  world,  not  by  outward  power,  or 

pohtical  glory,  or  by  miracles,  but  by  the  Word  sown  in  the 

heart,  and  its  aim,  like  its  nature,  is  spiritual ;  to  make  the 

heart  and  life  \dsibly  fruitful  in  aU  heavenly  grace."  ^^  u  uaur,  oe- 

•'  ,  .  „     1  schichte,  33. 

As  the  parable  of  the  Sower  described  the  planting  ot  the  |^™_:^^j_^f  • 

New    Kingdom  in  the   heart,    others  set   forth  the  secret  i^J;  ,J';ji!"° 

invisible  enerfjy  of  the  Word,  by  the  indestructible  vigour  of  schkier- 

which  the  New  Kingdom  unfolds  itself  in  the  individual  and  PreL«gten.iv. 

in  the  world.      It  was  compared  to  the  silent  and  mysterious  ^«J  ^^=°^ 

growth  of  seed,  which  springs  up  by  unperceived  develop-  schenket  ui. 

ment,  first  into  the  blade,  then  into  the  ear,  and,  finally,  f'^;.^%^y^_ 

into  the  ripened  corn.     The  triumphant  futm-e  found  an  Jj^ertsons 

analoo-y  in  the  growth  of  a  CTain  of  mustard-seed — which,  se™s?°l.'  ^ 

f^J  t:>  C:  Matt.  13. 24— 

though  among  the  smallest,  grows  to  be  the  greatest  amongst    ^^^^^  ^  ^^^ 
herbs,  shooting  out  wide  branches,  and  becoming  a  tree,  in     =**• 
the  shade  of  which  the  birds  of  the  air  come  and  lodge. 
It  found  another  in  the  silent  leavening  of  three  measures 
of  meal  by  a  spot  of  yeast,  hidden  in  them.     As  surely  as 


158  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  sLn.  the  seed  will  spring,  or  tlie  mustard-seocl  become  a  tree,"  or 
the  yeast  spread  through  all  the  three  measures  of  meal, — as 
certainly  as  the  spark  spreads  to  a  flame, — the  New  Kingdom 
will  grow  and  expand  to  world-wide  glory.  It  needs  no 
battles  to  be  won,  as  the  hearers  fancied  it  did ;  no  violent 
revolutions.  Jesus  knew  that  the  living  force  of  truth  in 
each  single  heart  must  spread,  and  that,  as  soul  after  soul  was 
Avon,  it  would  silently  revolutionize  the  world,  and  leaven 
all  humanity. 

That  there  should  be  hindrances  was  only  natural,  and 
these  He  shadowed  out  in  the  parable  of  the  Tares  secretly 
soAvn  by  an  enemy  in  a  man's  field,  and  undistinguishable 
"  unmann,  2r,r..  froui  the  grain  till  both  had  come  to  fruit. ^*  For  the  sake 
44-63.  of  ^ijg  -wheat  both  were  left,  by  the  householder,  till  the 
harvest,  but,  in  the  end,  the  tares  would  be  gathered  for 
burning,  and  the  wheat  for  the  barn.''  The  full  meaning  of 
this  parable  was  given  afterwards  by  Jesus  Himself.  The 
visible  Church  would  include  in  it,  till  the  last  day,  many 
who  wei'e  not  true  members.  To  separate  them  is  not  the 
part  of  man,  but  of  the  Judge.  But  this  is,  and  could  be, 
meant  only  in  a  general  sense,  for  the  whole  spirit  of  the 
Gospels  imphes  the  rejection  of  the  openly  unworthy,  and 
their  reception  again  on  their  repentance.  "Those  who 
to-day  are  thorns,"  says  Augustine,  "may  be  wheat  to- 
morrow." 

"So,"  said  He,  also,  "my  kingdom  may  be  likened  to  a  net 
cast  into  the  lake ;  which  gathers  in  it  good  fish  and  bad, 
and,  when  full,  is  drawn  to  shore,  and  the  good  gathered 
into  vessels  while  the  bad  are  cast  away."® 

The  supreme  worth  of  citizenship  in  His  kingdom  He  set 
forth  in  separate  parables.  It  was  like  a  treasure  hidden  in 
a  field,^  which,  when  found,  so  filled  the  heart  of  the  dis- 
coverer, that,  for  joy,  he  went  away,  and  sold  all  he  had, 
and  bought  the  field,  that  the  treasure  might  be  his.  Or,  it 
was  like  a  priceless  pearl  met  with  by  a  merchant  seeking 
such  a  treasure,  and  secured  by  him  at  the  cost  of  all  he 
had.  The  kingdom  might  be  found  by  some  without  their 
seeking  it,  as  the  treasure  by  the  peasant  in  the  field ;  or  it 
might  be  met  by  one  in  earnest  search  for  it,  like  him  Avho 


CAPERNAUM   LEFT.  159 

found  the  costly  pearl.     In  either  case,  it  could  only  be  chap,  sui. 
obtained  by  joyful  self-sacrifice  of  aU  things  else  for  its  sake, 
and  by  the  realization  of  the  worthlessness  of  all  human 
possessions  in  comparison  with  it. 

It  is  not  certain  that  all  these  jiarables  were  spoken  the 
same  day,  though  there  is  nothing  improbable  in  the  suppo- 
sition that  Jesus  should  have  given  such  a  free  utterance  to 
the  wealth  of  imagery  and  illustration  which  flowed  from 
His  lips  with  no  mental  effort.  But  the  evening  came  at 
last,  and  found  Him  wearied  out  with  the  work  and  agitations 
of  such  an  eventful  day.  Capernaum  could,  however,  no 
longer  be  the  quiet  home  for  Him  which  it  had  been.  The 
fierce  rage  of  the  priests  and  schoolmen  in  the  morning,  and 
their  intrigue  with  the  household  of  Nazareth  to  lay  hold 
on  Him  as  a  madman,  j^ossessed  with  a  de^dl,  showed  that 
they  would  stop  at  no  wickedness  to  get  Him  into  their 
power.  The  controversy  respecting  Him  had  penetrated 
eveiy  humble  cottage,  and  quiet  work  was  no  longer  possible. 
Moreover,  it  was  necessary  to  introduce  His  disciples  to  a 
wider  sphere  of  life  and  work  than  Capernaum  and  the 
little  districts  round  it,  in  preparation  for  their  independent 
action,  and  to  form  and  strengthen  their  character  and 
power  of  self-reliance  by  putting  it  to  the  proof,  and  reveal- 
ing to  them  the  weaknesses  yet  to  be  overcome. 

The  Avail  of  lonely  hills  on  the  east  side  of  the  Lake, 
seamed  1)y  deep  gorges  through  which  the  jiath  led  to  the 
vast  upland  plains  of  the  eastern  Jordan — a  region  little 
known  to  the  busy  population  of  Galilee,  and  in  bad  repu- 
tation with  most,  as  more  heathen  than  Jewish — offered  Him 
a  secure  retreat.  Instead  of  returning  to  Peter's  house, 
where  new  troubles  might  have  awaited  Him,  He  ordered  His 
disciples  to  carry  Him  to  the  opposite  shore,  that  He  might 
escape  from  all  painful  scenes,  and  enjoy  peace  and  rest  for 
a  time.  His  enemies  would  not  be  Ukely  to  seek  a  Rabbi 
like  Him  in  such  an  unclean  district;  least  of  all,  in  the 
neighbourhood  He  first  -s-isited — that  of  the  heathen  city, 
Gadara. 

But  the  incidents  of  the  day  were  not  yet  over.  The 
streets  on  the  way  to  the  boat  were  full  with  the  evening 


160  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLu.  gossips,  glad  to  talk  with  their  neighbours  in  the  gathering 
twiHght,  now  their  day's  Avork  was  done ;  and,  with  others 
hngering  about,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  the  great  Rabbi.  A 
number  of  these  soon  gathered  round  Christ  and  His  dis- 
ciples as  they  made  towards  the  shore,  and  at  last  the  silence 
was  broken  by  one  of  them,  strange  to  say,  himself  a  Rabbi, 
s  Teacher       offering  to  follow   Him  as  His  scholar.     "  Teacher,  "^^  said 

istheequira-  hc,  "I  wlll  foUow  Thcc  whcrcver  you  go."s  It  mio-ht  have 

lent  of  Habbi.  '  .    . 

Mark4.3t4i:  sccmcd  a  great  thing  for  one  in  the  position  of  Jesus  to  have 
Luue  8.22-25.^  Rabbi  among  His  disciples,  but  He  never  courted  human 
aid,  or  acted  on  mere  expediency.  The  highest,  no  less 
than  the  humblest,  could  only  be  received  on  the  condition 
of  absolute  self-sacrifice  and  sincerity.  Nor  did  He  readily 
accept  those  who  ofl:ered  themselves,  but  chose  rather  to 
summon  such  as  He  wished,  to  His  innnediate  circle.  "  Ye 
have  not  chosen  me,"  said  He,  on  a  future  occasion,  "  but  I 
«  John  15 16.  have  chosen  you."^^  He  returned,  therefore,  only  an  answer 
which  should  test  the  applicant's  motives  to  the  uttermost. 
"  The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  nests,  but 
the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  His  head."  Virtually 
driven  from  the  one  dwelhng  at  Capernaum  He  could  regard 
as  His  home,  and  rejected  from  Nazareth,  He  was,  hence- 
forth, a  wanderer,  with  no  fixed  dwelling.  From  this 
time  He  was  almost  a  fugitive  from  His  enemies,  never 
remaining  long  in  any  one  place, — a  homeless  and  houseless 
man. 

To  a  second  applicant,  who  professed  himself  Avilling  to 
follow  Him  as  soon  as  he  had  discharged  the  pious  duty  of 
burying  his  father,  the  startling  answer  was  returned,  "  Let 
the  (spiritually)  dead  bury  their  dead,   but  go  thou  and 
'  LuJvc9.Go.    preach  the  kingdom  of  God."^''    Under  other  circumstances 
Christ  would  have  commended  such  filial  love ;  but  it  was 
necessary  now,  to  show,  by  a  supreme  example,  that  those 
who  sought  to  follow  Him  must  deny  natural  feelings,  other- 
wise entirely  sacred,  when  the  interests  of  the  kingdom  of 
s  cumann,  143.  God  rcquircd  it.^®     He  had  in  mind,  doubtless,  the  thirty 
9  Hor.  Heb.  u.  days'  mouming^^  that  were  virtually  implied,  and  knew  the 
results  of  indecision  in  a  matter  so  paramount.    It  was,  more- 
over, a  requirement  of  the  Rabbis,  in  similar  cases,  that  if  any 


APPLICANTS   FOR   DISCIPLESHIP.  161 

one  who  mslied  to  be  a  scholar  of  the  Law,  had  to  choose  chap,  xlii. 
between  burying  even  his  nearest  relation — ^his  parent,  or 
his  brother,  or  sister — and  devoting  himself  at  once  to  his 
sacred  duties,  he  should  leave  the  burial  to  others,  as  the  less 
important  duty,  and  give  himself  up  on  the  moment,  undi- 
videdlv  to  the  other.-"     The  words  of  Jesus  were  the  familiar  2»  Megiiia,  foi 

1  •  1    •  •         1  T    •  3,  coL  2. 

and  well-known  expression  of  this  recognized  condition  of 
even  Rabbinical  discipleship.  The  applicant  would  have 
had  to  act  thus  had  he  chosen  to  follow  a  Rabbi,  and  less 
devotion  and  sincerity  could  not  be  demanded  in  the  service 
of  the  New  Kingdom.'^ 

A  third,  who  asked  leave  before  finally  following  Christ, 
to  go  home  and  bid  his  family  circle  farewell,  received  a 
similar  answer — "  No  one  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plough, 
and  looking  back,  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God ;  he  who 
gives  himself  up  to  the  kingdom  of  God,  must  do  so  with 
an  undivided  heart,  suffering  no  earthly  cares  to  distract 
him." 

He  had  set  out  for  the  Lake  side  as  soon  as  the  multitudes 
had  scattered  sufficiently  to  open  the  way ;  and  now,  having 
reached  it.  He  went  into  a  fishing-boat,  just  as  He  was,^^2i  Matt 8.23-9. 
and  they  pushed  oif  in  company  with  some  other  boats.     It    Mark  4.36-6. 
was  ah'eady  late  for  Orientals  to  be  abroad,  and  the  rest  in    i'»^'e8.23-4o. 
the  open  air,  after  such  continuous  mental  and  bodily  excite- 
ment, soon  brought  the  sweet  relief  of  deep  refreshing  sleep. 
We  never  hear  of  Jesus  being  ill ;  and,  indeed,  such  a  life 
as  His,  utterly  free  from  all  disturbing  causes  -which  might 
induce  disease,  may  well  have  been  exceptionally  healthy. 
The  coarse  leather  boss  of  the  steersman's  seat,  at  the  end  of 
the  boat,  sufficed  for  a  pillow,'  and  presently  He  forgot  in 
deep  slumber  the  cares  and  labours  of  the  day. 

The  sail  across,  however,  though  usually  so  refreshing  and 
delightful,  was  destined  to  be  rudely  disturbed.  The  Lake 
lies  in  its  deep  bed  among  the  hills,  ordinarily,  smooth  as  a 
mirror,  but  sudden  storms  at  times  rush  down  every  wady 
on  the  north-east  and  east,  and  lash  the  waters  into  furious 
roughness.  The  Avinds  sweeping  over  the  vast  bare  table- 
land of  Gaulonitis  and  the  Hauran,  and  the  boundless  desert 
beyond,  pour  down  the  deep  ravines  and  gorges,  cut  in  the 

VOL.    II.  50 


162  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  sLii.  course  of  ages  by  streams  and  torrents,  on  their  way  to  the 
Lake,  and  lash  it  into  incredible  commotion.  Its  position, 
about  six  hundred  feet  below  the  Mediterranean,  induces  such 
sudden  hurricanes,  by  heating  the  air  over  it  till  the  colder 
atmosphere   of  the  hills  rushes  down    to  fill  the  vacuum 

a  -Winer,  Wind,  causcd  by  tlic  rarcfactiou.^"^ 

Thomson,  c<l 

^°,'*???,n»      ouch  a  storm  now  burst  on  the  calm  bosom  of  the  waters, 

Book, 374, 392.  ' 

and  presently  raised  tlie  waves  to  such  a  height,  that  the 
unprotected  boat  was  all  but  swamped.  In  the  wild  roaring 
of  the  wind ;  amidst  blinding  torrents  of  rain,  and  the  thick 
darkness  of  the  hurricane  cloud,  which  blotted  out  the  stars ; 
and  the  dashing  of  the  sea,  which  broke  over  them'^  each 
moment ;  even  bronzed  sailoi-s  like  the  Twelve  lost  their 
presence  of  mind,  and  were  filled  with  dismay.  Driven 
before  the  wind,  they  were  fast  filling,  and,  as  it  seemed, 
must  presently  go  down .  Through  all  the  wild  tumult  of  Avind, 
darkness,  rain,  and  sea,  however,  Jesus  lay  peacefully  asleep, 
so  profoundly  had  He  been  exhausted.  It  seemed  as  if  He 
were  indifferent  to  their  fate.  In  their  natural  reverence 
they  long  hesitated  to  rouse  Him,  but  at  last  did  so,  and 
appealed  to  Him  to  save  them.  Amidst  the  terror  around. 
He  was  entirely  self-possessed.  Rising,  He  gently  rebuked 
the  fear  that  had  so  unnerved  them,  and  then,  with  an  awful 
sublimity,  rebuked  the  wind  as  if  it  had  been  a  living  power, 
and  bade  the  angry  sea  be  still ;  and  both  wind  and  sea  at 
once  obeyed  Him.  A  great  calm  spread  over  the  Lake.' 
"Why  are  ye  fearful,"  said  He,  "0  ye  of  little  fiiith?" 
They  had  seen  Him  control  disease,  cast  out  devils,  and  even 
raise  the  dead  ;  could  tliey  not  have  felt  assured  that  neither 
winds  nor  waves  could  harm  them  when  He  was  there  ? 
"What  manner  of  man  is  this?"  muttered  the  awe-struck 
apostles,  "  for  He  commandeth  even  the  winds  and  water, 
and  they  obey  Him ! " 

The  boat  had  been  driven  to  the  southern  end  of  the  Lake, 
and  Christ  consequently  landed  in  the  territory  of  the  city 
of  Gadara,  a  half-heathen  town  on  the  table-land,  twelve 
hundred  feet  above  the  shore,  and  at  some  distance  from  it.™ 
It  was  then  in  its  glory,  and  lay  round  the  top  of  the  hill, 
looking  far  over  the  country.    Long  avenues  of  marble 


THE   MANIACS    OF   GADAKA. 


163 


pillars  lined  its  streets ;  fine  buildings  of  squared  stones  chap,  slii, 
abounded.  Two  great  amphitheatres  of  black  basalt  adorned 
the  west  and  north  sides,  and  there  was  a  third  theatre  near 
its  splendid  public  baths.  It  was  the  proud  home  of  a  great 
trading  community,  to  whom  life  was  bright  and  warm 
when  Jesus  landed  that  morning,  on  the  shore  beneath,  and 
looked  up  towards  its  walls. 

The  hill  on  which  Gadara"  stands  is  of  soft  limestone,  full, 
like  the  limestone  of  Palestine  generally,  of  larger  and 
smaller  caves,  many  of  Avhich  had  been  enlarged  by  the 
poorer  classes  and  turned  into  dwelling-places, °  for  which 
they  are  used  even  yet,  while  others  had  been  converted 
into  tombs,  with  massy  stone  doors.  The  roadside  is  still 
strewn  with  a  number  of  sarcopha";i  of  basalt,  ^^  sculiitured^  Barcthardt 

l         O  '  i-  counted  71. 

with  low  reliefs  of  genii,  garlands,  wreaths  of  flowers,  and    sepp,iii.  2S6 
human  faces,  in  good  preservation,  though  long  emptied  of 
their  dead. 

Madness  in  every  form  has,  in  all  ages,  been  treated  by 
the  rude  therapeutics  of  the  East  as  a  supernatural  visitation, 
with  which  it  is  unsafe  to  interfere  more  than  is  needed, 
and,  hence,  even  at  this  day,  furious  and  dangerous  maniacs 
may,  from  time  to  time,  be  seen  in  the  towns  of  Palestine, 
in  some  cases,  absolutely  naked.  Others,  equally  furious, 
often  betake  themselves  to  the  mountains,  and  sleep  in 
tombs  and  caves.  In  their  paroxysms  they  become  terribly 
dangerous,  for  the  mental  excitement  gives  them  prodigious 
strength,  and,  hence,  one  is  sometimes  a  terror  to  a  whole 
neighbourhood.-*  "'b™,''??? 

o  Book,  148. 

Two  such  madmen,  it  seems,  had  taken  up  their  abode  in 
the  caves  and  tombs,  by  the  side  of  the  road  from  the  Lake 
to  Gadara,  and  had  made  it  almost  impassable,  from  their 
fierceness.  Jesus  had  hardly  set  His  foot  on  shore  before 
they  salUed  out  towards  Him,  shrieking  amidst  the  wild 
howls  of  their  frenzy,  as  they  approached;  in  deprecation  of 
His  interference  with  them.  From  some  reason,  now  un- 
known, St.  Mark  and  St.  Luke  speak  only  of  one  of  these 
two  sufferers,  and  as  their  account  is  the  fuller,  it  is  better 
to  keep  to  it.  Both  were  more  than  merely  insane :  they 
were  possessed  with  devils,  and  conscious  that  they  were  so. 


164 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


oHAP.xLn.  As  in  similar  cases,  the  demoniac  presence  controlled  the 
human  will,  and  spoke  in  its  own  name.  Both  had  already 
shown  their  terror  at  the  coming  of  one  whom  they  recog- 
nized as  the  Son  of  God,  and  adjured  Him  not  to  torment 
them  before  the  time.  But  now  the  one  of  whom  especially 
St.  Mark  and  St.  Luke  speak,  ran  and  fell  down  before  Jesus, 
in  the  manner  of  Eastei'u  reverence.  He  had  been  a  terror 
to  the  whole  country  side,  for  he  would  wear  no  clothes,  but 
roamed  the  hills  naked,  and  would  live  only  in  the  tombs. 
EflForts  had  been  made  to  put  him  in  restraint,  but  neither 
ropes,  nor  the  chains  used,  had  sufficed  to  hold  him.P  Night 
and  day  he  wandered  the  mountains,  driven  hither  and 
thither  1)y  the  mysterious  possession  that  had  him  in  its 
power,  filling  the  air  with  his  howls  and  shrieks,  and  cutting 
himself  with  sharp  stones  in  his  frenzy.  But  a  greater  than 
the  strong  man  by  whom  he  was  enslaved  was  now  here. 
Though  dreading  His  presence,  the  demon  could  not  keep 
away  from  it.  It  may  be  that,  in  the  confused  human  con- 
sciousness, there  was  yet  a  glimmer  of  reason  and  moral 
health  which  drove  him  to  the  Saviour,  but,  if  so,  the  spirit 
took  the  word  from  him,  and  spoke  in  his  stead.  "  What  is 
thy  name  ?  "  said  Jesus  to  the  demon, — and  the  mysterious 
answer  was,  "  Legion,  for  we  are  many."  Forthwith  came 
the  command  to  come  out  of  the  man.  But,  true  to  diabolical 
instinct,  the  spirits  would  fain  injure,  even  in  leaving.  On 
the  slopes  of  the  hill,  a  great  herd  of  swine,  the  unclean  and 
hateful  abomination  of  the  Jew,  were  feeding.  They  were, 
doubtless,  owned  by  some  of  the  heathen  citizens  of  Gadara, 
for  swine  were  in  great  demand  as  sacrifices  and  food  among 
the  foreign  population.  "Send  us  into  the  swine,"  cried 
the  devils,  "and  do  not  drive  us  into  the  abyss,"^  and  the 
request  was  granted,  to  the  destruction  of  the  whole  herd, 
which  ran  violently  do^vn  the  slope  into  the  Lake  and  were 
drowned.  Jesus,  as  Son  of  God,  was  free  to  act  at  His  will  Avith 
all  things,  for  they  were  all  His  by  the  supreme  right  of  crea- 
tion, and  this  right  is  continually  used  in  the  moral  govern- 
ment of  the  world.  There  is  no  ground  for  a  moment's 
discussion  respecting  an  act  of  One  to  whom  all  things  were 
committed,  as  Head  of  the  New  Kingdom,  by  the  Father.^* 


^  Matt.  11.  W. 
Neander'a 
Life  of  Christ, 
341.  Dllmann, 
133.    Dukes, 
160,  186. 


FIRST   PUBLIC    OPPOSITION.  165 

It  is  idle,  in  our  utter  ignorance  of  the  spirit  world,  to  cmvp.  slu. 
raise  difficulties,  as  some  have  done,  at  this  incident.  It  is 
recorded  in  three  of  the  four  Gospels,  and  cannot  be  ex- 
plained away  except  by  doing  violence  to  the  concurrent 
language  of  the  three  evangelists.  However  mysterious, 
it  is  no  more  so  than  many  facts  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  and 
must  be  taken  simply  as  it  stands. 

The  terror  of  the  Apostles  in  the  storm  had  shown  how 
little  Jesus  could  rely  on  them  in  the  far  worse  trials  of 
future  years,  but  the  mighty  power  He  had  shown  in  stilling 
the  tumult  of  the  elements,  had  been  a  lesson  of  confidence 
in  Him,  which  they  could  hardly  foi'get.  It  was  a  further 
step  in  their  training  to  trust  in  Him,  when  they  now  saw 
Him  perform  the  still  more  wonderful  miracle  of  stilling  the 
inward  tempest  of  a  human  soul.  In  neither  case  could  they 
say  a  word.  They  stood  silent  and  ashamed.  They  were 
far,  as  yet,  from  having  grown  to  the  spiritual  manhood  of 
their  great  office. 

The  new,  teaching  of  Jesus  had  excited,  for  a  time,  a  wide 
popularity  that  had  even  besieged  His  dwelHng  and  thronged 
His  person.  The  people  had  given  Him  their  unhesitating 
confidence.  But  His  collisions  with  the  priests  and  Rabbis, 
and  His  disturbed  relations  to  His  family — with  the  whisper- 
ings of  calumny  on  aU  sides — had  chilled  the  enthusiasm  of 
many.  Distrust  and  suspicion  had  been  sown  in  hitherto 
trustful  minds,  and  these  reports  had  penetrated  even  to  the 
east  of  the  Jordan.  Their  first  open  results  were  seen  at 
Gadara,  for  it  was  here  He  first  met  with  open  want  of 
sympathy  with  His  person  and  work.  The  incident  of  the 
destruction  of  the  swine,  infuriating  the  owners,  was  enough, 
with  what  they  had  before  heard,  to  turn  the  people  against 
Him.  The  insinuation  that  He  cast  out  de\dls  by  a  league 
with  their  chief,  filled  weak  minds  with  terror.  He  had 
hardly  landed,  and  was  in  sore  need  of  rest,  but  was  at  once 
forced  to  leave.  For  the  first  time,  the  disciples  had  an 
example  of  that  invincible  unbelief  they  were,  hereafter,  to 
meet  so  often.  But,  if  Jesus  were  hindered  from  preaching 
in  Decapolis,  He  had  the  satisfaction  of  lea\'ing  behind  Him 
the  former  maniac,  now  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind,  to 


166  THE   LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

oHAP.xm.  spread  the  fact  of  his  deliverance.  The  poor  man  Avould 
fain  have  followed  his  Benefactor,  but  Jesus  had  other  work 
for  him.  Contrary  to  His  rule  hitherto,  He  dismissed  him, 
with  directions  to  go  home  to  his  friends,  and  tell  them  the 
great  things  the  Lord  had  done  for  him,  and  how  He  had 
had  compassion  on  him.  His  preaching,  however  simple, 
was  a  seed  of  future  fjood  in  these  reiiions. 

Forced  to  return  to  Capernaum,  Jesus  had  scarcely  landed, 
when  a  demand  was  made  on  His  sympathy  which  He  could 
not  resist.  One  of  the  rulers,  or  chief  men  of  the  Syna- 
gogue, a  local  dignitary,  named  Jairus,"^  had  an  only  daughter, 
a  rising  girl  of  about  twelve,  at  the  point  of  death.  After 
all  that  had  })assed  between  Jesus  and  the  Rabbis  in  tlie 
to'\\'n,  it  must  have  been  a  great  effort  for  one  in  the  posi- 
tion, and  with  the  inevitable  jirejudices  of  Jairus,  to  seek 
His  aid ;  but  distress  humbles  pride,  and  often  quickens  faith. 
Pressing  toAvards  Him,  and  regardless  of  a  crowd  around,  he 
feU  at  His  feet,  as  inferiors  then  did,  and  stiU  do,  in  the  East, 
before  those  gi-eatly  above  them,  and  besought  Him  to  come 
and  lay  His  hand  on  his  child,  and  restore  her  to  health. 
A  heart  that  sympathized  with  all  sorrow  could  not  resist 
such  an  appeal,  and,  forthwith.  He  set  out,  through  the 
throng  that  attended  aU  His  appearances,  to  the  ruler's 
house.  Before  arriving  there,  however,  a  message  came 
that  the  sufferer  was  dead,  and  that  there  was  no  need  of 
further  trouble.  They  little  knew  who  was  on  His  way  to 
them.  "  Be  not  afraid,"  said  He  to  the  ruler,  "only  beUeve." 
The  crowd  of  relatives  and  friends  that  always  throng  the 
chamber  of  death  in  Palestine,  had  already  begun  the  pitiful 
wails  and  cries  of  Eastern  lamentations,  and  the  dirge-flutes'* 
had  already  begun  to  add  their  sad  burden  to  the  tumult. 
Jesus  had  likely  been  delayed  before  starting,  and,  as  pre- 
parations for  burial  commence  as  soon  as  breath  leaves  the 
body,  the  corpse  had  likely  been  washed,  and  laid  out  in  the 
customary  way  for  the  grave,  before  He  came. 

The  noise  and  confusion  were  not  in  keeping  Avith  the 
Matt.9.18-20.  work  Jesus  intended.  "  Why  make  ye  this  ado  and  weep?"' 
Luke8:4i-s6:  Said  Hc,    as   He  entered,    "  The  damsel   is   not  dead,  but 

Nork,  49.  '  '  ' 

fon°sermoMsleepeth."2'^°   Hc  used  the  word,  doubtless,  just  as  He  after- 

2nd  series,  34. 


JEWISH   PHYSICIANS.  167 

wards  did  in  the  case  of  Lazarus,  but  they  mocked  at  His  chap,  xlil 
pretended  knowledge,  which  seemed  to  impute  error  to  them- 
selves, for  they  knew  that  she  was  dead.  He  was  the  Prince 
of  Peace,  and  would  have  no  such  disturbing  excitement, 
and  therefore  caused  the  crowd  to  leave  the  chamber  of  death. 
Only  the  father  and  the  mother  of  the  girl,  and  the  three 
disciples,  Petei",  James,  and  John,  were  allowed  to  see  His 
triumph  over  the  King  of  Terrors.  Taking  the  damsel  by 
the  hand,  and  using  words  of  the  language  of  His  people, — 
TaUtha  cumi — Damsel,  I  say  unto  thee,  arise'' — the  sjiirit 
returned  to  the  pale  form,  and  she  rose  and  walked.  But 
in  Capernaum,  at  a  time  when  His  enemies  were  so  keenly 
afoot,  cautious  obscurity  was  needed,  and  He  therefore 
enjoined  silence  as  to  the  miracle. 

On  the  way  a  touching  incident  had  happened.  A  Avoman, 
troubled  for  many  years  with  an  internal  ailment,  after 
"  having  suffered  many  things  of  many  physicians,  and  having 
spent  her  all,"  in  the  vain  hope  of  cure,  resolved  to  seek  help 
from  Jesus.  It  is  no  wonder  that  she  had  given  up  the  faculty 
of  the  day,  for  their  practice  was  in  keeping  with  the  scien- 
tific ignorance  of  the  times.  Lightfoot  quotes  from  the 
Talmud  the  Jewish  medical  treatment  of  such  a  complaint. 
It  was  as  follows :  "  Take  of  the  gum  of  Alexandria  the 
weight  of  a  zuzee  (a  fractional  silver  coin);  of  alum  the  same; 
of  crocus  the  same.  Let  them  be  bruised  together,  and 
given  in  wine  to  the  woman  that  has  an  issue  of  blood.  If 
this  does  not  benefit,  take  of  Persian  onions  three  logs  (pints) ; 
boil  them  in  wine  and  give  her  to  drink,  and  say,  'Arise 
from  thy  flux.'  If  this  does  not  cure  her,  set  her  in  a  place 
where  two  ways  meet,  and  let  her  hold  a  cup  of  wine  in  her 
right  hand,  and  let  some  one  come  behind  and  frighten  her, 
and  say,  '  Ai'ise  from  thy  flux.'  But  if  that  do  no  good, 
take  a  handful  of  cummin  (a  kind  of  fennel),  a  handful  of 
crocus,  and  a  handful  of  fenegreek  (another  kind  of  fennelj. 
Let  these  be  boiled  in  A\ine,  and  give  them  her  to  drink, 
and  say,  '  Arise  from  thy  flux.' "  If  these  do  no  good,  other 
doses,  over  ten  in  number,  are  prescribed ;  among  them,  this 
— "  Let  them  dig  seven  ditches,  in  which  let  them  burn  some 
cuttings  of  vines,  not  yet  four  years  old.  Let  her  take  in  her 


168  THE   LIFE   OF    CHRIST. 

CHAP,  sxii.  hand  a  cup  of  wine,  and  let  them  lead  her  away  from 
this  ditch,  and  make  her  sit  down  over  that.  And  let 
them  remove  her  from  that,  and  make  her  sit  down  over 
another,  saying  to  her  at  each  remove, — 'Arise  from  thy 

'  Hor.neb.  u.    fluX.  '  "2"y 

But  these  were  only  a  few  of  the  more  harmless  prescrip- 
tions in  vogue.  The  condition  of  medical  science  in  the 
East  may  be  judged  from  its  character  at  the  centre  of 
civilization  and  progress  in  the  West.  Pliny's  Natural  History 
gives  us  some  curious  glimpses  of  this.  Ashes  of  burnt 
wolf's  skull,  stags'  horns,  the  heads  of  mice,  the  eyes  of  crabs, 
owls'  brains,  the  livers  of  frogs,  vipers'  fat,  grasshoppers,  bats, 
&c.,  supplied  the  alkalis  which  were  prescribed.  Physicians 
were  wont  to  order  doses  of  the  gall  of  wild  swine,  of  horses' 
foam,  of  woman's  milk  ;  the  laying  a  piece  of  serpent's  skin 
on  an  affected  part,  mixtures  of  the  urine  of  cows  that  had  not 
been  sucked,  the  fat  of  bears,  the  juice  of  boiled  bucks' 
piin.  Hist,     horns,   and   other   similar  abominations.-*     For  colic,  thev 

Nat  28. 48  IT.  •1111  n  •  ^         i  '  ./ 

prescribed  the  dung  of  swme  or  hares,  for  dysentery  powdered 

horses'  teeth,  for  affections  of  the  bladder,  the  urine  of  wild 

piin.  Hist,     swine,  or  asses'  kidneys,  or  plasters  of  mice-dunjif.^^    It  was  a 

Nat.  53.  f.  30.  .  .  ,   .,  ,   ,  .      ,      ..       ,  , 

21-  great  assistance  in  child-birth  if  the  mother,  or  any  of  her 

Piin.  Hist,     circle,  ate  wolf's  flesh.^"  Cold  in  the  head  was  cured  by  kissiner 

Nat.  28. 77.  1    )  31         o  J  b 

Piin.  Hist,     a  mule  s  nose.^^     Sore  throat  was  removed  by  embrocations 

Nat.  30. 11.  .,    ,       ,.  .  .  '' 

of  snails  slime,  and  the  inhalation  of  the  fumes  of  snails 
!  Piin.  Hist,  slowly  burnt.^^  Quinsy  was  cured  with  the  brain  of  the 
Piin.  Hist.'  marsh  owl ;  ^^  diseases  of  the  lungs,  with  mouse-flesh,^* 
Piin.  Hist  disorders  of  the  stomach  with  boiled  snails,  of  which,  how- 
ever, only  an  odd  number  must  be  taken  ;  weakness  of  the 
bowels,  with  powdered  bats ;  miscarriages  were  prevented 
by  carrying  about  with  one  a  living  amphisbaena,  a  small 
snake  which  was  believed  to  be  able  to  go  either  backwards 
or  forwards ;  frogs'  eyes  were  useful  for  contusions,  if  the 
eyes  were  taken  out  at  the  conjunction  of  the  moon,  and 
kept  in  an  egg-shell.  Frogs  boiled  in  vinegar  were  sovereign 
for  toothache  ;  for  cough,  the  slime  of  frogs  which  had  been 
hung  up  by  the  feet ;  for  rupture,  sea  hedgehogs — the 
echinus — dissolved  in  asses'  milk ;  for  diseases  of  the  glands, 
scorpions  boiled  in  wine ;  for  ague  or  intermittent  fever,  the 


Nat  30. 14. 


THE    SUFFERER    HEALED. 


169 


PUn.   Hist. 
Nat.  30. 15 ; 
20.  43,  44;  32. 
24,  26,  29,  32, 
34;  37.1. 


stone  fi'om  the  head  of  sea-eels,  but  it  must  be  taken  out  at  ch.\p.  slu. 
the  full  moon.^' 

The  poor  Avoman  who  now  determined  to  seek  help  from 
Jesus  had  endured  all  the  tortures  of  such  medical  treatment 
for  twelve  years,  and,  of  course,  was  hurt  rather  than  healed. 
She  could  not,  however,  venture  to  speak  to  Jesus  ;  perhaps 
womanly  shame  to  tell  her  disease  in  public  kept  her  back ; 
perhaps  reverence  for  one  so  mysteriously  above  other  men. 
Besides,  she  was  unclean,  and  had  to  stand  aloof  from  society. 
Joining  the  crowd  following  Him  to  the  house  of  Jairus, 
she  could  only  dare  to  touch  the  zizith,^  or  tassel,  that  hung 
on  the  corner  of  his  outer  garment,  as  on  those  of  all  other 
Jews.^^  The  touch  at  once  healed  her,  but  it  did  not  j^ass 
unnoticed.  To  have  let  it  pas.s,  might  have  seemed  to  give 
countenance  to  a  superstitious  fancy  that  His  clothes  had 
virtue  in  themselves.  Turning  round.  He  at  once  asked  who 
touched  Him.  She  could  no  longer  hide  her  act,  and, 
alarmed  lest  her  boldness  should  be  punished  by  the  renewal 
of  the  trouble  she  now  felt  to  have  been  healed,  fell  down 
before  Him,  and  told  Him  all  the  truth.  It  was  enough. 
"  Daughtei',"  said  He,  "  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole;  go 
in  peace,  and  be  whole  of  thy  plague." 


Numb.  15,  oS. 
Sehet  'Welch 
Ein  Mensch, 
'2S.     Saum, 
Winer. 
Godwyn's 
Aaron  and 
Moses.  44. 
Schiirer,  4!.fi. 


170  THE  LIFE  OF   CHEIST. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

DARK  AND  BRIGHT. 

CHAP,  suu.     A  MONG  the  cro-wd  that  had  gathered  round  the  house  of 
-lA.    Jairus,  the  supernatural  powers  of  Jesus  found  re- 
I  Matt.  0.2T-34,  newed  exercise.^     No  sooner  had  He  reappeared  than  two 
blind  men  followed  Him  to  Peter's  house,  appeahng  to  Him 
as  the  long-expected  Messiah — "  Have  mercy  upon  us,  Son  of 
David."     It  was  an  invai'iable  condition  of  His  granting  His 
miraculous  aid  that  those  who  sought  it  should  come  with 
sincei'e  and  trustful  hearts,  for   to  such  only  could   any 
higher  good  be  gained  by  mere  outward  rehef     The  poor 
men  eagerly  assured  Him  that  they  believed  He  could  do 
what  they  asked,  and  with  a  touch  of  His  hand  their  eyes  were 
opened.     "  According  to  your  faith,"  said  He,    "  be  it  unto 
you."     The  prudent  charge  not  to  speak  of  their  restored 
sight,  so  necessary  after  all  that  had  lately  passed,  was  heard 
only  to  be  forgotten,  for,  in  their  joy,  they  could  not  refrain 
from  publishing  it  wherever  they  went.     Another  miracle 
of  these  days  is  recorded — the  casting  out  a  devil  from  one 
who  was  dumb,  so  that  the  sufferer,  henceforth,  spoke  freely. 
The  multitudes  were  greatly  moved  by  such  repeated  de- 
monstrations of  transcendent  power,  which  seemed  to  surpass 
all  that  had  ever  been  seen  in  Israel,  but  this  popularity 
only  the  more  embittered  His  enemies.     Repeating  their  old 
blasphemy, they  could  only  mutter,  "He  casts  out  devils  by 
1  Hor.Hcb.ii.    being  in  league  with  their  prince."^     That  He  should  thus 
recognize  classes  whom  they  represented  as  accursed,  and 
from  whom  they  withdrew  themselves  as  unclean,  seemed  a 
reflection  on  their  teaching  and  conduct.     The  bhnd,  the 
leper,    the   poor,   and  the  childless,   were  alike  accounted 
stricken  of  God,  and  "  dead,"  by  the  hard  Judaism  of  the 


POPULAR  FEELING.  171 

day,^  and  yet  He  associated  freely  with,  all  who  sought  Him.  chap.  xlih. 
Eithei'  He  or  they  must  be  vitally  wrong.  '  Lightroot,  ui. 

It  was  now  late  in  the  year,  and  the  Twelve  had  not  yet 
gone  out  on  any  independent  mission.  He  had  taken  them 
with  Him  on  His  circuits  round  Capernaum,  to  train  them  for 
wider  fields.  They  had  seen  Him  scattering  the  first  seed,  and 
caring  for  it  in  its  growth,  preserving  what  had  been  won ; 
strengthening  the  weak,  and  calling  the  careless  to  re^jent- 
ance.  On  a  narrow  theatre  they  had  had  a  widely  varied 
experience.  More  lately  they  had  had  examples  of  unbeUef  in 
the  Gadarenes,  of  weak  faith  in  themselves,  and  of  strong  in 
the  woman  who  had  touched  Jesus,  and  even  in  the  two 
blind  men.  Another  lesson,  however,  was  needed — that  of 
fierce  opposition,  which  they  were  destined  to  meet  so  often 
hereafter. 

Jesus  had  never  visited  Nazareth  since  His  leaving  it,  and 
His  heart,  doubtless,  yearned  to  proclaim  the  New  King- 
dom to  the  population  among  whom  He  had  lived  so  long. 
The  visit  of  Mary,  and  of  His  sisters  and  brothers,  to  Caper- 
naum, to  take  Him  away  with  them,  however  mistaken,  had, 
doubtless,  been  prompted  by  the  tenderest  motives.  Simple 
country  people,  they  had  heard  from  their  holy  Rabbis  that 
He  whom  they  so  loved  had  overstrained  His  mind  and 
body  till  His  reason  had  failed,  and  that  there  was  ground 
to  fear  that  the  Evil  One  had  secretly  taken  advantage  of 
His  enthusiasm  to  work  miracles  by  His  hands.  AVhat  could 
it  be,  indeed,  but  serving  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  to  slight 
the  sacred  traditions  by  acts  like  mixing  with  the  common 
people  without  bathing  afterwards,  or  breaking  the  Sabbath 
by  healing  on  it,  or  by  letting  the  disciples  pluck  corn  and 
rub  it  in  their  hands  on  the  holy  day,  or  letting  a  leper  come 
near  Him,  or  eating  with  unclean  publicans  and  sinners? 
He  was  a  revolutionist :  He  was  turning  the  world  upside 
down :  He  was  questioning  the  wisdom  and  authority  of 
the  Rabbis,  and  who  but  the  devil  or  his  emissary  could  do 
that? 

It  was  a  grave  matter,  however,  to  revisit  Nazareth.  If 
His  nearest  relatives  had  given  way  to  such  fears  respecting 
Him,  what  could  He  expect  from  the  midtitude,  who  had 


172  THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

cflAP.xLiiL  kno-wn  Him  only  in  His  liuuible  obscurity?  He  must  seem 
to  them,  at  the  least,  a  dangerous  disturber  of  the  religion 
of  the  land  ;  a  fanatic  who  was  stirring  up  confusion  in 
Isi'ael.  But,  where  duty  called.  He  never  knew  fear.  In 
comj^any  vdih  His  disciples  He  set  out  from  Capernaum, 
taking  the  road  along  the  hills  by  the  Lake,  to  Magdala, 
turning  westward  from  it,  through  the  valley  of  doves,  by 
Arl)ela,  with  its  high  cliffs  and  robber  caves,  and  the  Horns 
of  Hattin,  past  Tabor,  south-westerly  to  Nazareth.  It  was 
only  a  joumey  of  seven  hours,  and  could  easily  be  made  in 
•  Mark  6. 2.  a  day.  He  stayed  in  Nazareth  several  days,*  no  doubt  in  His 
mother's  house. 

The  sword  had  already  begun  to  pierce  the  Virgin's 
i  Luke2.3«.  heart.^  Tender,  humble,  patient,  and  loving,  she  had  trials 
we  cannot  realize.  Knowing  that  her  Son  was  the  Messiah, 
her  faith  was  sorely  perplexed  by  His  past  course,  for  her 
ideas  were  those  of  her  nation,  and  His  were  wholly  the 
opposite.  Her  intimate  knowledge  of  the  sacred  oracles  of 
His  people  had  shown  itself  in  the  Magnificat:  her  simple 
trust  in  God,  her  happy  thankfulness  of  soul,  her  musing 
thoughtfulness,  her  modest  humility,  her  strength  of  mind 
and  energy  of  purpose,  had  all  been  seen  in  earlier  days,  and, 
no  doubt,  as  she  grew  older,  the  light  of  a  higher  world  was 
reflected  Avith  ever-increasing  glory  from  her  soul.  But  she 
was,  and  must  have  been,  in  sore  trouble  at  the  position  of 
her  Son.  His  first  interview  with  her  has  been  conceived 
thus :  ^ — 

"  Refreshment  over,  and  thanks  returned  with  covered 
head  by  Jesus,  we  may  fancy  how  Mary  followed  Him  to 
His  own  chamber.  When,  at  last,  she  thus  had  Him  alone, 
she  fell  on  His  neck,  but  instead  of  kissing  Him,  as  she  had 
done  a  thousand  times,  secretly,  in  spirit,  she  hid  her  face 
on  His  shoulder,  and  a  stream  of  tears  fell  from  her  eyes. 
She  wept  without  speaking,  and  would  not  let  Him  go. 

"At  last,  Jesus  said,  '  ]\Iother,  be  calm,  and  sit  down  by  me, 
and  tell  me  why  you  weep  ?  '  She  did  so,  and  began, — her 
hand  in  His,  and  His  eyes  fixed  on  hers — '  I  rejoice  that  at 
last  I  have  you  again,  and  grieve  that  we  shall  soon  have 
once   more  to  part.'     '  Do  you  know,  then,'  asked  Jesus, 


INTERVIEW   WITH   IIARY.  173 

'  liow  soon  or  how  late  I  shall  leave  this  world  ?  '  *  Oh,  my  chap,  xliil 
child,'  replied  Miriam,  '  does  not  the  deathly  whiteness  of 
your  face  tell  me  that  you  are  wearing  yourself  out  ?  and  if 
you  do  not  wear  yourself  out,  though  I  am  a  woman,  shut 
in  by  the  four  corners  of  my  house,  how  can  I  help  seeing 
that  the  hatred  of  your  enemies  increases  daily,  and  that 
they  have  long  sworn  your  death  ? '  '  Granted,'  broke  in  Jesus, 
'  but  has  not  a  great  part  of  the  peoj^le  banded  round  me, 
and  does  not  this  stand  in  the  way  of  the  plots  against  me?' 
'  Indeed,'  repUed  Miriam,  '  the  might  of  your  preaching, 
your  independence  towards  those  in  power  at  Jerusalem,  the 
novelty  of  your  whole  appearance,  and,  above  all,  your 
miracles,  have  won  many  to  your  side,  but  the  favour  of  the 
people  is  like  a  rain-torrent,  which  swells  quickly,  only  to 
pass  away  as  soon.'  '  You  are  right,  0  blessed  among 
women,'  answered  Jesus;  'most  of  this  people  seek  not 
salvation  from  sin,  but  from  quite  other  burdens,  and  when 
the  decisive  moment  comes,  they  will  forsake  me,  faint- 
heartedly and  ungratefully.  Your  look  into  the  future  does 
not  deceive  you,  but  even  the  enmity  and  evil  of  men  serve 
the  counsels  of  God,  which  I  came  to  fulfil.  My  way  goes 
do^aiwards  to  deep  darkness,  from  which  my  soul  shrinks, 
but  I  follow  the  will  of  my  Father,  whether  the  road  be  up 
or  down.'  As  He  spoke,  His  countenance,  which  had  l^een 
clouded  for  a  moment,  was,  as  it  were,  transfigured,  as  the 
divine  in  His  nature  shone  through  the  human ;  and  Miriam, 
drinking  in  all  these  beams,  thrilled  with  a  more  than  mortal 
joy.  There  was  a  long  pause.  Miriam  was  silent,  but  she 
was,  as  always,  wrapt  in  prayer.  'Fair,'  said  she,  in  the 
thoughts  of  her  soul,  '  is  the  rising  sun,  fair  the  green  vine, 
fair  the  blue  sea,  but  fairer  than  all  is  He.  What  an  hour 
IS  this!  My  eyes  have  beheld  the  King  in  His  beauty.'" 
The  picture  is  beautiful,  but  it  ascribes  feelings  to  JMary 
which  sprang  only  later. 

It  had  been  the  instinctive  practice  of  Jesus,  from  early 
childhood,  to  attend  all  the  synagogue  services,  and  He  was 
still  suffered  to  do  so,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  He  had 
excited.'^     When  Sabbath  came,  therefore,  He  went  to  morn- '  f.'^^'l'^f^, 
ing  worship,  and,  after  the  reading  of  the  Thoi-ah,  stood  up  in    Gok^Jiu 

Kitto'8  Cydo., 
U.228. 


174  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xuiL  silent  offer  to  read  the  Haphtara  of  the  day  from  the  Pro- 
phets. He  was  forthwith  called  to  the  reading-desk,  when 
the  Sheliach  Tsibbur,  or  Hazan,  handed  Him  the  roll.  The 
lesson  for  the  day  could  not  have  been  more  appropriate,  for 
it  contained  the  passage  of  Isaiah  which  spoke  of  the  Messiah 
— "The  spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  He  anointed 
me  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor.  He  has  sent  me  to 
proclaim  deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  recovery  of  sight 
to  the  blind :  to  set  at  liberty  the  oppressed :  to  proclaim 
the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord."''  Then,  sitting  down,  He 
began  His  !Midrasch,  or  explanation,  commenting  on  the 
passage  in  language  which  astonished  the  hearers,  and  ap- 
plying the  predictions  of  the  prophets  to  Himself. 

But  the  honest  wonder  and  delight  at  His  words  soon 
gave  way  to  less  friendly  feeling.  Whispers  soon  ran 
through  the  congregation  respecting  Him.  How  came 
He  by  such  -wisdom  ?  He  belonged  to  no  school :  claimed 
no  place  in  the  succession  of  Rabbis :  spoke  on  His  own 
authority,  without  ordination  or  sanction  from  the  doctors. 

'si^ksl''  Is  not  this  the  carpenter,  the  son  of  Miriam  and  Joseph,  ^ 
the  brother  of  James  and  Joses,  and  of  Juda  and  Simon  ?  and 
are  not  His  sisters  here,  with  us  ?  They  could  not  realize  One 
with  whom,  and  with  whose  circle,  they  had  been  on  familiar 
relations  of  citizenship,  as  a  prophet.  Perhaps  His  freedom 
towards  the  traditions  had  offended  the  strict  notions  of 
some  of  His  brothers,  and  the  petty  jealousy  of  a  country 
village  coidd  not  acknowledge  a  superior  in  one  whom  they 
had  long  treated  as  an  equal,  or  even  an  inferior.  His 
humble  origin.  His  position  as  a  carpenter,  a  trade  He  had 
learned  among  them,  the  absence  of  anything  special  in  His 
family,  and  the  fact  that  even  they  did  not  acknowledge 
His  claims,  Avere  all  remembered.  Perhaps  jealousy  of 
Capernaum  mingled  with  other  thoughts,  for  He  had  done 
miracles  there,  and  none  in  Nazareth.  Moreover,  if  He  did 
not  belong  to  the  schools.  He  could  not  speak  or  act  by 
inspiration  from  above,  for  the  Rabbis  were  the  teachers 
jesns  n,  Hiiiei,  appointed   by  God.^     He   must    do   His   miracles,    as   the 

17.    Hausrath,      i-  I-  •>  ' 

kI^T'      Rabbis  said,  by  the  help  of  the  devil.    He  could  not,  they 
sch^ei,  lu,  began  to  think,  have  come  by  His  knowledge  and  eloquence 


REJECTED  AT   NAZARETH. 


175 


by  fair  means,  or  in  the  usual  way.     He  must  have  unholy  chap^ 
aid. 

This  was  enough  to  turn  the  Synagogue  against  Him, 
and  His  own  words  intensified  the  revolution  of  feeUng, 
and  brought  it  to  a  crisis.  He  frankly  told  them  that  He 
knew  they  thought  "  that  He  should  help  Himself  before 
helping  them,  and  remove  the  suspicion  and  disrespect  they 
growingly  felt,  by  mii-acles  like  those  of  Capernaum,  as  the 
only  way  to  convince  them  of  His  claims !  But  He  would 
not  do  in  Nazareth  what  He  had  done  there,  for  He  well 
knew  that  no  prophet  had  any  honour  in  His  own  country. 
Had  not  Elijah  confined  his  miraculous  power  to  strangers, 
and  they  heathen,  and  withdrawn  it  from  Israel  ?  Their 
hardness  of  heart  enforced  the  same  on  Him,  and  if  Israel, 
as  a  whole,  showed  a  like  spirit,  it  also  would  see  His  mighty 
works  withdrawn,  and  shown  among  the  heathen."  They 
could  stand  no  more.  The  whole  synagogue  rose  in  com- 
motion, ^and  in  wild  uproar  hustled  Him  towards  the  steep 
wall  of  rock'=  hard  by,  to  throw  Him  from  it,  headlong.  But 
His  time  was  not  yet  come.  A  spell  cast  on  the  fierce  mob, 
opened  a  way  for  Him,  and  He  passed  through  them,  and 
left  the  town  unhurt.^ 

This  disastrous  result  so  far  exceeded  all  previous 
experience,  that  Jesus  Himself  marvelled  at  their  unbelief^'' 
It  even  fettered  His  action,  for  "  He  could  do  no  mighty 
work,  save  that  He  laid  His  hands  upon  a  few  sick  and  healed 
them."  ^^  He  exerted  His  miraculous  power  only  towai'ds 
those  in  whom  He  found  moral  sympathy,  however  imper- 
fect. The  human  "woU,  mysteriously  independent,  needed  to 
meet  His  supernatural  might  and  give  it  entrance,  as  if  the 
soul,  opposed  or  indifferent,  were  wayside  soU,  on  which  the 
seeds  of  physical,  as  of  moral  blessing,  fell  without  fruit. 

But,  though  He  left  Nazareth  never  to  return.  He  re- 
mained in  the  neighbourhood  for  a  time,  preaching  in  the 
villages  of  the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon,  far  and  near.  The 
whole  theatre  of  His  acti^'ity,  however,  in  this  circuit,  as  in 
previous  ones,  was  limited  beyond  ordinary  conception. 
From  north  to  south,  between  Chorazin,  above  Capernaum, 
and  Jezreel,  in  the  gi-eat  plain,  was  only  a  distance  of  ten 


Luke  4. 16— 3a 
Ustt.  13. 
64—58. 
Mark  6. 1— «. 


176  THE    LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLiii.  hours,  and  from  east  to  west,  from  Chorazin  to  Cana,  or 
Nazareth,  onl)'  six  or  seven.  His  whole  life  was  spent  in  a 
space  represented  by  one  or  two  Enghsh  counties,  but 
the  seed  sown  on  this  speck  of  ground  is  yet  to  cover  the 
earth ! 

The  apostles  had  now  passed  through  a  lengthened  and 
varied  experience,  and  besides  the  constant  instruction  of 
their  ]\Iaster's  words  and  life,  had  learned  from  their  own 
hearts  how  great  their  moral  deficiencies  still  were.  Their 
faint-heartedness,  irresoluteness,  and  want  of  faith,  were 
evident,  and  they  were  thus  brought  to  that  modest  self- 
distrust  which  alone  could  fit  them  for  the  heavier  duties 
before  them.  They  were  now  to  rise  from  the  position  of 
dependent  and  simple  followers  and  scholars,*^  and  become 
co-Avorkers  with  Jesus,  and  that  not  only  on  the  good  soil 
already  sown,  but,  rather,  on  the  hard  trodden  paths,  the 
stony  gi'ound,  and  that  pre-occupied  by  thorns.  In  Gadara 
and  Nazareth,  they  had  learned  to  distinguish  the  opposite 
aspects  of  unbelief;  in  the  one,  that  of  common  natural 
selfishness  and  harshness;  in  the  other,  that  of  proud  perverted 
fanaticism.  After  long  wanderings  and  continuous  trials,  the 
Twelve  were  now,  in  their  Master's  opinion,  in  a  measure 
prepared  to  work  by  themselves®  in  spreading  the  New 
Kingdom.  In  spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  interested  pro- 
fessional classes,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  peoj^le  to  hear  the 
new  teaching  was  unabated.  Multitudes  followed  Jesus 
wherever  He  appeared ;  the  synagogues  still  ofi*ered  access 
to  the  whole  population  each  Sabbath,  and  in  all  the  cities 
and  villages  of  Galilee,  the  "  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  "  was 
the  great  topic  of  conversation. 

The  times  moreover,  w^ere  exciting.  The  whole  country 
rang  with  the  story  of  a  massacre  of  Galilasans  by  Pilate,  at 
the  last  Feast  of  Tabernacles — perhaps,  at  the  same  tumult 
in  which  Joseph  Barabbas  was  arrested  as  a  ringleader,  to  be 

'--  Ewaid,v.9i.  afterwards  freed  instead  of  Jesus. ^'"    Pilate  was  always  ready 

Keim,  ii.  431.  *^ 

to  shed  the  blood  of  a  people  he  hated,  and  the  hot-blooded 
Gahlseans,  ever  ready  to  take  affront  at  the  hated  infidels, 
gave  him  only  too  many  excuses  for  violence.  They  had  a 
standing  gi'ievance  in  the  sacrifices  offered   daily  for  the 


PILATE   AND   THE   GALILiEANS.  177 

Empire  and  the  Emperor/^  and  at  the  presence  of  a  Roman  ch.\p.  sun, 
garrison  and  Roman  pickets  at  the  Temple,  during  the "  '^°^^'^<''>- 
feasts,  to  keep  the  peace,  as  Turkish  soldiers  do  at  this 
day,  during  Easter,  at  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 
But  Pilate  had  given  special  offence,  at  this  time,  by  appro- 
priating part  of  the  treasures  of  the  Temple,  derived  from 
the  Temple  tax  levied  on  all  Jews  over  the  world,  and 
amounting  to  vast  sums  in  the  aggregate — to  defray  the  cost 
of  great  conduits  he  had  begun  for  the  better  supply  of  Jeru- 
salem with  w^ater.  Stirred  up  by  the  priests  and  Rabbis, 
the  people  had  besieged  the  government  house  when  Pilate 
came  up  to  the  city  at  the  feast,  and  with  loud  continuous 
cries  had  demanded  that  the  works  be  given  up.  Seditious 
words  against  himself,  the  representative  of  the  Emperor, 
had  not  been  wanting.  He  had  more  than  once  been  forced 
to  yield  to  such  clamour,  but  this  time  determined  to  put  it 
down.  Numbers  of  soldiers,  in  plain  clothes,  and  armed 
only  with  clubs,  surrounded  the  vast  mob,  and  used  their 
cudgels  so  remorselessly  that  many,  both  of  the  innocent  and 
guilty,  were  left  dead  on  the  spot.  The  very  precincts  of  the 
Temple  were  invaded  by  the  legionaries,  and  some  pilgrims 
who  were  so  poor  that  they  were  slaying  their  own  sacrifices, 
were  struck  down  while  doing  so,  their  blood  mingUng  with 
that  of  the  beasts  they  were  preparing  for  the  priests,^  and 
thus  polluting  the  House  of  God.^^  It  was  an  unprecedented  »  ^™^^J;  f  ■ 
outrage,  and  filled  every  breast  in  Judea  and  Galilee  with  ^^^.ssg. 
the  wildest  indignation,  though  such  brawls  were  of  frequent 
occurrence. ^^  The  excitement  had  even  penetrated  the "  ^l^^^^-^- 
palace  at  Tiberias,  and  kindled  bitter  ill-feeling  in  Antipas 
towards  Pilate,  for  the  men  slain  were  Galila^an  subjects. 

Another  misfortune  had  happened  in  Jerusalem  a  short 
time  before.  A  tower,  apparently  on  the  top  of  Ophel, 
near  the  Fountain  of  the  Virgin  opposite  Siloam,  had 
fallen — perhaps  one  of  the  buildings  connected  with  Pilate's 
public-spirited  steps  to  bring  water  to  the  Holy  City — and 
eighteen  men  had  been  buried  beneath  it ;  in  the  opinion  of 
the  people,  as  a  judgment  of  God,  for  their  having  helped 
the  sacrilegious  undertaking. t' 

The   cry  for  a  national  rising  to  avenge  the  murdered 

VOL.  ir.  51 


1<8  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CBAP.  sLiii.  pilgrims  doubtless  rose  on  every  side,  but  Jesus  did  not  sanc- 
tion it  for  a  moment.  He  saw  the  arm  of  God  even  in  the 
hated  Romans,  and  in  the  foil  of  the  tower,  and,  instead  of 
sympathizing  with  them  for  the  one,  and  joining  in  a  cry  for 
insurrection  for  the  other,  told  His  astonished  hearers  that 
the  same  horrors  were  like  to  fall  on  the  whole  nation. 
"  Suppose  ye,"  He  asked,  "  that  these  Galileans  were  sinners 
above  all  the  Gahlajans,  because  they  have  suffered  such 
things?  I  tell  you  nay,  but,  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall 
all  perish  in  like  manner.  Or  those  eighteen,  upon  whom 
the  tower  in  Siloam  fell  and  killed  them,  suppose  ye  that 
they  were  sinners  above  all  the  men  that  dwell  in  Jerusalem? 
I  tell  you  nay ;  but  except  ye  repent,  ye  will  all  perish  iu 
the  same  manner."  "  Israel,"  He  added,  "  is  like  a  fig-tree, 
planted  by  a  man  in  his  vineyard,  which  year  after  year  bore 
no  fruit.^  Wearied  by  its  barrenness,  the  householder  was 
determined  to  cut  it  do^vn,  and  it  was  now  spared  at  the 
intercession  of  the  vine-dresser,  only  for  another  year,  to 
give  it  a  last  respite.     After  that,  if  it  still  bore  no  fruit,  he 

16  Lnk6i3.i-!>.  would  cut  it  dowu,  as  merely  cumbering  the  ground. ^'^'  That 
year  of  merciful  delay  was  the  passing  moment  of  His  own 
presence  and  work  among  them.  The  nation  had  given  itself 
up  to  a  wild  dream,  that  would  end  in  its  ruin.  Led  by  the 
priests  and  Rabbis,  it  trusted  that  God  would  appear  on  its 
behalf,  and  by  a  political  revolution  overthrow  the  hated 
foreign  domination.  The  fruits  of  repentance  and  faith, 
■which  God  required,  were  still  wanting.  As  the  vine-di-esser, 
Jesus  had  done  all  possible  to  win  them  to  a  better  frame. 
He  had  warned,  besought,  counselled;  but  they  were  wedded 
to  their  sins  and  their  sinful  pride.  His  peaceful  kingdom 
offered  them  the  only  escape  from  ruin,  here  and  hereafter ; 
but  as  a  nation,  they  were  more  and  more  turning  towards 
the  worldly  schemes  of  their  ecclesiastical  leaders,  and  lent 
a  deaf  ear  to  all  proposals  of  sjiiritual  self-reform.  Con- 
tinuance in  this  course  would  bring  the  fate  of  those  they 
now  lamented  on  the  whole  race.  If  they  rejected  Him, 
God  would  erelong  destroy  them  as  a  people." 

There  was  still  another  matter  agitating  all  minds,  and 
helping  to  keep  up  the  volcanic  excitement  of  the  country. 


THE   TWELVE   SENT   OUT.  179 

John  lay  still  a  prisoner,  in  the  black  fortress  of  Machaerus,  chap,  xliii 
almost  within  sight,  and  each  day  men  wondered  if  Antipas 
had  yet  dared  to  put  him  to  death. 

Under  any  circumstances,  the  crowds  following  Jesus 
would  have  touched  a  heart  so  tender,  but  their  wild  despair 
and  religious  enthusiasm  made  the  sight  of  them  doubly 
affecting.  Might  they  not  be  won  to  the  peace  and  joy  of 
the  glad  tidings  ?  They  seemed  to  Him,  the  Good  Shepherd, 
like  a  great  flock  needing  many  shepherds,  but  with  none; 
footsore  Avith  long  travel,  wandering  they  knew  not  whither, 
with  no  one  to  lead  them  to  the  still  waters  and  green  pas- 
tures. "The  harvest"  said  He  to  His  discii^les,  "is  plenteous, 
but  the  labourers  are  few;  pray  ye,  therefore,  the  Lord  of 
the  harvest,  that  He  will  send  forth  labourers  into  His  har- 
vest." There  Avere  multitudes  to  be  won  for  the  New  King- 
dom,— multitudes  prepared  to  hear,  for  their  spirits  were 
broken  under  personal  and  national  sorrow.  But  the  number 
of  right  teachers  was  small."^ 

He  decided,  therefore,  to  delay  no  longer  sending  forth  the 
Twelve.  Calling  them  together.  He  told  them  His  purpose, 
and  fitted  them  to  carry  it  out.  As  a  proof  of  their  mission 
from  Him,  He  invested  them  with  authority  over  spirits,  and 
gave  them  power  to  heal  diseases.  They  were  to  confine 
themselves  for  the  present  to  Jewish  districts,  avoiding 
Samaritan  towns,  and  not  entering  on  the  road  to  heatiien 
parts.  Galilee  itself  was  thus  virtually  their  field  of  labour, 
for  heathenism  had  a  footing  in  every  place  round  it,  and 
"within  a  few  miles  of  them  lay  Gadara,  Hippos,  Pella, 
Scythopolis,  and  even  Sepphoris,  with  heathen  worship,  in 
their  midst.  Judea  and  Jerusalem  Avei'e  not  to  be  thought 
of  The  simple  Galila?ans  would  be  a  better  beginning  for 
the  Apostles  than  the  dark  bigoted  population  of  the  south. 
One  day  they  would  be  free  to  visit  Samaria,^"  as  He  Him-  "  Furrer.243. 

J  J  '  .  Nork,  61. 

self  had  already.     JMean while  they  must  not  stir  up  JeAvish    f^f  lo- 1- 
hatred  by  going  to  either  Samaritans  or  heathens.     More-    L^e9."iII«?" 
over,  their  own  Jewish  prejudices  unfitted  them  for  a  mission 
to  any  but  Jews,  for,  even  after  this,  the  first  signs  of  hostility 
made  John  Avish  to  call  doAvn  fire  from  heaven  on  a  Samaritan 
\-illage,  and  they  AA'ere  not  fit  as  yet  to  handle  aright  the 


180 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


oHAP^m.  many  questions  such  a  journey  would  elicit.     Besides,  Israel 
must  have  another  year  in  which  to  bring  forth  fruit ;  and 
w  Kcira.iL325.  withal,  it  was  their  first  independent  iourney.^* 

Ewald,  V.  425.  '  ■'•  J  J 

The  burden  of  their  preaching  was  to  be  the  repetition  of 
that  of  John,  and  of  Jesus  Himself,  when  He  began.  "The 
Ivingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand."  Like  John,  they  were 
heralds,  to  prepare  the  way.  "  Heal  the  sick,"  said  He, 
"  raise  the  dead,  cleanse  lepers,  cast  out  demons."  They  had 
received  their  miraculous  gifts  freely,  and  must  dispense 
them  as  freely.^  Their  equipment  was  to  be  of  the  simplest, 
for  superfluity  di^•erted  the  mind  from  their  gi'eat  object,  and 
made  an  extra  burden  which  would  only  hinder  them  on 
their  journeys.  It  became  them,  also,  by  their  humble  guise, 
to  disarm  the  suspicion  of  worldliness,  and  to  show  their  im- 
plicit trust  in  God.  They  were  to  take  no  money ;  not  even 
any  copper  coin,  in  their  girdles — the  usual  Eastern  purse ; 
nor  a  wallet  for  their  food  by  the  way ;  nor  two  under  gar- 
ments, but  were  to  wear  only  one ;  nor  were  they  to  have 
shoes,  which  looked  like  luxury,  bvit  only  the  sandals  of  the 
common  people,  and  they  were  to  have  only  one  staff"."" 
They  were  to  go  as  the  peasants  of  Palestine  often  do  yet, 
trusting  to  hospitality  for  food  and  shelter ;  offering  in  their 
.simplicity  a  striking  contrast  to  the  flowing  robes  and 
bright  colours  of  the  population  at  large.  But  they  were  not 
to  go  alone.  Each  must  have  a  companion,  to  accustom 
them  to  brotherly  communion,  to  give  counsel  and  help  to 
each  other  in  difficulties,  and  to  cheer  each  other  on  the  way. 
We  may  fancy  that  Peter  was  sent  with  Andrew,  James 
with  John,  PhiUp  with  Bartholomew,  the  grave  Thomas  with 
the  practical  Matthew,  James  the  Small  with  Judas  the  Brave- 
hearted,  and  Simon  the  Zealot  with  Judas  Iscariot;  the 
brother  with  the  brother  ;  the  friend  with  the  friend;  the 
zealous  with  the  cold. 

No  mention  is  made  of  the  synagogues  in  their  instruc- 
tions ;  it  may  be,  because  the  Apostles  were  not  yet  confi- 
dent enough  to  come  forward  so  pubhcly.  It  was  to  be  a 
house  to  house  mission.  While  every  traveller,  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  country,  greeted  his  acquaintances  with 
laborious  fomaahty,  raising  the  hand  from  the  heart  to  the 


CHARGE   TO   THE   TWELVE. 


181 


forehead,  and  then  laying  it  in  the  right  hand  of  the  person  chap,  xlhl 
met;  even,  according  to  circumstances,  bowing  thrice,  or 
as  many  as  seven  times ;  they  were  forbidden  to  indulge  in 
any  greetings  by  the  way.  Time  was  too  precious,  and 
their  mission  too  earnest  for  empty  courtesies.  On  entering 
a  town  or  village,  they  were  to  make  inquiries,  to  guard 
against  their  seeking  hospitality  from  the  unworthy,  but 
having  once  become  guests,  they  were  to  stay  in  the  same 
family  tUl  they  left  the  place.  They  were  to  enter  the 
dwelling  which  heartily  welcomed  them,  ynth.  a  prajer  for 
its  peace."  Any  house  or  city,  however,  that  refused  to 
receive  them,  was  to  be  treated  openly  as  heathen,  by  their 
shaking  off  its  dust  from  their  feet  as  they  left  it.°  But 
woe  to  such  as  brought  down  this  wrath ;  it  would  be  better 
at  the  last  day  for  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  than  for  the  Gali- 
laaan  village  in  such  a  case  ! 

To  these  directions  for  the  way  Jesus  added  warnings 
that  might  have  well  filled  with  dismay  men  less  devoted. 
He  predicted  for  them  only  persecution  and  universal  hati'ed, 
jails,  public  whipping,  and  even  death,  but  cheered  them 
by  the  promise  that  their  brave  and  faithful  confession 
of  faith  in  Him,  before  governors  and  kings,  would  serve 
His  cause,  and  that  endurance  to  the  end  would  secure  their 
eternal  salvation.  They  would  be  hke  helpless  sheep  in  the 
midst  of  treacherous  wolves.^^  Even  their  work  would  be 
different  from  what  they  might  expect.  To  day  it  was  an 
olive-branch ;  to-morrow  it  would  be  a  sword.  Instead  of 
peace,  it  would  divide  households  and  communities,  and  turn 
the  closest  relations  into  deadly  enemies.P  They  would  need 
to  labour  diligently,  for  before  they  had  gone  over  all  the 
toAVTis  of  Israel,  He  Himself  would  come  to  their  aid  as  the 
risen  and  glorified  Messiah.  They  might  expect  slander, 
for  He  Himself  had  been  charged  with  being  in  league  with 
the  de\-il,  and  they  could  not  hope  to  fare  better.-"  They  ■ 
were,  however,  to  be  stout  of  heart,  for  the  Providence  that 
watches  the  birds  of  the  air  would  keep  them  safe.i  He  had 
nothing  to  ofter  in  this  world,  but  if  they  confessed  Him 
here  He  would  confess  them,  in  the  great  day,  before  His 
Father.     If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  denied  Him,  He  would, 


Tristram.  153 
Newman's 
Select  Ser- 


182  THE  LIFE    OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP.xLni.  on  thfit  day,  deny  them.  He  frankly  demanded  a  loyalty 
so  supreme  and  undivided,  that  the  most  sacred  claims  of 
blood  were  to  be  subordinated  to  it.  Instead  of  receiving 
honours,  He  told  them  that  they  might  expect  to  be  cruci- 

2'  Godwyn,  200.  fied,  as  Hc  would  be.-^  To  save  this  life  by  denying  Him 
would  be  to  lose  the  hfe  to  come ;   but  to  lose  it  by  fidelity 

K  schieier-      to  Him,  was  to  find  life  eternal.--     Amidst  all  this  dark 

macher's 

Pre^gten,     anticipation,    they  need  not    fear   for  their   bodily  wants, 
for  the  greater  the  danger  braved  the  greater  would  be  the 

G  G  G 

"  Nork,  66.  rcwurd  in  His  kingdom  to  those  who  showed  them  favour, ^^ 
and  this  would  always  secure  them  friends. 

Such  an  address,  under  such  circumstances,  was  assuredly 
never  given  before  or  since.  To  propose  to  found  a  king- 
dom by  the  services  of  men,  who,  as  their  reward,  would 
meet  only  shame,  torture,  and  death;  to  claim  from  them 
an  absolute  devotion,  from  mere  personal  reverence  and 
love,  with  no  prospects  of  reward  except  those  of  another 
world ;  and  to  launch  an  enterprise  thus  supported  only  by 
moral  influences,  in  the  face  of  the  opposition  of  all  the 
authority  of  the  day,  simply  to  win  men  to  righteousness 
by  the  display  of  pure,  unselfish  devotion  to  their  good, 
astounds  us  by  the  subUme  grandeur  of  the  conception. 

No  details  are  given  of  the  mission,  except  that  the  Twelve 
went  on  a  lengthened  circuit  through  the  towns  and  villages 
of  Galilee,  preaching  the  need  of  repentance,  and  the  glad 

"  Mark  6. 13.     tidings  of  the  New  Kingdom  ;-*  and  that  their  ministry  was 

Luke  9. 6.  °  .  .  . 

accompanied  by  miraculous  works  of  mercy — the  casting  out 
devils,  and  the  anointing  many  sick  with  oil,  and  healing 
them — which  were  themselves  proofs  of  their  higher  success, 
since  such  wonders  were,  doubtless,  as  in  the  case  of  their 
Master,  wrought  only  when  there  was  a  measure  of  faith. "^ 

How  long  this  mission  lasted  is  uncertain.  It  may  have 
embraced  Aveeks,  or  have  extended  over  months,  though,  as 
the  first  journey  of  the  Twelve,  alone,  it  is  not  likely  to  have 
been  very  pi'otracted.  The  success  must  have  been  unusual, 
for,  as  they  appeared,  two  by  two,  in  the  villages  of  Galilee, 
the  name  of  Jesus  was  on  every  tongue,  and  penetrated  even 
the  gilded  saloons  of  the  hated  Roman  palace  of  Antipas,  at 
Tiberias.     Jesus,  Himself,  had  not  been  idle  while  His  fol- 


FEARS   OF   ANTIPAS.  183 

lowers  were  awa)',  for  their  departure  was  the  signal  for  a  ohap. sliil 
new,  solitary  journey,  to  preach  and  teach  in  the  various 
cities.^^  His  name  was  thus  spread  abroad  everywhere,  and"  uT^c-is 
His  claims  and  character  discussed  by  aU.  He  had  been  ^^2^^29^ 
nearly  two  years  before  the  world,  and  had  steadily  risen  in  ^"^"'■'-^ 
]3opular  favour ;  in  spite  of  the  hierarchical  party.  His 
claims  became  the  engrossing  topic  of  the  day.  Hitherto 
the  most  opposite  views  had  perplexed  all  alike.  More  than 
aU  men,  Antipas  felt  his  eyes  irresistibly  fixed  on  Him,  for 
his  conscience  was  iU  at  ease.  He  had  at  last  put  John  to 
death,  and,  true  to  his  superstitious  and  weak  nature,  con- 
cluded that  Jesus  was  no  other  than  the  murdered  Baptist 
risen  from  the  dead,  and  clothed  with  the  awful  powers  of 
the  invisiljle  world.  Since  tliat  dear  head  had  fallen,  the 
weak  and  crafty  worldling  had  hoped  for  peace  and  security, 
but  an  awful  echo  of  the  voice  he  had  silenced  sounded 
louder  and  more  terrible,  from  the  lips  of  Jesus,  at  his  very 
doors.  He  was  now  again  in  Tiberias,  and  the  wide  disper- 
sion of  a  whole  band  of  preachers  of  the  same  apparently 
revolutionary  Kingdom,  m  his  iumiediate  territory,  seemed 
a  designed  defiance  of  his  violence  at  Machaerus,  and  its 
counterstroke.  It  was  certain  that,  when  he  gained  courage 
enough,  he  would  try  to  repeat  the  murder  of  the  first  pro- 
phet by  that  of  the  second.  Suspicion  and  crafty  foresight 
were  his  characteristics.  Jesus  readily,  however,  learned  all 
that  passed  respecting  Himself  in  the  palace,  for  He  had 
followers  in  it,  such  as  Johanna,  the  wife  of  Chouza,  ami 
]\Ienahem,  the  foster-brother  of  the  tetrarch,  and  He  was  on 
His  guard. 

While  Antipas  thus  interpreted  the  rumours  respecting 
Jesus,  others  formed  an  opinion  hardly  more  acute  or 
thoughtful,  who  took  Him  for  a  second  Elias.  John  and 
Elijah,  in  their  whole  spirit  and  work,  were  men  devoted 
to  th"  traditional  and  outward  theocracy:  men  who 
looked  to  the  past.  Jesus,  on  the  other  hand,  had  pro- 
claimed, even  in  His  consecration  sermon  on  the  mountain, 
that  He  devoted  His  life  to  the  founding  a  New  Covenant. 
Their  opinion  was  nearer  the  truth  who  believed  Him  a 
prophet,  though  distance  threw  a  mysterious  glory  round 


184 


THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 


i^HAP.  sLin.  the  prophets  of  the  past,  which  they  failed  to  realize  of  one 
in  their  midst. 

The  news  of  the  death  of  John  seems  to  have  reached 
Jesus  about  the  same  time  as  the  Apostles  returned,  and, 
doubtless,  seemed  the  prediction  of  His  own  fate.  The  prospect 
of  the  cross  had  been  before  His  mind  from  the  first,  for  even  at 
the  Jordan  He  had  been  announced  as  the  Lamb  of  God. 
The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  had  struck  the  key-note  of  self- 
sacrifice,  and  he  had  once  and  again  foretold,  more  or  less 
clearly,  that  He  felt  His  path  would  be  towards  a  violent 
death.  It  was  inevitable  that  one  whom  the  interest,  the 
pride,  and  the  reputation  of  the  existing  ecclesiastical 
authorities  combined  to  proscribe,  must  fall  before  their 
hostility.  Even  the  prophets,  as  a  rule,  had  suffered  violent 
deaths,  though  their  protest  against  the  corruption  of  their 
day  involved  no  condemnation  of  the  religious  economy  of 
the  nation.  But  He  had  committed  Himself  deliberately  to 
principles  fatal  to  the  theocracy  ;  for  He  had  violated  tra- 
dition ;  He  had  eaten  with  publicans,  and  He  had  denounced 
the  leaders  of  the  people  as  h3'pocrites,  blind,  and  wicked. 
It  was  a  life  and  death  matter  for  the  hierarchical  party  to 
try  to  quench  in  His  own  blood  the  fire  He  had  kindled. 

The  meeting  with  the  Apostles  was  likely  pre-ai'ranged, 
and  Jesus  returned  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Capernaum,  or, 
John 6. 23.     perhaps,  of  Tiberias,-"  to  effect  it.     He  had  been  away  for  a 
length  of  time,  and  His  absence  had  evidently  been  deeply 
felt,  for  multitudes  at  once  gathered  round  Him  again,  as 
soon  as  He  re-appeared.    Every  village,  far  and  near,  poured 
out  its  population  to  hear  Him  once  more,  and  the  throng 
was  increased  by  the  countless  passing  bands  of  pilgrims  to 
John 8. 4.      the  Feast  at  Jerusalem,  for  Passover  was  near  at  hand.-'     He 
needed  rest,  and  there  was  much  to  hear  from  the  Twelve,  but 
it  was  impossible  to  have  either  the  rest  or  the  quiet  inter- 
course amidst  such  crowds.     They  had  no  leisure  even  to 
Mark  6. 31.    eat.^*     It  was,  moreover,  no  longer  safe  for  Him  to  be  in 
Matt.  14. 13-  the  territories  of  Antipas.-^     Taking  the  Twelve  Avith  Him, 
iSke9.1oIi7;  therefore.  He  crossed  over  to  the  tetrarchy  of  Philip,  at  the 
head  of  the  Lake,  going  by  water,  and  landing  at  the  Plain  of 
Batiha,  under  the  shadow  of  Bethsaida,  or  Julias,  where  He 


AMOXG   THE    HILLS.  185 

could  hope  for  privacy,  and  secure  a  safe  retreat  in  the  quiet  cilvp.  xLm. 
glens,  mth  their  rich  green  slopes,  passing  gradually  into 
the  marshes  round  the  entrance   of  the  Jordan  into  the 

•^'^'^^-  .  Book,  372. 

But  it  was  vain  to  hope  for  escape.  Some  had  seen  Him 
put  off,  and  watched  the  direction  of  the  boat  till  they  knew 
that  He  was  making  for  Batiha,  which  was  known  as  one  of 
His  resorts.  It  was  only  six  miles  across  the  water  from 
Capernaum.  The  news  soon  spread,  and  crowds  of  those 
most  anxious  to  see  and  hear  Him  set  out  by  land  for  the 
spot.  The  distance  was  farther  than  by  the  Lake,  but  they 
ran,  afoot,  out  of  all  the  villages,  and  were  waiting  for  Him 
when  He  arrived.  He  had  come  for  rest,  but  it  was  denied 
Him  now  as  at  other  times.  Looking  up  as  the  boat  touched 
the  shore,  the  slopes  were  alive  with  multitudes  who  showed 
by  their  very  presence  that  they  felt  themselves  like  sheep 
without  a  shepherd.  The  evil  times,  the  restless  uneasiness 
of  all,  the  high  religious  excitement,  the  darkness  of  their 
spiritual  condition,  and  the  equal  misery  of  their  national 
prospects,  combined  to  touch  His  soul  mth  pity.  They  had 
brought  all  the  sick  who  could  be  carried,  or  who  could 
come,  and  as  He  passed  through  the  crowds  He  healed  them 
by  a  word  or  touch.  They  had  greater  wants,  however,  than 
bodily  heahng,  and  He  could  not  let  them  go  away  un- 
comforted.  Ascending  the  hill-side,  and  gathering  the  vast 
throng  before  Him,  He  "  spake  unto  them  of  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  taught  them  many  things." 

The  day  was  spent  in  this  arduous  labour,  but  the  people 
still  lingered.  They  had  been  fed  with  the  bread  of  truth, 
and  seemed  indifferent,  for  the  time,  to  anything  besides. 
Poor  shepherdless  sheep !  it  was  His  delight,  as  the  Good 
Shepherd,  to  lead  them  to  rich  pastures,  and  as  they  sat  and 
stood  round  Him,  they  forgot  their  bodily  wants  in  the 
beauty  and  power  of  His  words. 

It  was  now  towards  evening,  and  the  company  showed  no 
signs  of  dispersing.^i     Food  could  not  be  had  in  that  lonely  31  Ua«.i4.i4. 
place,  and  theTAvelve,  afraidon  this  andperhaps  other  grounds, 
anxiously  urged  Jesus  to  send  them  away,  that  they  might 
buy  bread  in  the  country  round.     To  their  astonishment, 


186  THE   LIFE    OF   CHKIST. 

CBAP.  xLm  however,  He  told  tliem  they  must  themselves  supply  them ; 
it  Avould  never  do  to  dismiss  them  hungry :  they  might 
faint  by  the  way.  No  more  impossible  request  could  have 
been  made.  Between  thirty  and  forty  pounds'  worth  ot 
bread,  at  the  value  of  money  in  those  days,  would  be  needed 

"Johns.?,  to  give  each  even  an  insufficient  share. ^-^  They  could  not 
undei'stand  Him.  Andrew,  perhaps  the  provider  for  the 
band,  could  only  demonstrate  their  helplessness  by  saying 
that  the  lad  in  attendance  on  them  had  only  five  loaves  of 
common  barley  bread — the  food  of  the  jwor — and  two 
small  fishes,  but  what,  he  added,  were  they  among  so 
many  ? 

"j\Iake  the  men  sit  down."  said  Jesus.  It  Avas  in  Nisan, 
"  the  month  of  flowers,"  and  the  slopes  were  rich  with  the 
soft  green  of  the  spring  grass — that  simplest  and  most 
touching  lesson  of  the  care  of  God  for  aU  nature.  The 
Twelve  presently  divided  the  vast  multitude  into  companies 
of  fifties  and  hundreds,  reminding  St.  Peter,  long  after,  from 
the  bright  colours  of  their  Eastern  dresses,  of  the  flowei'-beds 
of  a  great  garden.' 

This  done,  like  the  great  Father  of  the  far-stretching  house- 
hold, Jesus  took  the  bread  and  the  fishes,  and  looking  up  to 
Heaven,  invoked  the  blessing  of  God  on  their  use,"  and 

ss  Luke  12. 16.  glviug  thauks  for  them,^^  as  was  customary  before  all  meals, 
proceeded  to  hand  jjortions  to  the  disciples,  Avho,  in  turn, 

s<  2  Kings  4. 12.  gave  them  to  the  crowd.  Elisha^^  had  once  fed  a  hundred 
men  with  twenty  loaves,  and  increased  the  oil  in  the  widow's 
cruse,  and  Elijah  had  made  the  bread  and  the  oil  of  the 
widow  of  Sarepta  endure  till  the  Lord  sent  rain  on  the 
earth.  But  Christ,  from  three  loaves  and  two  small  fishes, 
not  only  satisfied  the  hunger  of  five  thousand  men,  besides 

a5Mott.u.2i.  women  and  children,'^  but  did  it  so  royally  that  the  frag- 
ments that  remained  were  enough  to  fill  twelve  of  the  little 
baskets  in  which  Passover  pilgrims  and  other  Jews  were  wont 
to  carry  their  provisions  for  the  way.^  i\Iore  was  left  than 
there  had  been  at  first ! 

Jesus  had  thris  supplied  the  wants  of  the  needy,  in  a  way 
the  full  significance  of  which  was  as  yet  far  beyond  what 
the   disciples  either  understood  or  dreamed,  for    He  had 


THE    MULTITUDE   FED.  187 

shown  liow  there  dwelt  in  Him  a  virtue  sufficient  to  meet  chap,  xuil 
all  higher  wants,  as  well  as  the  lower,  so  that  none  who  be- 
lieved in  Him  would  ever  have  either  hunger  or  thirst  of  soul 
any  longer,  but  would  find  in  Him  their  all.^^     Had  they  ae  j^hn  e.  35. 
known  it,  He  had  shown  them  that  He  Himself  was  the 
Bread  of  Life,  that  came  do-wn  from  Heaven.^''    But  they  at  3'  ver.4L48. 
least  knew  how  much  they  came  short  of  a  lofty  faith,  which, 
in  loving  trust,  despairs  least  when  the  need  is  greatest,  and 
in  the  strength  of  which  all  is  doubled  by  joj^ul  imparting, 
while  abundance  remains  instead  of  Avant.^^  3«  Ewaid,T.44i 

The  effect  on  the  multitude  was  in  keeping  with  the  ideas 
of  the  time.  Murmurs  ran  through  the  excited  throng, 
that  Jesus  must  be  the  exj^ected  prophet — the  Messiah. 
Like  Moses,  He  had  fed  Israel  by  a  miracle,  in  the  wilderness, 
which  the  Rabbis  said  the  Messiah  would  do.  Surely  He 
would  manifest  Himself  now,  if  they  put  Him  at  their 
head?  They  had  no  higher  idea  of  the  Messianic  Iving- 
dom  than  the  outward  and  political,  and  would  hasten  its 
advent  by  forcing  Him,  if  possible,  to  proclaim  Himself 
King,  and  thus  open  the  longed-for  war  with  the  hated 
Romans,  in  which  God  would  appear  on  their  behalf. 

JMaterial  power,  not  moral  preparation,  was  the  national 
conception  of  the  path  to  the  Messianic  triumph.  The 
Rabbis  and  the  people  had  decided  for  themselves  the  way 
in  which  the  salvation  of  Israel  was  to  show  itself,  but  be- 
tween their  views  and  those  of  Jesus  there  was  a  ffreat  sulf. 
He  would  not  use  force,  and  they  were  bent  on  it.  His 
refusal  to  carry  out  their  plan  made  opposition  inevitable, 
and  it  necessai-ily  grew  deeper  each  day  as  that  refusal 
became  more  clearly  final. 

While  visions  of  national  splendour  dazzled  the  thoughts 
of  His  countrymen,  the  ideal  of  greatness  for  Himself  and 
them  lay  with  Jesus  in  humiliation.  His  path  was  in  the 
lowly  valleys,  not  on  the  high  places  of  the  earth.  He 
aimed  only  to  find  the  humble  and  needy,  to  seek  the  lost, 
to  serve  rather  than  to  be  served.  Hiding  His  glory  in  out- 
ward lowliness,  and  never  seeking  honour  from  men.  He 
had,  throughout,  identified  His  will  with  that  of  God,  Avith 
a  self-restraint   Avhich  showed  the  grandest  force  of  will. 


188 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


CHAP.  sLm.  The  outward  and  material  were  indifferent  to  Him,  and 
utterly  opposed  to  the  divine  purpose,  if  made  an  aim  in 
connection  with  His  work.  The  reign  of  God  in  His  own 
soul  was  the  perfect  realization  of  the  only  kingdom  He 
sought  to  found  in  the  souls  of  men  at  large,  and  it  had 
nothing  in  common  with  the  vulgar  parade  of  an  earthly 

a»  uiima.Tin,  45.  royalty.^^ 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  He  perceived  the  design  of  the 
crowd  to  force  Him  to  act  as  their  leader,  and  to  instal  Him 
at  Jerusalem  at  the  head  of  a  national  insurrection.  He 
hurriedly  left  them,  and  went  into  the  bosom  of  the  hills, 
beyond  their  reach.  But  that  He  had  dechned  to  be  led  by 
them  to  the  throne  of  David,  in  their  way,  was,  in  reality, 
a  step  towards  the  Cross.  The  very  projjosal  was  a  fore- 
shadowing of  His  final  rejection  and  violent  death.  The 
solitude  of  the  mountains  was  His  fittest  retreat,  to  strengthen 
Himself  against  this  new  assault  of  the  temptation  He  had 
so  often  repelled,  and  to  gird  up  His  soul  for  the  trials  that 
lay  in  His  path. 

At  the  first  signs  of  tumult  among  the  people,  He  had  sent 
off  the  Twelve  to  cross  the  Lake  again  at  once,  to  the  Beth- 

"  Mattu.22-  saida  near  Capernaum,*"  while  He  dismissed  the  multitudes. 
i^6.]tl2:  They  had  w\aited  for  Him  till  night  fell,  but,  at  last,  as  He 
did  not  come,  they  set  off  without  Him.  As  they  rowed,  how- 
ever, a  sudden  squall,  blowing  every  way,  struck  down  on 
the  Lake  from  the  hills  around,  and  caught  their  boat.  It 
was  the  last  watch  of  the  night — between  three  and  six 
o'clock  in  the  wild  morning,  and  the  weary  boatmen  had 
been  toiling  at  their  oars  since  the  night  before,  but  though 
the  whole  distance  to  be  rowed  was  only  six  miles,  they  had 
only  made  two-thirds  of  the  way.  Jesus  was  not  with  them 
to  still  the  wind,  and  their  o-\\ti  strength  and  skill  had  availed 
little.  But  suddenly,  close  to  the  boat,  they  saw  through 
the  gleam  of  the  water  and  the  broken  light  of  the  stars,  a 
human  form  walking  on  the  sea.  The  sight  would  have 
troubled  men  less  superstitious  than  simple  fishermen,  and 
made  them  cry  out  in  their  terror.  But  it  was  only  momen- 
tary, for  close  at  hand,  so  that  it  Avas  heard  above  the  wind 
and  the  waves,  came  the  words,  "Be  of  good  cheer;  it  is  I:  be 


PETER   ON   THE   WATERS.  189 

not  afraid,"  in  a  voice  which  they  knew  was  that  of  Jesus.  cn.vp.  xLni. 
Always  impulsive,  the  warm-hearted  Peter  could  not  wait 
till  the  Deliverer  came  among  them.  "  Would  not  his  ^Master 
suffer  him  to  come  to  Him  on  the  water  ?  "  Then  followed 
that  touching  incident  which  has  supplied  a  lesson  for  all 
ages  ;  the  safe  footing  on  the  waves  while  the  apostle  kept 
His  eyes  fixed  on  his  Lord,  and  the  instant  sinking  when  His 
faith  gave  way — an  image  of  His  whole  nature,  and  of  all 
his  future  life.  But  the  saving  hand  was  near,  and  with  the 
gentle  rebuke,  "  0  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou 
doubt  ?  "  they  were  in  the  boat,  and  as  they  entered,  the  wind 
ceased,  so  that,  presently,  with  easy  sweeps,  their  oars  carried 
them  to  the  shore. 

Like  the  mass  of  men,  the  Twelve  were  slow  at  reasoning 
or  applying  broadly  the  plainest  lesson.  Had  they  realized 
the  greatness  of  the  miracle  they  had  seen  the  day  before, 
even  the  walking  on  the  sea,  and  the  calming  of  the  wind, 
would  have  seemed  only  what  they  might  have  expected. 
But  their  minds  were  dull  and  unreflecting,  and  their  amaze- 
ment knew  no  bounds.^'  It  is  the  characteristic  of  the 
uneducated,  that  they  think  without  continuity,  and  forth- 
with relapse  into  stolid  vacuity  after  the  strongest  excite- 
ment. The  miracle  of  the  loaves  had  ceased  to  be  a  wonder, 
for  it  was  some  hours  old.  But  this  new  illustration  of  the 
superhuman  power  of  their  Master  was  so  transcendent, 
that  their  wonder  passed  into  worship.  The  impression, 
like  many  before,  might  soon  lose  its  force;  but  for  the 
moment  they  were  so  awed  that,  approaching  Him,  they 
kneeled  in  lowliest  reverence,  and,  through  Peter,  ever  their 
spokesman,  paid  Him  homage  in  words  then  first  heard  from 
human  lips — "  Of  a  truth  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God." 


190  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

THE   TURN  OF  THE  DAY. 

CHAP.  XLIV.  1 1  r  HEN  day  broke  on  the  scene  of  the  miraculous  meal  of 
»  '  the  evening  before,  a  number  who  had  slept  in  the 
open  air,  through  the  warm  spring  night,  still  remained  on 
the  spot.  They  had  noticed  that  Jesus  did  not  cross  with 
the  Twelve,  and  fancied  that  He  was  still  on  their  side  of  the 
Lake.  Meanwhile,  a  number  of  the  boats  which  usually 
carried  over  wood  or  other  commodities,  from  these  eastern 
districts,  had  come  from  Tiberias ;  blown  roughly  on  their 
way  by  the  same  wind  that  had  been  against  the  disciples. 
In  these,  many,  finding  that  Jesus  had  left  the  neighbour- 
hood, took  passage,  and  came  to  Capernaum,  seeking  for 

I  John  6. 22-  Him.^  It  was  one  of  the  days  of  synagogue  worship — 
]\Ionday  or  Thursday — and  they  met  Him  on  His  way  to 

« John  6. 59.  the  synagogue,  to  Avhich  they  accordingly  went  ■with  Him.^ 
s(!^  '   '       Excitement  was  at  its  height.     News  of  His  arrival  had 

Mark  6. 63—  i    ^  i  i     tt-  i  •      t 

56-  spread  far  and  near,  and  His  way  was  hindered  by  crowds, 

who  had,  as  usvial,  brought  their  sick  to  the  streets  through 
which  He  was  passing,  in  hope  of  His  healing  them. 

The  incidents  of  the  preceding  day  might  well  have  raised 
desires  for  the  higher  spiritual  food  which  even  the  Rabbis 
taught  them  to  expect  from  the  Messiah.  Butthey  felt  nothing 
higher  than  vulgar  wonder,  and  came  after  Jesus  in  hopes 
of  further  advantages  of  the  same  kind,  and,  above  all,  that 
they  would  still  find  in  Him  a  second  Judas  the  Gaulonite, 
to  lead  them  against  the  Romans.  A  few,  doubtless,  had 
worthier  thoughts,  but,  to  the  mass,  the  Messiah's  kingdom 
was  as  gross  as  Mahomet's  paradise.  They  were  to  be 
gathered  together  into  the  garden  of  Eden,  to  eat,  and  drink, 
and  satisfy  themselves  all  their  days,  with  houses  of  precious 


A   SIGN   DEMANDED. 


191 


stones,  beds  of  silk,  and  rivers  flowing  with  wine,  and  spicy 
oil  for  all.^  It  was  that  He  might  gain  all  this  for  them 
that  they  had  wished  to  set  Him  up  as  king. 

Feeling  how  utterly  He  and  they  were  at  variance,  Jesus 
resolved  to  enter  into  no  irrelevant  conversation  with  them, 
and  waiving  aside  a  question  as  to  His  crossing  the  Lake,  at 
once  pointed  out  their  misapprehension  respecting  Him,  and 
urged  them  not  to  set  their  hearts  on  the  perishable  food  of 
the  body,  but  to  seek  earnestly  for  that  food  of  the  soul 
which  secures  eternal  hfe.  So  long  as  they  did  not  seek 
this  beyond  all  things  else,  they  missed  their  highest  advan- 
tage. As  the  Son  of  ]\Ian — the  Messiah — accredited  from 
God  the  Father  by  His  wondrous  works,*  He  was  appointed 
to  give  them  this  heavenly  food,  and  would  do  so  if  they 
showed  a  sincere  desire  for  it  by  becoming  His  disciples.^ 

The  Rabbis  were  accustomed  to  teach  by  metaphors,  and 
the  people  saw  at  once  that  He  alluded  to  some  religious 
duty.  What  it  was,  however,  they  did  not  understand,  but 
fancied  He  referred  to  some  special  works  appointed  by 
God.*^*  As  Jews,  they  had  been  painfully  keeping  all  the 
Rabbinical  precepts,  in  the  beUef  that  their  doing  so  gave 
them  a  claim  above.  Yet,  if  He  had  some  additional  in- 
junctions, they  were  willing  to  add  them  to  the  rest,  that 
they  might  legally  qualify  themselves  for  a  share  in  the  New 
Kingdom  of  God,  as  a  right."  But,  instead  of  multiplied 
observances.  He  startled  them  by  announcing  that  citizen- 
ship in  the  New  Theocracy  required  no  more  than  their 
beUeving  in  Him,  as  sent  from  the  Father.  In  this  lay  all, 
for  the  manifold  "  works  of  God  "  would  spring  naturally 
from  it.^  i 

Those  of  the  crowd  around  who  had  not  seen  the  miracle 
of  the  day  before  had,  doubtless,  ere  this,  heard  of  it.  It 
had  been  an  amazing  proof  of  supernatural  power,  but  their 
craving  for  wonders  demanded  something  still  more  astound- 
ing, as  a  justification  of  His  claim  to  be  "  the  Sent  of  the 
Father."  A  voice,^  perhaps  that  of  some  open  opponent — for ' 
the  Rabbis  had  taken  care  to  be  present — therefore  broke  in, 
apparently  half  mocking,  with  the  question,  "  What  '  sign ' 
He  had  to  show,  that  they  might  see  it,  and  beUeve  Him  ? 


"The  Jews"  i8 
the  exi)ressioa 
used  by  John 
for  Christ's 
opponents. 
It  is  used  here 


192  THE   LIFE   OF   CUEIST. 

cHAP.sLiY.  Moses  proved  his  authority  by  stupendous  'signs.'  T\Tiat 
sign  worthy  the  name  do  you  do,  to  show  your  right  to  intro- 
duce new  laws,  in  addition  to  his,  or  in  their  room?  Our 
fathers  ate  the  manna  in  the  wilderness,  as  it  is  written,  '  He 

'0  Exod.16.4.  gave  them  bread  from  heaven  to  eat.'^°  What  voucher  as 
great  as  this  do  you  offer  ?  " 

The  miracle  of  the  mauna  had  become  a  subject  of  the 
proudest  remembrances  and  fondest  legends  of  the  nation. 
"God,"  says  the  Talmud,  "made  manna  to  descend  for 
them,  in  which  were  all  manner  of  tastes.  Every  Israelite 
found  in  it  Avhat  best  pleased  him.     The  young  tasted  bread, 

u  Lightfoot,  the  old  honey,  and  the  children  oil."^^  It  had  even  become  a 
80*.'  ■  fixed  behef  that  the  Messiah,  when  He  came,  would  sig- 
nalize His  advent  by  a  repetition  of  this  stupendous  miracle. 
"  As  the  first  Saviour — the  deliverer  from  Egyptian  bond- 
age," said  the  Rabbis,  "  caused  manna  to  fall  for  Israel  from 
heaven,  so  the  second  Saviour — the  Messiah — will  also  cause 

«Ps.72.i6.      manna  to  descend  for  them  once  more,  for  it  is  written,^^ 

uKork,i74.  'There  will  be  abundance  of  corn  in  the  land. '"^'  Moses 
had  gradually  been  half  deified.     It  Avas  taught  that  God 

"  S'/l'^Jo'  counted  him  of  as  much  value  as  all  Israel.^'*  Most  believed 
that  he  was  five  grades  in  knowledge  above  all  creatures,  even 
angels.  The  lower  part  of  his  body  was  human  ;  the  upper 
divine.  On  his  entrance  to  paradise,  God  left  the  upper 
heavens  and  came  to  him,  and  the  angels  also  came  and 
ministered  to  him,  and  sang  hymns  before  him.  Even  the 
sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars  came,  and  craved  liberty  from 
him  to  shine  on  the  world,  which  they  could  not  have  done 
had  he  refused. 

It  was  thus  only  an  expression  of  the  public  feeling  of  the 
day  when  Jesus  was  asked  to  repeat  the  descent  of  manna — 
the  greatest  of  the  miracles  of  j\Ioscs.  It  is  in  human  nature, 
but  above  all,  in  Eastern  human  nature,  to  associate  high 
ofiice  and  dignity  with  display  and  outward  circumstance,  and 
Avhat  must  hence  have  been  the  popular  expectations  of  exter- 
nal grandeur  and  majesty  in  the  Messiah,  when  they  saw  a 
demigod  in  Moses,  whom  He  was  to  resemble?  No  demand 
for  overpowering  "signs"  of  the  divine  approval  of  a  claim  to 
be  the  Messiah  could,  in  this  point  of  view,  be  too  gi-eat. 


THE    BEEAD    OF   HEAVEN. 


193 


from  one  whose  outward  appearance,  and  whole  life,  in  other  chap,  xliv. 
respects,  so  entirely  contradicted  the  general  Messianic  antici- 
pations. 

But  Jesus,  at  all  times  resolute  in  withholding  miraculous 
action  for  any  personal  end,  had  no  thought  of  satisfying 
their  craving  for  wonders.  "  Moses  indeed,"  said  He, "  gave 
you  manna,  but  it  was  not  the  true  Bread  of  Heaven." 
He  wished  to  draw  them  from  the  merely  outward  miracle  to 
that  far  higher  wonder,  even  then  enacting  before  their  eyes, 
the  free  offer  of  the  true  Bread  of  Heaven,^^  in  the  offer  of"  Lucke,  u.  vc 
Himself  as  their  Saviour.  The  manna.  He  implied,  could 
only  by  a  figure  be  called  bread  of  Heaven,  for  it  was 
material  and  perishable,  and  the  heaven  from  which  it  fell 
was  only  the  visible  skj^,  not  that  in  which  God  dwells. 
Moses  gave  what  was  called  by  a  figure,  "  Bread  of  Heaven," 
but  the  true  Bread  of  Heaven  only  His  Father  could  give, 
and  He  was  giving  it  now.  That  only  can  be  the  true  Bread 
of  God,  which  comes''  do^vn  from  the  highest  heaven, — He 
might  have  said,  from  the  pure  heaven  of  His  o^^^l  soid, — 
and  gives  life  to  the  world ;  for  with  Jesus,  those  who  had 
not  this  bread  were  spiritually  dead.^"  '=  vereesss,  39, 

"  Master,"  cried  many  voices,  "  give  us  this  bread  hence- 
forth, for  life."  Like  Ponce  de  Leon,  with  the  spring  of 
Unfadino;  Youth  in  Florida,^"  they  thought  that  the  new  gift "  Bancroft-s 

O  1  ^  J  O  o  UnitedStatea 

would  literally  make  them  immortal,  and  eagerly  clamoured    '•2^- 
to  have  a  boon  so  far  in  advance  of  the  mere  barley  loaves 
of  the  day  before. 

"I  am  the  Bread  of  Life,"  replied  Jesus;  in  a  moment 
scattering  to  the  winds  their  visions  of  material  plenty  and 
endless  natural  life.  Then,  explaining  Himself,  He  added, 
"  He  that  comes  to  me  shall  never  hunger,  and  he  that  be- 
lieves on  me  shall  never  thii'st.  But,  as  I  said  a  moment 
ago,^*  you  have  not  only  heard  of  me,  but  have  also  seen  '»  versess. 
me,  and  been  eye-witnesses  of  my  deeds  as  the  Messiah,  and 
yet  you  do  not  believe.  AU  whom  the  Father  gives  nie  will 
come  to  me.     You  may  resist  my  invitations  or  yield, ^''  but"  joims.Mj 

3  19*  1   II 

he  who  resists  is  not  given  me  by  my  Father.     Believe  me,    Matt.' 23. 37. 
no  hungering  and  thirsting  soul  that  comes  to  me  wiU  I  cast 
out  of  my   Ivingdom   when  it  is  erected.     How  could  I, 
VOL.  II.  52 


194 


THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


'1  John  7. 27. 
Heb.  7. 8. 
See  vol.  i.  pp. 
81,  148,  676. 


CHAP,  xuv.  indeed,  when  I  have  come  down  from  heaven,  not  to  act  on 
my  OAvn  human  will,  but  only  to  carry  out  the  will  of  my 
Father  in  Heaven,  which  is,  in  this  matter, — that,  of  all — not 
Jews  alone,  but  all,  without  exception — whom  He  has  given 
me  I  should  lose  none,  but  should  raise  them  up  in  the  last 
day — or,  in  other  words,  should  give  them  eternal  life." 

»  y6rse69.  These  words,  spoken  in  the  synagogue  at  Capernaum,-'' 

created  a  great  sensation.  The  congregation,  comprising 
some  Rabbis  and  other  enemies,  had,  from  time  to  time,  in 
Jewish  fashion,  freely  expressed  their  feelings,  and  had 
taken  such  offence  at  His  claim  to  be  the  Bread  that  came 
down  from  heaven,  that  their  Avhispers  and  murmurs  now 
ran  through  the  Avhole  building.  "  How  can  He  say  He 
has  come  down  from  heaven?  We  know  His  fotlier  and 
mother.  He  is  from  Nazareth,  and  would  have  us  believe 
He  is  from  God  above.  He  is  mad.  He  has  a  devil.  When 
the  Messiah  comes,  no  one  will  know  whence  He  is."  ^^ 

"  Do  not  murmur  among  yourselves,"  said  Jesus. 
"Natural  sense  is  worth  nothing  in  this  matter — it  Avill 
never  help  you  to  understand  how  I  am  the  True  Bread 
come  down  from  heaven.  If  you  Avish  to  know  how  I  can 
say  so,  you  must  submit  yourself  to  the  teaching  and  in- 
fluence of  God :  must  hear  and  learn  what  God  says,  for  it 

»  Isaiah 54. 1?  tcUs  US  iu  the  prophcts — 'They  shall  be  all  taught  of  God.'  ^- 
Only  those  thus  taught  come  to  me  or  believe  in  me.  The 
pekling  your  souls  to  God  and  your  rising  thus  to  com- 
munion Avith  Him  by  spiritual  oneness,  can  alone  lead  to  the 
faith  that  recognizes  the  truth  respecting  me." 

"  Perhaps  you  think,"  He  continued,  to  paraphrase  His 
words,  "  that  to  hear  and  learn  of  God,  you  must  yourselves 
see  Him,  or  commune  directly  with  Him  ?  If  so,  you 
greatly  err.  To  see  God  immediately,  face  to  face,  is  given 
to  no  mortal  man,  but  only  to  Him  who  is  from  God.  No 
one  but  His  only-begotten  Son,  who  was  in  heaven  and  has 
come  down  thence,  has  seen,  and  now  sees,  the  Father,  and 
reveals  Him  to  man.  Him,  therefore,  the  Son — that  is,  Me, 
must  you  hear ;  from  ]\Ie  must  you  learn ;  if  you  would  hear 
and  learn  from  God.-^  Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you.  He  that 
believes  on  me  as — thus — the  '  Word  '  and  Revealer  of  the 


a  John  8.  47; 
14.9;  6.47. 


THE   LAMB    OF   GOD.  195 

Father,   has  everlasting  life.     I,  myself,  am,  as  sucli,  that  chap.  sliv. 

Bread  of  Life  of  which  I  have  spoken.     Your  forefathers 

ate  the  manna  which  Moses  gave  in  the  wilderness,   and 

died  ;  but  it  is  the  gi-and  virtue  of  the  true  Bread  of  Heaven, 

that  if  a  man  eat  of  it — that  is,  if  he  receive  my  words  into 

his  soul,  he  shall  not  die,  but  shall  have  everlasting  hfe." 

"  I  am  not  only  the  Life-giving  Bread,"  He  continued, 
"  but  the  Living  Bread,  and  as  all  that  is  living  communicates 
life,  so  whoever  eats  this  only  true  Bread  of  Heaven — who- 
ever believes  in  me — shall  live  for  ever.  As  the  Living 
Bread  I  will  give  myself — my  flesh — that  is,  my  life — for 
the  life  of  the  world." 

He  pointed  thus — m  language  which  His  hearers  could 
have  readily  understood,  had  their  minds  not  been  blinded 
by  opposite  preconceptions — to  His  death,  as  the  "Lamb  of 
God,"  for  mankind.  This,  He  implied,  must,  above  aU,  be 
received,  to  secure  everlasting  life,  for  so,  only,  could  His 
claims  and  authority  be  felt.  He  would  give  His  life  for  the 
spiritual  life  of  men,  as  bread  is  given  for  their  bodily  life  : 
the  one  to  be  taken  by  the  soul,  the  other  by  the  body. 

The  idea  of  eating,  as  a  metaphor  for  receiving  spiritual 
benefit,  was  familiar  to  Christ's  hearers,  and  was  as  readily 
understood  as  our  expressions  of  "  devouring  a  book,"  or 
"  di'inking  in"  instruction.  Li  Isaiah  iii.  1,  the  words  "the 
whole  stay  of  bread,"  were  explained  by  the  Rabbis  as  re- 
ferring to  their  own  teaching,-^  and  they  laid  it  down  as  a«  chagiga,  toi 
rule,  that  wherever,  in  Ecclesiastes,  allusion  was  made  to 
food  or  drink,  it  meant  study  of  the  Law,  and  the  practice  of 
good  works.-^  It  was  a  saying  among  them — "In  the  time  «  mdrasx 
of  the  Messiah  the  Israelites  will  be  fed  by  Him." ^^    Nothing    8«,  0.4. ' 

..-I-,..  11       "*  Sanhedrim, 

was  more  common  m  the  schools  and  synagogues  than  the    so\.as,c.i. 
phrases    of  eating  and  drinking,  in  a  metaphorical  sense. 
"  Messiah  is  not  likely  to  come  to  Israel,"  said  Hillel,  "for 
they  have  already  eaten  Him  " — that  is,  gi-eedily  received  His 
words^'' — "in  the  days  of  Hezekian."     A  current  conven- w  ughtfoot, 
tionalism  in  the  synagogues  was  that  the  just  would  "  eat  the    309^' 
Shekinah."      It  was  peculiar  to  the  Jews  to  be  taught  in 
such  metaphorical  language.     Their  Rabbis  never  spoke  in 
plain  words,  and  it  is  expressly  said  that  Jesus  submitted  to 


196  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  sLiv.  the  popular  taste,  for  "  without  a  parable  spake  He  not  unto 

!»  Mark  6. 34.       them.""^ 

But  nothing  blinds  the  mind  so  much  as  preconceived 
ideas,  and  dreams  of  national  glory  had  so  inseparably 
associated  themselves  with  their  conception  of  the  Messiah, 
that  a  figure,  which  in  other  cases  would  have  created  no 
difficulty,  led  to  violent  discussion,  some  contending  for  the 
literal  sense,  which  they  held  as  a  self-contradiction,  others 
favouring  a  metaphorical  exjolanation." 

Instead,  however,  of  answering  the  eager  questions  which 
now  rose,  how  this  could  be,  Jesus,  resolved  to  break  finally 
■mth.  the  gross  outward  ideas  of  His  kingdom  which  pre- 
vailed, only  proceeded  to  carry  out  the  paradox  farther,  b)- 
adding  that  they  must  not  only  eat  His  flesh,  but  drink  His 
blood — thus  intimating  still  more  clearly  His  violent  death 
and  its  mysterious  virtue  for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  as 
He  was  hereafter  to  do  still  more  vividly  by  the  abiding 
symbols  of  the  Last  Supper.  On  no  other  condition  than 
by  making  the  lessons  and  merits  of  that  death  their  own 
could  they  have  eternal  life,  or  be  raised  up  at  the  last  day. 
Without  this  they  were  spiritually  dead.  His  flesh  and 
blood  were  true  spiritual  food ;  the  heavenly  bread  of  the 
soul ;  the  nourishment  of  the  divine  life  -nathin.  The  hearty 
recognition  and  reception  of  this  great  truth  would  create  an 
abiding  and  intimate  communion  between  Him  and  those 
who  thus,  as  it  were,  fed  on  Him  as  their  inner  life.  Living 
in  Him,  He  would  live  and  reign  in  them.  Nay,  as  a  further 
result  of  this  intimate  spiritual  union — this  oneness  of  will 
and  heart  with  Him,  divine  life  would  go  forth  from  Him  to 
those  in  Avhom  He  found  it,  as  it  came  forth  to  Himself  from 
the  Father.  Then,  with  a  repetition  of  the  original  figure 
of  His  being  the  bread  that  came  down  from  heaven;  not 
the  manna,  of  which  those  who  ate  were  long  since  dead ;  but 
the  bread,  to  eat  which  gave  eternal  life,  He  closed  His 
address. 

The  Baptist  had  spoken  of  the  fan  in  the  hand  of  his  gi'eat 
successor:  this  discourse  was  the  realization  of  the  figure. 
Those  who  had  hoped  to  find  a  popular  political  leader  in  Him 
saAV  their  dreams  melt  away  :  those  who  had  no  true  sympathy 


THE  OFFENCE  OF  THE  CROSS.  197 

for  His  life  and  words  had  an  excuse  for  leaving  Him.  None  chap,  sliv. 
who  were  not  bound  to  Him  by  sincere  loyalty  and  devotion 
had  any  longer  a  motive  for  following  Him.  Fierce  pa- 
triotism burning  for  insurrection,  mean  self-interest  seeking 
worldly  advantage,  and  vulgar  curiosity  craving  excitement, 
were  equally  disappointed.  It  was  the  first  vivid  instance 
of  "  the  offence  of  the  Cross  " — henceforth  to  become  the 
special  stumbling-block  of  the  nation.-"  The  wishes  and »  Ji^'s.  n!'' 
hopes  of  the  crowds  who  had  called  themselves  disciples  had 
proved  self-deceptions.  They  expected  from  the  Messiah 
quite  other  favours  than  the  identity  of  spiritual  nature 
sj'mbolized  by  the  eating  His  flesh  and  drinking  His  blood. 
The  bloody  death  implied  in  the  metaphor  was  in  direct 
contradiction  to  all  their  ideas.  A  lowly  and  suffering 
Messiah  thus  unmistakably  set  before  them  was  revolting  to 
their  national  pride  and  gross  material  tastes.  "  We  have 
heard  out  of  the  Law,"  said  some,  a  little  later,  "  that  the 
Christ  abideth  for  ever,  and  how  sayest  thou  the  Son  of  man 
must  be  'lifted  up,'^" — that  is,  crucified?"  "That  be  far  »  John  12. 34. 
from  Thee,  Lord :  this  shall  not  be  unto  Thee,"  said  even 
Peter  almost  at  the  last,  when  he  heard  from  his  Master's 
Hps  of  the  Cross,  so  near  at  hand.^^  The  Messiah  of  popular  31  Matt  is.  22 
conception  would  use  force  to  establish  His  kingdom,  but 
Jesus,  while  claiming  the  Messiahship,  spoke  only  of  self- 
sacrifice.  Outward  glory  and  material  wealth  were  the  national 
dream :  He  spoke  only  of  inward  purity.  If  He  would  not 
head  them  with  Almighty  power,  to  get  Judea  for  the  Jews, 
they  would  not  have  Him.  Their  idea  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  was  the  exact  opposite  of  His. 

The  discourse  had  been  interrupted  in  its  progress,  and, 
now,  at  its  close,  the  murmuring  and  whispering  grew  more 
earnest  than  ever.  "  This  is  a  hard  saying,"  was  the  general 
feeling,  "  who  can  bear  it  ?"  "  Xo  one  could  submit  to  such 
self-denial,"  said  one  "  I  don't  understand  it,"  said  another. 
"  Blasphemy,"  said  a  third.  "  He  claims  to  be  God."  "  He 
is  not  the  Messiah  for  me,"  said  a  fourth.'^  Jesus,  now  on 
His  way  out  of  the  sjTiagogue,  noticed  aU.  "  Does  what  I 
have  said  offend  you?"  said  He.  "If,  now,  while  I  am  with 
you,  you  think  my  words  hard,  and  stumble  at  them,  what 


198  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP  SLIT,  -will  you  say  when  I  tell  you  that  when  I  have  returned  to 
heaven,  whence  I  came,  you  will  still  have  to  eat  my  flesh 
and  drink  my  blood,  to  become,  through  me,  partakers  of 
eternal  life  ?  Do  you  not  see  from  this  that  I  speak  in  meta- 
phor, and  that  you  are  not  to  take  my  words  literally,  but 
in  their  spirit  and  inner  meaning  ?  It  is  not  my  flesh  you 
are  to  eat,  but  my  words,  which  you  have  just  heard. 
These  you  must  receive  into  your  hearts,  and  they  will 
quicken  you  into  spiritual  life,  for  they  are  spirit  and  life. 
If  you  do  not  beheve  on  me  as  the  true  Messiah,  by  His 
death  the  hfe  of  the  world — but  expect  only  a  national 
salvation  from  my  visible  bodily  presence — as  one  who  will 
live  on  earth  for  ever,  and  reign  in  deathless  splendour — 
you  must  find  what  I  have  said  an  offence.  But  he  who 
desires  from  me,  as  the  Messiah,  only  the  hidden  life  of  the 
soul,  its  renewal  in  the  holy  image  of  God,  and  His  reign 
within,  will  find  no  offence  in  any  of  my  Avords.  The  truths 
I  have  told  you  are  spirit  and  life,  and  quicken  the  soul 
that  receives  them  into  a  heavenly  life  as  bi'ead  quickens  the 
body.  My  mere  outward  natural  life,  as  such,  profits  you 
nothing.  If  my  words  have  been  hard  to  any,  it  is  because 
they  do  not  believe  in  me,  for  only  the  believing  heart  can 
realize  their  truth." 

In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which  inaugurated  His 
pubhc  ministry,  Jesus  had  contrasted  the  theocratic  forms  of 
pupilage  and  the  letter,  mth  the  Law  of  the  New  Kingdom; 
a  law  of  the  spirit  and  liberty.  In  this  address  to  the  people 
He  contrasted  with  the  theocratic  hfe  in  its  mere  outward- 
ness and  its  slavery  to  forms,  the  new  life  from  God  which 
He  made  known — a  life  kindled  and  maintained  by  the 
Spirit  from  above — the  gift  of  the  Heavenly  Father.  The 
dead  letter ;  the  outward  material  flesh  ;  He  told  them,  pro- 
fited nothing  :  the  form,  the  rite,  the  dogma,  the  institution, 
however  venerable  in  itself — even  His  OAvn  flesh,  as  the 
symbol  of  mere  material  hfe,  had  no  magic  virtue.  Only 
the  inward  essence,  the  truth  embodied,  the  living  principle, 
the  quickening  spirit  received  into  the  heart,  availed  with 
God,  or  sustained  the  heavenly  life  in  the  soul.  The  life- 
giving  Spirit  as  it  flows  from  the  infinite  fulness  of  God,  and 


EE ACTION   IN   POPULAR   FEELING.  199 

reproduces  itself  in  the  heart,  was  the  true  manna  of  humanity  chap,  sxiv. 
in  the  wilderness  of  the  world. 

The  false  enthusiasm  which  had  hitherto  gathered  the 
masses  round  Jesus  was  henceforth  at  an  end,  now  that  their 
worldly  hopes  of  Him  as  the  IMessiah  were  exploded.  His  dis- 
course had  finally  undeceived  them.  He  was  founding  a  myste- 
rious spiritual  kingdom :  they  only  cared  for  a  kingdom  of  this 
world.  It  became  for  the  first  time  clear  that  no  worldly 
rewards  or  honours  were  to  be  had  by  following  Him,  but 
only  spiritual  gifts  and  benefits,  for  which  most  of  them  cai-ed 
nothing.  They  wanted  to  see  wonders,  to  eat  bread  from 
heaven  that  would  protect  them  from  d}-ing,  and  to  get 
places  and  wealth  in  the  new  kingdom  when  finally  set  up. 
They  had  looked  on  Jesus  as  a  miracle-worker  rather  than  a 
spiritual  Saviour,  and  wished  to  be  healed  rather  by  touch- 
ing His  garments  than  by  sympathy  and  communion  with 
His  Spirit.  But  He  had  come  to  save  sinners,  not  to  work 
miracles,  even  of  healing :  to  be  a  physician  of  souls,  not  of 
bodies.  He  had  disenchanted  the  insincere  and  selfish  who 
had  hitherto  flocked  after  Him,  and  they  forthwith  showed 
their  altered  feehngs.  From  the  moment"  of  this  address, 
the  crowds  that  had  thronged  Him  began  to  disappear, 
returning  to  their  homes,  doubtless  in  angry  disappoint- 
ment. It  seemed  as  if  He  would  be  entirely  forsaken. 
Could  it  be  that  even  the  Twelve  would  leave  Him  ?  He 
knew  them  too  thoroughly  to  look  for  any  answer  but  an 
earnest  assurance  of  their  loyalty.  Yet  it  was  well  to  put 
them  to  the  test,  and  strengthen  their  faith  by  trying  it.  "  Do 
you,  also,  wish  to  leave  me?"  asked  He.  "To  whom.  Lord, 
shall  we  go  away?"  answered  Peter,  ever  the  first  to  speak, — 
"  Thou  hast  words  of  eternal  life,  and  we*  have  believed  and 
known  that  Thou  art  the  Holy  One  of  God."  But  even  in 
the  Twelve,  as  Jesus  knew,  the  fan  had  chaft'  to  separate 
from  the  wheat.  "  Did  not  I  myself  choose  you  Twelve  to  be 
specially  my  oanti,  and  one  (even)  of  you  is  a  devil  ?  Beware 
of  self-confidence.  If  you  think  you  stand,  take  heed  lest 
you  fall ! "  Eleven,  as  we  know,  refused  to  leave  Him.  Did 
the  first  thought  of  treachery  rise  in  the  mind  of  Judas 
with   the   blasting  of  worldly    hopes    entertained,  almost 


200  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLiY.  unconsciously,  till  now  ?  His  Master  had  never  before 
spoken  so  plainly.  Henceforth,  to  follow  Him  clearly  meant 
to  give  up  all  worldly  aims  or  prospects,  and  voluntarily 
choose  a  life,  and  it  might  be  a  death,  of  self-denial  and  self- 
sacrifice  for  the  nation  and  the  world — or  act  the  hypocrite 
with  a  fain  t  hope  of  ulterior  advantage. 

Jesus  had  not  gone  to  the  Passovei',  for  it  would  have  been 

a  John  7.1.      unsafe  to  have  shown  Himself  in  Jerusalem.^-     His  disciples, 
Mark  7.1-23:  howcver,  doubtless  went  up,  for  no  Jew  neglected  to  do  so 

33  pressei.Leben  if  possiblc.'^  He  had  uow  bceu  publicly  teaching  for  some 
months  over  a  year  in  Gahlee,  and  had  not  revisited  Judea, 

« John  5. 1.      except    for    a   few   days  at   the   Passover^*    before,  since 

^  John  3. 32.  His  first  discouraging  circuit^^  in  the  south.  The  north  had 
received  Him  with  a  warmth  and  frankness  that  had  won 
His  heart  by  the  contrast  with  the  cold  self-righteous  bigotry 
of  Judea.  It  had  given  him  the  Twelve,  and  the  ready 
audience  he  had  found  had  enabled  Him  to  make  a  small 
but  healthy  beginning  of  the  New  Kingdom.  The  impulsive, 
excitable  Galilajans  seemed  for  a  time,  indeed,  likely,  almost 
as  a  whole,  to  leave  the  Rabbis  for  His  new  teaching.  But 
the  movement  had  been  checked,  and  the  popular  fiivour 
chilled  by  the  restless  eff'orts  of  the  party  threatened.  Weak 
in  the  north,  they  had  sent  word  to  Jerusalem  of  the  success 
of  the  Teacher  from  Nazareth,  whom  the  orthodoxy  of  Judea 
had  refused  to  follow.  The  Rabbis  of  the  capital — known 
variously  as  "  the  Pharisees,"  "  Scribes,"  or  Sophenm, — "law- 
yers,"— "masters  of  the  traditions" — "Hakamin  orwise  men," 
— "  doctors," — "expounders  of  the  Law," — and  "  disputers" 
of  the  Gospels  and  the  Epistles  ;  and  the  ofiicial  ecclesiastical 
world  at  large — the  priests,  canonists,  and  preachers  of 
Judaism,  had  their  stronghold  in  the  Temple  courts,  and 
rivalled  the  bigotry  of  the  more  modern  Mollahs  and  Softas 
of  Mecca  and  Medina.  At  the  first  hint  of  danger,  a  depu- 
tation had  been  sent  to  Capernaum,  but  they  had  failed  to 
carry  the  people  vnth.  them  in  their  attempts  to  fix  charges 
on  the  new  Teacher.  He  had  defended  Himself  so  dex- 
terously against  their  allegations  of  Sabbath-breaking  and 
blasphemy,  that  tor  the  time  they  retired  discomfited. 
Fresh  news  from  the  north,  hoAvever,  had  again  roused  them. 


FRESH   OPPOSITION.  201 

i\Iore  Raljl^is  appeared,  sent  by  the  authorities  in  Jerusalem,  chap^xliv. 
to  see  if  the  rash  Innovator  could  not  be  crushed,  and  their 
presence  speedily  led  to  a  further  conflict. 

In  the  training  of  the  Twelve  for  their  future  Avork  it  was 
necessary,  above  all  things,  to  create  and  foster  the  concep- 
tion of  moral  freedom ;  for  the  central  point  in  the  contrast 
between  the  New  Kingdom  and  the  old  Theocracy  was  its 
liberty,  as  opposed  to  the  bondage  to  the  letter  that  had  pre- 
vailed. The  deep  and  pure  rehgiousness  Christ  demanded 
could  only  flourish  where  the  conscience  was  quickened,  and 
made  responsible  by  a  sense  of  perfect  spiritual  freedom. 
He  had  already  announced  this  great  principle  in  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount.  The  Twelve  had  been  disciplined  in  it 
by  their  mission  journeys,  but  new  illustrations  showed, 
day  by  day,  how  hard  it  was  for  them  to  emancipate  them- 
selves from  hereditary  prejudices,  and  from  Rabbinical 
authority. 

The  very  foundation  of  the  new  Society  was  in  itself  a  break- 
ing away  from  the  estabhshed  theocracy,  and  it  necessarily 
led  to  continually  more  decisive  acts  of  independence  and 
separation.  The  Jewish  theologians  of  the  Pharisaic  party, 
with  their  pedantic  devotion  to  precedent  and  form,  and 
their  claim  to  direct  the  conscience  of  the  people,  had  to  a 
great  extent  produced  a  mere  outward  religionism  which 
had  weakened  the  moral  sense  of  the  nation,  and  with- 
ered up  all  aspirations  for  spiritual  manhood  and  liberty  of 
thought.  They  were  very  popular  as  the  reverend  and  zealous 
defenders  of  the  holy  Law  handed  down  from  the  Fathers, 
almost  from  the  first.  They  had  recognized  in  Jesus,  still 
more  than  in  His  hated  and  feared  predecessor,  the  Baptist, 
a  deadly  foe,  ajid  the  success  of  the  new  teaching  in  Galilee 
imperilled  their  influence  if  it  remained  unchecked.  AVith 
keen  foresight  they  had  sought  to  anticipate  the  danger, 
but  hitherto  had  failed  so  ignominiously,  that  they  had  for 
some  time  past  refrained  from  open  attack,  contenting  them- 
selves Avith  a  secret  hostility  of  dark  hints,  suspicions,  and 
blasphemies,  to  poison  the  minds  of  the  people.  TiU  now, 
however,  Jesus  had  made  no  direct  attack  on  them,  but, 
while  watched  and  assailed,  had  kept  strictly  on  the  defensive- 


202  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLiY.  Henceforth,  He  took  a  different  course.  To  expose  their 
innuendoes  and  calumnies  was  no  longer  enough.  He  felt 
constrained,  for  the  future,  to  show  that  not  He  but  His 
accusers  were  really  obnoxious  to  the  charges  made  against 
Him  so  recklessly ;  that  not  He  but  they  were  leading  the 
people  from  the  right  way,  and  acting  under  unholy  influence, 
and  that  their  zeal  for  God  was  blind,  not  His. 

A  new  attack  by  them  led  to  this  change.  Reports  of  the 
popular  readiness  to  accept  Him  as  Messianic  King,  and  of 
His  resolute  refusal  to  head  such  a  political  movement,  which 
alone  could  meet  their  own  Avishes,  had  doubtless  reached 
Jerusalem,  and  this,  coupled  ynXh  rumours  of  His  innovations 
and  independence  as  a  religious  reformer,  had  thoroughly 
alarmed  the  authorities  at  Jerusalem.  Discarding  invec- 
tive, craft,  or  indirect  approach,  their  deputies  now  came,  no 
longer  to  the  disciples,  but  to  Himself,  with  specific  com- 
plaints, which  the  freedom  of  Eastern  manners,  permitting 
free  access  to  private  life,  had  enabled  them  to  establish. 
The  disciples  had  already  given  offence  by  plucking  and 
rubbing  ears  of  barley  on  the  Sabbath,  and  thus,  as  it  was  held, 
reaping  and  threshing  on  the  sacred  day;  but  a  still  graver 
scandal  in  Pharisaic  eyes  had  been  detected  in  their  sitting 
doA\na  to  eat  Avithout  ceremonially  washing  their  hands.  The 
Law  of  Moses  required  purifications  in  certain  cases,  but  the 
Rabbis  had  perverted  the  spirit  of  Leviticus  in  this,  as  in 
other  things,  for  they  taught  that  food  and  drink  could 
not  be  taken  with  a  good  conscience  Avhen  there  was  the 
possibility  of  ceremonial  defilement.  If  every  conceivable 
precaution  had  not  been  taken,  the  person  or  the  vessel  used 
might  have  contracted  impurity,  which  would  thus  be  con- 
veyed to  the  food,  and  through  the  food  to  the  body,  and  by 
it  to  the  soul.  Hence  it  had  been  long  a  custom,  and 
latterly  a  strict  law,  that  before  every  meal  not  only  the 
hands  but  even  the  dishes,  couches,  and  tables  should  be 
scrupulouslj'  washed. 

The  legal  washing  of  the  hands  before  eating  was  especially 
sacred  to  the  Rabbinist;  not  to  do  so  was  a  crime  as  great  as  to 
eat  the  flesh  of  swine.  "He  who  neglects  hand-washing,"  says 

'^  Gen.  f.  60. 2.  the  book  Sohar,^*^  "deserves  to  be  punished  here  and  hereafter." 

Num.f.  100. 3.  '  *■ 

Deut.  M07.2. 


HAND-WASHIKG.  203 

"  He  is  to  be  destroyed  out  of  the  world,  for  in  hand-wasli-  chap^xliv. 

ing  is  contained  the  seci'et  of  the  ten  commandments."  "  He 

is  guilty  of  death."    "Three  sins  bring  poverty  after  them," 

says  the  Mischna,^'  "and  to  slight  hand-washing  is  one."^' sabbaih,62.i. 

"He  who  eats  bread  without  hand-washing,"  says  Rabbi 

Jose,  "  is  as  if  he  went  in  to  a  harlot."     The  later  Schulchan 

Aruch,  enumerates  twenty-six   rules   for  this   rite    in  the 

morning  alone.     "It  is  better  to  go  four  miles  to  water  than 

to  incur  guilt  by  neglecting  hand-washing,"  says  the  Tal- 

mud.^^    "He  who  does  not  wash  his  hands  after  eating,"  »  caiia,  r.  53.3. 

it  says,  "  is  as  bad  as  a  murderer."  ^^  The  devil  Schibta  sits  on  »  J^^''^'^' 

unwashed  hands  and  on  the  bread.*"    It  was  a  special  mark  «  Joma,f.  77.2 

^  G10S3. 

of  the  Pharisees  that  "they  ate  their  daily  bread  with  due 
purification,"  and  to  neglect  doing  so  was  to  lie  despised  as 
unclean. 

Rabbinism  was  now  in  its  highest  glory,  for  the  great 
teachers  Hillel  and  Schammai,  who  were  hardly  a  generation 
dead,  had  developed  it  to  the  uttermost.  They  had  disputed 
so  fiercely,  indeed,  on  many  trifling  details,  that  it  was  often 
said  that  Elias  himself,  when  he  came,  would  hardly  be  able 
to  decide  between  them.  But  they  agreed  respecting  hand- 
washing, so  that  the  Talmud  maintains  that  "any  one  living 
in  the  land  of  Israel,  eating  his  daily  food  in  purification, 
speaking  the  Hebrew  of  the  day,  and  morning  and  evening 
praying  duly  with  the  phylacteries,  is  certain  that  he  wiU  eat 
bread  in  the  kingdom  of  God."  '*^  u  sahhath. 

It  was  laid  dovm  that  the  hands  were  first  to  be  washed 
clean.  The  tips  of  the  ten  fingers  were  then  joined  and  lifted 
up  so  that  the  water  ran  down  to  the  elbows,  then  turjied 
down  so  that  it  might  run  off  to  the  ground.  Fresh  water 
was  poured  on  them  as  they  were  lifted  up,  and  twice  again 
as  they  hung  down.  The  washing  itself  was  to  be  done  by 
rubbino;  the  fist  of  one  hand  in  the  hollow  of  the  other.'*'- «  Godwyn,  39. 

*-  •  7  1  Meyer. 

"When  the  hands  were  Avashed  before  eatmg  they  must  be    Uttrktt9.vii.8 

held  upwards  ;  when  after  it,   downwards,  but  so  that  the 

water  should  not  run  beyond  the  knuckles.'*^^    The  vessel «  sepp,  w.  97. 

used  must  be  held  first  in  the  right,  then  in  the  left  hand ; 

the  Avater  was  to  be  poured  first  on  the  right,  then  on  the 

left  hand,   and  at   every   third   time   the   words  repeated 


204  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

"  Blessed  art  Thou  who  hast  given  us  the  command  to  wash 
the  hands."  It  was  keenly  disputed  whether  the  cup  of 
blessing  or  the  hand-washing  should  come  first;  whether 
the  towel  used  should  be  laid  on  the  table  or  on  the  couch  ; 
and  whether  the  table  was  to  be  cleared  before  the  final 
washing  or  after  it."  ^ 

This  anxious  trifling  over  the  infinitely  little  was,  how- 
ever, only  part  of  a  system.  If  a  Pharisee  proposed  to  eat 
common  food,  it  was  enough  that  the  hands  were  washed  by 
water  poured  on  them.  Before  eating  Terumah — the  holy 
tithes  and  the  shew-bread — they  must  be  dipped  completely 
in  the  water,  and  before  the  portions  of  the  holy  offerings 
could  be  tasted,  a  bath  must  be  taken.  Hand-washing 
before  prayer,  or  touching  anj'thing  in  the  morning,  was 
as  rigidly  observed,  for  evil  spirits  might  have  defiled  the 
hands  in  the  night.  To  touch  the  mouth,  nose,  ear,  eyes,  or 
the  one  hand  with  the  other,  before  the  rite,  was  to  incur 
the  risk  of  disease  in  the  part  touched.  The  occasions  that 
demanded  the  observance  were  countless :  it  must  be  done 
even  after  cutting  the  naUs,  or  killing  a  flea.*^  The  more 
water  used,  the  more  piety.  "  He  who  uses  abundant  water 
for  hand-washing,"  says  R.  Chasda,  "will  have  abundant 
riches."  If  one  had  not  been  out  it  was  enough  to  pour 
water  on  the  hands  ;  but  one  coming  in  from  without 
needed  to  plunge  his  hands  into  the  water,  for  he  knew  not 
what  uncleanness  might  have  been  near  him  while  in  the 
streets,  and  this  plunging  could  not  be  done  except  in  a  spot 
where  there  were  not  less  than  sixty  gallons  of  water.'*^  s 

The  same  scrupulous,  superstitious  minuteness  extended 
to  possible  defilements  of  all  the  household  details  of  daily 
life.  Dishes,  hollow  or  flat,  of  whatever  material,  knives, 
tables,  and  couches,  were  constantly  subjected  to  purifica- 
tions, lest  they  should  have  contracted  any  Levitical  defile- 
ment by  being  used  by  some  one  unclean. 

This  ritual  exaggeration  was,  apparently,  a  result  of 
the  jealousy  between  the  democratic  Pharisees  and  the 
lordly  Sadducees.  The  latter  attached  supreme  impor- 
tance to  the  ceremonial  sanctity  of  the  ofiiciating  priests, 
to  exalt  themselves  as  the  clerical  aristocracy.     The  Phari- 


THE   TRADITIONS. 


205 


sees,  to  humble  them,  laid  the  stress,  as  for  as  possil^le,  on  chap,  slr'. 

the  vessels  used,  and  the  exactness  of  the  act.     In  keeping 

with  their  endless  washings  in  private,  they  demanded  that 

all  the  vessels  of  the  Temple  itself  should  be  purified  after 

each   feast,    lest   some  unclean  person  might  have  defiled 

them — a  refinement  which  drew  down  on  a  Pharisee  who 

was  caiTying  out  even  the  golden  candlestick  itself  to  wash 

it,  after  a  feast,  the  mocking  gibe  from  a  Sadducee,  that  he 

expected  before  long  the  Pharisees  would  give  the  sun  a 

washing.^"  "  Derenbom-g, 

The  authority  for  this  endless,  mechanical  rehgionism 
was  the  commands  or  "  traditions  "  of  the  Fathers,  handed 
down  from  the  days  of  the  Great  Synagogue,  but  ascribed 
with  pious  exaggeration  to  the  Almighty,  who,  it  was  said, 
had  delivered  them  orally  to  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai.  Inter- 
pretations, expositions,  and  discussions  of  all  kinds  were 
based,  not  only  on  every  separate  word,  or  on  every  letter, 
but  even  on  every  comma  and  semicolon,  to  create  new  laws 
and  observances,  and  where  these  were  not  enough,  oral 
traditions,  said  to  have  been  delivered  by  God  to  Moses  on 
Sinai,  were  invented  to  justify  new  refinements.  These 
"traditions"  were  constantly  increased,  and  formed  a  New 
Law,  which  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  tiU,  at  last,  pubhc  schools  rose  for  its 
study  and  development,  of  which  the  most  famous  were 
those  of  Hillel  and  Schammai,  in  the  generation  before 
Jesus,  and  even,  perhaps,  in  His  early  childhood.  In  His 
lifetime  it  was  stiU  a  fundamental  rule  that  they  should 
not  be  committed  to  Avriting.  It  was  left  to  Rabbi  Judah, 
the  Holy,  to  commence  the  collection  and  formal  engrossing 
of  the  almost  countless  fragments  of  which  it  consisted,  and 
from  his  weary  labour  ultimately  rose  the  huge  folios  of  the 
Talmud.4« 

As  in  the  case  ot  the  Brahminical  theocracy  of  India, 
that  of  Judea  attached  more  importance  to  the  ceremonial 
precepts  of  its  schools  than  to  the  sacred  text  on  which  they 
were  based.  Wherever  Scripture  and  Tradition  seemed 
opposed,  the  latter  was  treated  as  the  higher  authority. 
Pharisaism  openly  proclaimed  this,   and   set  itself,    as  the 


Cohen, 
157,  158. 
Schiirer,  36. 
Hurwitz,  Die 
Sagen  der 
Ebr&er,  ix. 


206  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  sLiv.  Gospel  expresses  it,  in  the  chair  of  Moses, ^^  displacing  the 

"  Matt  23. 2.    gj,gj^^  lawgiver.     "  It  is  a  greater  offence,"  says  the  Mischna, 

"  to  teach  anything  contrary  to  the  voice  of  the   Rabbis, 

than  to  contradict  Scripture  itself.  He  who  says,  contraiy  to 

Scripture,  'It  is  not  lawful  to  wear  theTephillin'" — the  little 

leather  boxes  containing  texts  of  Scripture,  bound,  during 

prayer,    on   the  forehead  and  on  the  arm — "is  not  to  be 

punished  as  a  troubler.      But  he  who  says  there  should  be 

five   divisions   in   the   Totaphoth" — another  name  for    the 

»  Bustorf, Le^c.  Tcphillin,  or  phylacteries^" — "and  thus  teaches  differently 

«  sinhedrim,    froHi   the    Rabbis,  is  guilty. "  *^     "  He  who  expounds  the 

oeschichte'd.  Scrii)tures  in  opposition  to  the  Tradition,"  says  R.  Eleazar 

Judenthums,  '■  ^  ^  J  J  ) 

ja'iihunS'''  "^^®  "^  ^\i^TG.  in  the  world  to  come."  The  mass  of  Rab- 
Eise''ii^OTier';  bluical  prcscriptious — not  the  Scripture — was  regarded  as  the 
torflsyna"^    basis  of  rcligiou,  "  for  the  Covenant  of  God  was  declared  to 

goga  Judaica,  . 

62-65.  have  been  made  with  Israel  on  account  of  the  oral  Law,  as 
it  is  written,  'After  the  tenor  of  these  loords  I  have  made  a 

«  Eiod.34.27.  covenant,'  &c.^^  For  God  knew  that,  in  after  ages,  Israel 
would  be  carried  away  among  strange  people,  who  would 
copy  off  the  written  Law,  and,  therefore.  He  gave  them  the 
oral  Law,  that  His  will  might  be  kept  secret  among  them- 

"  Ammnde      sclvcs."  ''^     Thosc  who  gavc  tliemselvcs  to  the  knowk'd<re  of 

golah,  in  °  => 

Infm  ^■™'  "^^  Traditions  "  saAV  a  great  light,'  ^^  for  God  enlightened 
«  Isaiah  9.1.  thcir  cycs,  and  shoAved  them  how  they  ought  to  act  in  re- 
lation to  lawful  and  unlawful  things,  clean  and  unclean, 
which  are  not  told  thus  fully  and  clearly  in  Scripture.  It 
was,  perhaps,  good  to  give  one's  self  to  the  reading  of  the 
Scripture,  but  he  who  reads  diligently  the  Traditions  re- 
ceives a  reward  from  God,  and  he  who  gives  himself  to  the 
Commentaries  on  these  traditions  has  the  greatest  reward 
M  Eisenmenger,  of  all.  ^^     "  The  Bible   Avas  like  water,  the  Traditions  like 

i.  329.    Bux-  .  i/~l  .  1  TT  .T.i 

torflsyn.  wiuc,  the  Commentaries  on  them  like  spiced -wine.  "My 
son,"  says  the  Tabnud,  "give  more  heed  to  the  words  of 
«  Eisenmenger,  the  Rabbis  than  to  the  words  of  the  Law."  "^  So  exactly 
alike  is  Ultramontanism  in  every  age,  and  in  all  religions ! 
Jesus  had  no  sympathy  with  a  system  which  thus  ignored 
conscience,  and  found  the  essence  of  religion  in  the  slavery 
of  outward  forms.  The  New  Kingdom  was  in  the  heart ;  in 
the  loving  sonship  of  the  Father  in  Heaven,  and  all  outward 


A  DErUTATION  TO  CAPERNAUM.  207 

observances  had  value  only  as  expressions  of  this  tender  re-  chap.  sliv. 
lationship.  The  Pharisees  had  refined  the  Law  into  a 
microscopic  casuistiy  -which  prescribed  for  every  isolated 
act,  but  Jesus  brought  it  into  the  compass  of  a  living  prin- 
ciple in  the  soul.  From  the  outer  particular  requirement, 
He  passed  to  the  spirit  it  was  intended  to  express.  Special 
enactments  were  suffered  to  fall  aside,  if  the  vital  idea  they 
embodied  were  honoured.  A  lifetime  was  hardly  enough 
to  learn  the  Rabbinical  precepts  respecting  ofFei-ings,  but 
Jesus  virtually  abrogated  them  all  by  the  short  utterance 
that  "  mercy  was  better  than  sacrifice."  °^  The  schools  had"  Matt. 9. 13; 
added  to  the  simple  distinctions  of  the  Law  between  clean 
and  unclean  beasts,  endless  distinctions  respecting  different 
parts  of  each,  and  the  necessary  rites ;  the  simple  rule  of 
Jesus  was — It  is  not  what  enters  the  mouth  that  defiles  a  man, 
but  what  comes  from  the  heart.'*     The  Rabbis  contended"  Matt.  15. n. 

Mark  7. 15. 

after  what  uses  vessels  should  be  purified  in  running,  after 

what  in  drawn  Avater,  and  how  wooden  and  metal  dishes 

were  to  be  minutely  discriminated.     Jesus  waived  aside  this 

trifling  and  deadly  pedantry,  and  told  His  hearers  to  take 

care  to  have  what  was  within  clean,  and  then  the  outside 

would  be  clean  also.""      Even  the  Sabbath  laws,  with  their  «9  Lake  n.  39. 

countless  enactments,  were  as  briefly  condensed.      "  It  is 

lawful  to  do  good  on  the  Sabbath  day."     "  The  Sabbath  was 

made  for  man,  not  man  for  the  Sabbath."  ^^     Such  teaching  ">  Mark  2. 2-. 

was   unheard  of  in  Israel.      In  was  revolutionary  in  the 

grandest  sense. 

The  deputation  of  Rabbis  now  sent  to  Capernaum  were 
determined  to  bring  matters  to  a  crisis.  Their  spies,  and, 
perhaps,  themselves,  had  carefidly  gathered  evidence  whether 
Jesus  and  His  disciples  observed  the  traditions,  and  carried 
them  out  with  the  minuteness  of  a  recognized  religious  duty ; 
whether  He  and  they  dipped  their  hands  duly  before  eating ; 
whether  they  held  them  up  or  doAvn  in  doing  so ;  whether 
they  wetted  them  to  the  elbows  or  to  the  knuckles,  or 
wetted  only  the  finger-tips,  as  the  school  of  Schammai  pre- 
scribed for  certain  cases ;  and  they  had  found,  to  their  horror, 
that  neither  He  nor  His  disciples  washed  their  hands  thus 
ceremonially  at  all.      The  next  Passover  would  show  how 


208  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

p.  xLiv.  formally  they  had  laid  their  information  against  Him,  before 
the  Sanhedrim,  with  its  leaders,  the  high  priest  Caiaphas 
and  the  powerful  Hannas,  for  such  independence  and 
audacity. 

Meanwhile,  their  demand  for  an  explanation  gave  Jesus 
the  desired  opportunity  to  break,  finally,  with  their  whole 
party.  A  casuistry  worthy  of  Suarez  or  Escobar,  had 
sapped  the  fundamental  principles  of  morality  in  the  name 
of  religion.  With  a  keen  eye  to  the  interests  of  their  caste, 
the  Rabbis  had  trifled  with  the  subject  of  oaths  and  vows 
in  such  a  way  that  the  treasury  of  the  Temple  Avas  not  only 
sacred  from  all  public  appeals,  but  was  continually  enriched 
by  money,  which  ought,  rightfully,  to  have  gone  to  the 
support  of  families  and  relations,  and  even  of  aged  or  poor 
parents.  The  utterance  of  the  word  "  Corban"  '' — "  I  have 
vowed  it  to  sacred  uses" — sequestrated  anything,  absolutely 
and  irreversibly,  to  the  Temple.  It  might  be  spoken  under 
the  influence  of  death-bed  terror,  or  in  the  weakness  of  super- 
stitious fear,  but  if  once  uttered,  the  Church  threw  round 
the  money  or  property  thus  secured  the  impassable  barrier 
of  her  ghostly  claims. 

To  honour  one's  parents  was  one  of  the  "Ten  Words  "  of 
Sinai,  and  no  duty  was  held  more  sacred  by  a  Jew  unper- 
verted  by  Rabbinical  sophistry.  It  was  not  forgotten  that 
it  was  the  one  commandment  to  which  a  promise  of  reward 
was  attached.  "  A  child  is  bound  to  maintain  his  parents 
when  old  and  helpless,"  says  one  passage  in  the  Talmud, 
"  even  if  he  have  to  beg  to  do  so."  But  this,  unfortunately, 
was  not  the  uniform  teaching  of  Christ's  day.  If  one  Rabbi 
had  put  filial  duty  before  the  right  to  vow  for  one's  own 
advantage,  others  had  taught  that  it  was  a  duty  to  honour 
edarim,f.  God  bcforc  hououruig  human  relationships  "^ — a  smooth 
'■°°''^'  phrase  for  legalizing  gifts  to  the  Church  at  the  expense 
even  of  father  and  mother.  The  hierarchical  party  ignored 
all  interests  but  their  OAvn,  and  subordinated  natural  duty 
to  their  own  enrichment.  Pharisaism,  in  its  moral  decay, 
had  come  to  be  a  spiritual  death,  corrupting  the  springs  of 
national  life.  A  few  years  later,  in  the  time  of  the  great 
famine  of  the  year  a.d.  45,  under  Claudius,  the  theocratic 


hypoceiticaIj  morality.  209 

party  so   heartlessly  cared  for  themselves,  that  while  the  chap,  xuv 
people  were  perishing  of  hunger  by  hundreds,  no  remission 
of  Temple  dues  was  permitted,  and  the  Passover  alone  saw 
forty-one  attic  bushels  of  wheat  presented  at  the  altar,  to  be 
presently  removed  for  the  use  of  the  priests,  though  the  issa- 
rion — a  measure  of  three  and  a  half  pints*'- — sold  for  fourea  Diet. o; 
drachmas,''^  a  sum  equal  to  about  twenty-six  shillings  at  the    ruble,  uki.  of 
present  value  of  money. ^*     Josephus,  indeed,  boasts  that  no    ••  weights,"  ic. 
priest  ate  a  crumb  of  the  grain  thus  relentlessly  hoarded,  but    i6?3. 
when  even  a  high  priest  was  known  as   "the  disciple  of" ^ew Test.' 
gluttons,"  rioting  in  great  feasts  on  the  sacrifices  and  wine 
of  the  altar, "^^  the  mass  of  his  order  would  not  be  fastidious  «5  xaimud; 
about  the  A^'heat  and  the  bread.  u^renbourg 

Representatives  of  this  smooth  hypocrisy  had  now  gathered  ^J^"-  '^-  '■- 
round  Jesus,  and  proceeded  to  inquire  into  His  alleged  un-  "^"^  ^- i-^s- 
lawful  acts.  "  How  comes  it,"  asked  they,  "  that  a  teacher 
who  claims  a  higher  sanctity  than  others  can  quietly  permit 
His  disciples  to  neglect  a  custom  imposed  by  our  Avise  fore- 
fathers, and  so  carefully  observed  by  every  pious  Israelite  ? 
How  is  it  that  they  do  not  wash  their  hands  before  eating  ?  " 

"•They  neglect  only  a  ceremony  introduced  by  men,"  re- 
torted Jesus;  "but  how  comes  it  that  you,  who  know  the  Law, 
transgress  commands  which  are  not  of  man,  but  from  God 
Himself?  How  comes  it  that,  for  the  sake  of  traditions 
invented  by  the  Rabbis,  you  set  aside  the  most  explicit  com- 
mands of  God  ?  He  has,  for  example,  said  that  we  must 
honour  our  father  and  mother,  and  support  and  care  for 
them  in  old  age.'  He  has  declared  it  worthy  of  death  for 
any  one  to  deny  his  parents  due  reverence,  or  to  treat  them 
harshly  or  with  neglect.  But  you  have  invented  a  doctrine 
which  absolves  childi'en,  in  many  cases,  from  this  command- 
ment. 'If  any  one,'  says  your  'tradition,'  'is  asked  by 
his  parents  for  a  gift,  or  help,  for  their  benefit,  he  has  only 
to  say  that  he  has  vowed  that  very  part  of  his  means  to  the 
Temple,  and  they  cannot  press  him  further  to  contribute  to 
their  support.'  How  cunningly  have  you  thus  circumvented 
God's  law !  How  easy  is  it  for  any  one  to  break  it,  and 
affect  a  zeal  for  religion  in  doing  so  ! 

"  Ye  hypocrites  ! — acting  religion" — now  for  the  first  time 

VOL.  n.  53 


210  THE    LIFE    OF   CnRIf5T. 

cHARSLiv.  tlius  denouncing  them  and  their  party — " Avell  has  Isaiah 
painted  you  when  he  introduces  God  as  saying,  '  This 
nation  has  its  Avorshijo  in  words,  and  its  religion  is  of  the 
lips,  Avliile  its  heart  is  far  from  me.  Their  service  of  me  is 
worthless,  for  it  is  not  my  Law,  but  only  human  inven- 

'•  Isaiah 29.13.  tion.'"'^  These  words  describe  you  to  the  letter.  You  put 
aside  Mdiat  God  has  conunanded,  and  has  enforced  by  pro- 
mises and  threats,  and  yet  keep,  superstitiously,  '  traditions ' 
which  only  custom,  and  homage  to  human  teachers,  have 
introduced.  Of  this  kind  are  your  hand-washings,  and 
many  similar  usages." 

Such  a  defence  was  an  open  declaration  of  war  against 
Pharisaism,  and  the  hierarchy  closely  indentitied  with  it. 
His  words  struck  at  the  insincerity  and  false-heartedness  of 
the  party  as  a  whole,  at  its  fundamental  principles,  its 
practice,  its  modes  of  thought,  its  whole  ideas  and  aims. 
They  are  pious,  very  pious,  He  tells  them,  in  outward  seem- 
ing. They  keep  the  traditions  fastidiously,  but  their  piety 
is  from  the  lips,  not  the  heart ;  obedience  to  the  Rabbis,  not 
God.  They  wash  pots  and  cups,  and  care  for  gifts,  as  their 
religion,  and  ignore  the  commands  of  Jehovah.  No  irony 
could  be  more  keen  or  annihilatin"-.  What  flames  of  rage 
must  it  have  kindled  in  the  hearts  of  the  great  party  so 
mortally  assailed  !  They  could  not  challenge  His  loj'alty  to 
the  higher  law,  for  He  spoke  as  its  Champion,  against  their 
human  additions  and  perversions.  They  could  not  but  feel 
that,  far  from  destroying  either  the  Law  or  the  Prophets,  He 
was  ennobling  and  exalting  them.  But  the  very  light  He 
poured  on  the  oracles  of  God  showed  so  much  the  more  the 
worthlessnessof  their  cherished  system,  and  their  misconcep- 
tion of  their  office  as  the  teachers  of  the  people.  He  had 
virtually  condemned  not  only  their  setting  washings  above 
duty  to  parents  ;  He  had  denounced  them  for  laying  more 
stress  on  the  Temple  worship  and  ritual  than  on  such  filial 
piety.  Hence  washings,  sacrifices,  alms,  and  fasts;  all  the 
loved  boastful,  pretentious  worship  and  outward  practice  on 
which  they  rested,  were  of  no  value  compared  with  the  great 
eternal  commands  of  God,  and  were  even  crimes  and  im- 
piety, when    they  proudly    set   themselves  in  their  room. 


THE   NEW   CHARTER.  211 

He  arraigned  Pharisaism,  the    dominant   orthodoxy,   as  a  chap.xliv. 
whole.     The  system,  so  famous,  so  arrogant,  so  intensely 
Jewish,  was  only  an  invention  of  man ;  a  subversion  of  the 
LaAv  it  claimed  to  represent,  an  antagonism  to  the  prophets 
as  well  as  to  Moses,  the  spiritual  ruin  of  the  nation  ! 

The  die  was  finally  cast.  All  that  it  involved  had  been 
long  weighed,  but  He  who  had  come  into  the  Avorld  to 
witness  to  the  Truth  could  let  no  prudent  regard  for  self 
restrain  His  testimony.  It  was  vital  that  the  people  who  fol- 
lowed the  Rabbis  and  priests  should  know  what  the  rehgion 
and  morals  thus  taught  by  them  wei-e  worth.  The  truth  could 
not  find  open  ears  while  men's  hearts  were  misled  and  pre- 
judiced by  such  instructors.  No  one  would  seek  inward  re- 
newal Avho  had  been  taught  to  care  only  for  externals,  and 
to  ignore  the  sin  and  corruption  within.  Pharisaism  was 
a  creed  of  moral  cosmetics  and  religious  masks,  as  aU 
ritual  systems  must  ever  be.  With  Jesus  the  only  true  re- 
ligion was  purity  of  heart  and  absolute  sincerity  to  truth. 
Leaving  the  Rabbis,  therefore,  and  calling  round  Him  the 
crowd  which  was  lingering  near.  He  proclaimed  aloud  the 
great  principle  He  had  laid  down — "Hear  me,  all  of  you," 
cried  He,  "  and  understand.  There  is  notlilng  from  without 
the  man  that,  entering  into  him,  can  defile  him  ;  but  the 
things  which  come  out  of  the  man  are  those  that  defile 
him."  Words  clear  enough  to  vis,  perhaps,  but  grand  be- 
yond thought  when  uttered,  for  they  were  the  knell  of 
caste — heard  now,  for  the  first  time,  in  the  history  of  the 
world ;  of  national  divisions  and  hatreds,  and  of  the  religious 
worth  of  external  observances,  as  such,  and  the  inauguration 
of  a  universal  religion  of  spirit  and  truth !  Nothing  ex- 
ternal, they  proclaimed,  made  clean  or  unclean,  holy  or 
unholy.  Purity  and  impurity  were  words  applicable  only 
to  the  soul  and  its  utterances  and  acts.  The  Charter  of 
spiritual  religion  :  the  abrogation  of  the  supremacy  of  forms 
and  formula  for  ever,  was  at  last  proclaimed ;  the  leaA-en  of 
rehgious  freedom  cast  into  the  life  of  humanity,  in  the  end, 
to  leaven  it  throughout ! 

Even  the  disciples  Avere  alarmed  at  an  attitude  so  re\'olu- 
tionary.     In  common  Avith  the  nation  at  large,  they  looked 


212  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST 

on  the  Rabbis  with  a  superstitious  reverence,  and  now 
hastened  to  tell  Jesus  how  deeply  the  whole  class  was 
offended  by  His  words.  It  was  hard  for  simple  Galiltean 
peasants  to  break  away  from  hereditary  habits  of  thought. 
But  Christ's  answer  was  ready.  "  Every  plant  which  my 
Heavenly  Father  has  not  planted,  shall  be  rooted  out. 
Leave  them:  they  are  bhnd  leaders  of  the  blind,  and,  as 
such,  both  they  and  their  followers  must  stumble  on  to 
destruction !  "^^  The  plants  of  human,  not  divine  jalanting, 
were  the  "  traditions  "  and  "  commandments  of  men  " — the 
"  hedge  of  the  Law,"  in  which  the  Rabbis  gloried.  Hence- 
forth, there  was  a  breach  for  ever  between  the  men  of  the 
Schools  and  the  New  Kingdom. 

But  the  mind  is  slow  to  realize  great  spiritual  truths.  To 
the  disciples,  their  ^Master's  words  were  dark  and  strange,  de- 
manding explanation.  Nor  was  it  possible,  either  then,  or 
even  to  the  very  last,  to  familiarize  them  with  the  new  ideas 
they  involved,  or  free  them  from  the  influence  of  past 
modes  of  thought.  The  tendency  to  regard  the  external  and 
formal  as  a  vital  and  leading  characteristic  of  religion,  was 
well-nigh  unconquerable,  in  minds  habituated  to  JeAvish 
conceptions.  An  earnest  request  of  Peter,  for  further  expla- 
nation, only  drew  forth  an  amplification  of  what  had  been 
already  said.  The  evil  in  man  was  traced  directly  to  the 
thoughts ;  but  to  eat  with  unwashed  hands,  it  was  repeated, 
made  a  man  in  no  way  "  common  "  or  polluted,  as  alleged 
by  the  Pharisees.  Yet  the  truth  had  to  lie  long  in  the 
breasts  of  the  Twelve  before  it  -wrought  their  spiritual 
emancipation  from  the  slavery  of  the  past.  The  natural 
and  eternal  distinction  of  good  and  evil  was  proclaimed, 
after  having  been  obscured  for  ages  by  an  artificial  morality, 
but  to  fully  unlearn  inveterate  prejudice  would  requu'e  the 
lapse  of  generations 


THE   COASTS   OF   THE   HEATHEN.  213 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

THE  COASTS  OP  THE  HEATHEN. 

JESUS  had  now,  apparently,  been  two  years  before  the  cH'^-  ^^ 
world  as  a  religious  teacher,  and  had  had  the  usual  lot 
of  those  who  seek  to  reform  entrenched  and  prosperous 
abuses.  A  brief  and  dazzling  popularity  had  roused  the 
bitter  hostility  of  threatened  interests,  and  they  had  at  last 
banded  together  for  His  destruction.  For  months  past  He 
had  seen  the  death-clouds  gathering  ever  more  threateningly 
over  Him,  and  had  devoted  Himself  with  calm  anticipation 
of  the  end,  to  the  task  of  training  the  Twelve  to  continue 
His  work  when  He  had  perished.  He  had  taken  the  utmost 
care  to  avoid  open  collision  with  His  enemies,  and  to  confine 
Himself  to  the  instruction  of  the  little  circle  round  Him ; 
but  the  priests  and  Rabbis  had  been  quick  to  see  in  this 
very  quiet  and  retirement  their  greatest  danger,  for  open 
conflict  might  destroy  what  peaceful  seclusion  would  give 
opportunity  to  take  root.  "The  world,"  as  He  Himself 
expressed  it,  "  hated  Him,  because  He  witnessed  of  it  that 
its  works  were  evil."^  Not  only  His  formal  accusations  and  •  John 7.7. 
the  spirit  of  His  teaching,  but  His  whole  life  and  actions, 
and  even  His  gentlest  words,  arraigned  things  as  they  were. 
Rumours  of  possible  action  against  Him  by  Antipas 
increased  the  difiiculty  of  the  situation.  Every  one  knew 
that  He  and  many  of  His  foUoAvers  had  come  from  the 
school  of  the  Baptist,  whom  Antipas  had  just  murdered, 
and  it  was  evident  that  His  aim  was  more  or  less  similar  to 
John's,  though  His  acts  were  more  wonderful.  Hence  specula- 
tion was  rife  respecting  Him.  Was  He  the  promised  Elias? 
or,  at  least,  Jeremiah,  risen  from  the  dead  ?  or  was  He 
some  special  prophet  sent  from.  God?^    ^lany,  indeed,  were' ^larte.is: 


214  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLv.  questioning  if  He  might  not  even  be  the  Messiah,  and  were 
willing  to  accept  Him  as  such,  if  He  would  only  head  a 
national  revolt,  in  alliance  with  the  Rabbis  and  priests, 
against  the  Romans.  To  Antipas  His  appearance  was  doubly 
alarming,  for  it  seemed  as  if  the  fancied  revolutionary  move- 
ment of  John  had  broken  out  afresh  more  fiercely  than  ever, 
and  superstition,  working  in  an  uneasy  conscience,  easily  saw 
in  Him  a  resurrection  of  the  murdered  Baptist,  endowed, 
now,  Avith  the  awful  power  of  the  eternal  world  from  Avhich 
he  had  returned.  A  second  murder  seemed  needed  to  make 
the  first  effective,  and  to  avoid  this  additional  danger  Jesus 
for  a  time  sought  concealment. 

But  the  craft  and  violence  of  the  half-heathen  Antipas, 
was  a  slight  evil  compared  with  the  hatred  Avliich  glowed 
ever  more  intensely  in  the  breasts  of  the  Rabins  and  priests 
of  Jerusalem,  and  in  those  of  the  Pharisees,  and  other, 
disciples  of  the  schools,  scattered  over  the  country.  The 
demands  of  Jesus  were  far  beyond  the  mere  summons  of  the 
Baptist,  to  prepare  for  a  new  and  better  time.  He  required 
immediate  submission  to  a  new  Theocracy.  He  excited  the 
fury  of  the  dominant  party,  not  like  the  Baptist,  by  isolated 
bursts  of  denunciation,  but  by  working  quietly,  as  a  King  in 
His  own  kingdom,  which,  while  in  the  world,  was  some- 
thing far  higher.  Hence,  the  feeling  against  Him  was  very 
different  from  the  partial,  cautious,  and  intermittent  hatred 
of  the  Baptist.  The  hierarchy  and  the  Rabbis,  as  the 
centre  of  that  Avhich,  with  all  its  corruptions,  was  the  only 
true  religion  on  earth  as  yet,  felt  themselves  compromised 
directly  and  fatally  by  Him,  and  could  not  maintain  them- 
selves as  they  were,  if  He  were  tolerated.  The  whole  spiritual 
power  of  Israel  was  thus  ai-rayed  against  Him;  a  force  slowly 
created  by  the  possession,  for  ages,  of  the  grandest  religious 
truths  known  to  the  ancient  world,  and  by  the  pride  of  a  long 
and  incomparably  sublime  national  history.  It  had  been 
assailed  in  the  past,  at  long  intervals,  from  without,  but 
in  recent  years  it  had  been  for  the  fii'st  time  attacked 
from  within,  by  the  Baptist,  and  now  felt  itself  still  more 
dangerously  assaulted  by  this  Galilean.  To  crush  such  an 
apparently  insignificant  opponent — a  peasant  of  Nazareth, 


DARKEXIXG   HOSTILITY.  215 

XLV. 


Ohristus,  3M. 


rising,  singly  and  unsupported,  against  a  power  so  colossal—  coapj 
seemed  easy;  nor  could  it  be  fancied  more  difficult  to  scatter 
and  destroy  His  small  band  of  follower,  as  yet,  mostly,  de- 
spised peasants. 

The  first  official  step  towards  the  repression  of  the  new 
movement  had,  apparently,  been  already  taken,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  last  visit  of  Jesus  to  Jerusalem.  His  cure  of  the  blind 
man  on  the  Sabbath,  had  then  brought  down  on  Him  the 
warning  punishment  of  the  lesser  excommunication,  which 
entailed  formal  exclusion  from  the  synagogues  of  Judea,^  and »  J^-^ 
was  all  they  dared  as  yet  inflict.  In  consequence  of  it,  He  |J^:  "■ 
had  never  returned  to  the  south,  but  confined  Himself  to  the  '^'""' 
north,  where  the  synagogues  were  still  open  to  Him.  The 
same  sentence  seems  now  to  have  been  gradually  extended 
to  the  synagogues  of  Galilee,  for  we  cease  to  read  of  His 
entering  them  or  teaching  in  them.  But  as  this  measure 
evidently  failed,  spies  were  let  loose  on  Him,  to  dog  His 
steps  constantly,  and  find  ground  for  fresh  charges,  even  by 
invading  the  privacy  of  His  home  life. 

This  deadly  hatred,  with  all  that  it  involved  in  the  future, 
had  been  foreseen  from  the  first,  and  His  utmost  care,  His 
seclusion,  and  His  innocence,  had  only  delayed  the  crisis 
that  had  now  come.     The  foundation  of  His  new  kingdom 
on  a  firm  basis,  by  the  choice  and  preparation  of  the  Twelve, 
had,  however,  lightened  the  thought  of  it,  and  neutralized 
its  worst  consequences.     Yet  it  was  stiU  necessary  to  ward 
off  the  catastrophe  as  long  as  possible,  in  order  to  advance 
the  great  work  of  building  up,  as  far  as  might  be,  the  infant 
society  He  had  established ;  for  it  was  slow  work  to  ripen 
vigorous  faith  and  adequate  spirituaUty,  even  in  those  under 
nfs  personal  influence.     But  the  growing  hatred  and  iU-wiU 
of  His  enemies  made  lengthened  residence  in  any  one  place 
henceforth  undesirable,  and  He  had  from  this  time  to  take 
more  frequent,  as  well  as  wider  circuits,   to  escape  them. 
Yet  there  were  compensating  benefits  even  in  this  wandering 
life,  for  it  made  it  easier,  amidst  the  many  unforeseen  inci- 
dents of  each  day,  to  raise  the  Twelve  to  that  higher  faith 
and  greater   steadfastness  which    yet  failed   them,  and  it 
enabled  Him  to  help  many  in  outlpng  parts,  who  were  fitted 


216 


THE   LITE    OF   CHRIST 


*  Ewald's 
Christus, 
449— 4M. 


to  receive  good  at  His  hands.  The  gracious  purpose  of  God 
was  thus  leading  Him  to  visit  in  peace  all  the  chief  places  of 
the  land,  which  it  was  His  great  mission  to  summon  to  enter 
His  kingdom. 

One  inevitable  result  was  that  the  nearer  the  end  came, 
the  more  necessary  was  it  to  make  clear  to  the  Twelve 
the  causes  of  this  hatred  shown  towards  Him.  and  the 
divine  necessity  of  His  approaching  death.  Hence,  He 
took  every  opportunity  from  this  time  to  impress  both 
thoughts  more  and  more  clearly  on  His  followers.  His 
warnings  against  the  corruptions  of  the  hierarchical  party 
became  more  frequent,  and  constantly  keener,  until,  at 
last,  the  Twelve  understood,  in  some  measure,  the  whole 
situation.* 

Leaving  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  He  now  turned 
to  the  far  north,  with  the  Twelve  as  companions  of  His 
flight.  His  way  led  Him  over  the  rough  uplands  towards 
Safed,  with  its  near  \dew  of  the  snowy  summits  of  Lebanon. 
Then,  leaving  Gischala  on  the  right,  the  road  passed  through 
one  of  the  many  Avoody  valleys  of  these  highland  regions,  till, 
at  the  distance  of  two  days' journey  from  the  Lake,  it  reached 
the  slope  at  the  foot  of  which  lay  the  plains  of  Tyre.  A 
yellow  strip  of  beach  and  sand  divides  the  hills  from  the  sea, 
into  which  the  insular  tongue  of  land  on  which  Tyre  was 
built  stretched  far.^  He  looked  down,  perhaps  for  the  first 
time  so  closely,  on  the  smoking  chimneys  of  the  glass  works 
of  Sidon  and  of  the  dye  works  at  Tyre ;  on  the  long  rows  of 
warehouses  filled  with  the  merchandise  of  the  Avorld  ;  on  the 
mansions,  monuments,  public  buildings,  palaces,  and  temples 
of  the  two  cities,  and  their  harbours  and  moles  crowded  with 
shipping.  The  busy  scene  before  Him  Avas  the  land  of  the 
accursed  Canaanite ;  the  seat  of  the  worship  of  Baal  and 
Ashtaroth,  Avhich  had  of  old  so  often  corrupted  Israel ;  a 
region,  Avith  all  its  Avealth  and  splendour,  and  surpassing 
beauty  of  palm  groves,  and  gardens,  and  emboAvering  green, 
so  depraA'ed  and  polluted,  that  the  HebrcAV  had  adopted  the 
name  of  Beelzebub — one  of  its  idols — as  the  name  for  the 
Prince  of  Devils.  Yet,  even  here,  Jesus  felt  a  pity  and 
charity  unknoAvii  to  His  nation,  and  the  great  sea  beyond. 


THE  BORDERS   OF  TTRE.  217 

Avhitened  with  wing-like  sails,  would  be  like  a  dream  of  the  chap^v. 
future,  when  distant  lands,  washed  by  the  waves  over  which 
these  vessels  sped,  would  gladly  receive  the  message  He  came 
to  deliver. 

Whether  He  passed  into  heathen  territory  is  a  question. 
He  may  only  have  gone  as  far  as  the  border  of  the  alien 
district.  The  whole  region  was  more  or  less  thickly  settled 
by  Jews,  drawn  by  commerce,  or  through  long  historic 
association  with  the  district,  which  had  been  assigned  to 
Asshur,  though  never  won  by  that  tribe.  So  far  back  as  the 
days  of  the  judges,  the  population  had  been  half  heathen, 
half  Jewish.**  Kept  back,  through  all  their  history,  from  the « judges  t  as. 
sea-coast,  Israel  had  come  to  hate  the  life  of  a  sailor  from 
which  they  were  thus  debarred,  and  hence  were  contented 
to  settle  amidst  the  busy  traders  of  Phenicia,  without  at- 
tempting, after  the  first  failure,  to  dispossess  them.^  No '  1<^^^I^^^ 
retreat  could  have  promised  more  safe  retirement,  but  Jesus  'iij^-ii^^^, 
was  now  too  universally  known  to  remain  anywhere  undis- 
covered, for  numbers  had  come  to  Galilee,  even  from  these 
very  districts,  to  see  and  hear  Him. 

His  mission,  during  His  life,  had  been  repeatedly  defined 
by  Himself,  as  only  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  House  of  Israel. 
That  he  felt  no  narrow  exclusiveness  had  been  already 
shown  by  the  incidents  of  His  journey  through  Samaria,  and 
by  the  prophetic  joy  with  which  He  had  predicted  the 
entrance  of  many  from  the  heathen  world  into  His  new 
Society.^  Even  His  sympathy  with  publicans  and  sinners, ,  Matt.8.ii: 
and  with  the  outcast  sunken  multitude,  whose  ignorance  of 
Rabbinnical  precepts  was  held  to  mark  them  as  accursed  of 
God,  had,  in  fact,  been  as  distinct  protests  against  Pharisaic 
bigotry  as  He  could  have  made  even  by  the  formal  recog- 
nition of  heathens  as  citizens  of  His  new  society.  And  had 
He  not  proclaimed  the  supreme  truth  that  God  was  the  Great 
Father  of  all  mankind,  and  that  the  human  race  round  the 
world  were  brethren  in  His  groat  household  ?  But  pity  for  His 
own  nation— the  Israel  of  the  Old  Covenant— forbade  His 
going  forth,  for  the  time,  to  all  races,  A\'ith  the  open  invitation 
to  join  the  new  Theocracy.  It  would  at  once  have  sealed 
the  fate  of  His  people,  for  what  was  oflTered  to  the  heatlicn 


218  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CH.VP.  xLv  would,  from  that  very  fact,  have  been  instantly  rejected  by 
the  fanatical  Jew. 

It  was  vain  for  Him  to  seek  rest.  A  woman  of  the 
country,  by  language  a  Greek,  by  nationality  a  Canaanite,  and 
by  residence  a  Syro-Phenician — for  Phenicia  was  attached 
to  the  Roman  province  of  Syria — perhaps  a  heathen,  but,  in 
any  case,  of  an  humble  religious  heart,  heard  that  He  was 
Matt  16.  in  the  neighbourhood.^  His  fame  had  long  before  spread  so 
iiMk 7.21-30.  widelv.  that  the  wondrous  cures  He  had  performed  were 

Paulus,  Leben  J  '  i        t   -i  t 

EwSd'/**°'  everywhere  known.  Among  others,  this  woman  had  heard 
He^Lebt^**  of  them,  and  maternal  love  was  quick  to  turn  them  to  its  own 
jesu,  1.420.  ^^gg|gj,j^  account.  She  had  a  daughter  "  grievously  vexed 
with  a  devil,"  and  at  once  came  over  the  bordei-''  to  implore 
Jesus  to  have  mercy  on  her  child.  The  half  belief  that  He 
was  the  ^Messiah  had  spread  even  to  Tyre,  and  was  accepted 
in  her  poor  unenlightened  way  by  the  supplicant.  He  was 
abroad  with  the  Twelve  Avhen  she  found  Him,  and  forthwith 
entreated  Him — "  Loi-d,  son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  me." 
She  had  made  her  child's  trouble  her  own.  Such  an  inci- 
dent, at  a  time  when  He  sought  to  remain  unknown,  must 
have  been  very  disturbing,  for  it  might  put  His  enemies  on 
His  track.  From  whatever  cause,  He  took  no  notice  of  her 
prayers.  But  she  would  not  be  denied,  and  persistently 
followed  Him  with  her  wailing  petitions,  as  He  went  along, 
till  the  Twelve,  filled  with  harsh  Jewish  prejudice,  and  mis- 
taking the  reason  of  their  Master's  silence,  grew  indignant  at 
her  pertinacity,  and  begged  Him  to  send  her  away  and  stop 
her  crying  after  them.  That  a  foreigner,  and,  above  all,  a 
Canaanite,  accursed  of  God,  should  share  His  mercies,  was,  as 
yet,  far  too  liberal  a  conception  for  them.  Did  not  the 
Ptabbis  teach  that  the  race  built  their  houses  in  the  name  of 
■0  EfeemneDger,  their  idols,  SO  that  evil  spirits  came  and  dwelt  in  themPi** 
*■  *^^'  and  Avas  not  Beelzebub,  the  Prince  of  the  Devils,  their  chief 

cod?  The  answer  of  Jesus  seemed  to  favour  this  bitter 
exclusiveness — "  He  was  not  sent  except  to  the  lost  sheep  of 
the  House  of  Israel ! "  They  little  knew  that  His  help  was 
kept  back  only  in  pity  for  His  own  nation,  whom  mercy  to 
abhorred  unclean  Canaanites  would  embitter  against  Him  to 
their  own  destruction.     It  was  vain,  however,  to  try  to  weary 


THE   WOMAN   OF   CANAAN.  219 

out  a  mother's  love.     Following  Him  into  the  house,  though    ch.vp.xlv. 

He  would  fain  have  remained  unknown,  she  cast  herself  at 

His  feet  and  renewed  her  prayer.     To  the  Twelve  she  was 

only  a  "  dog,"  as  the  Jews  regarded  all  heathen. ^^     VeiUng  ■>  EisenmeDgen 

the  tenderness  of  His  heart  in  affected  roudiness  of  speech,     foot,  nor. 

~  i  '        Heb.  i,  230. 

softened,  doubtless,  by  the  trembhng  sympathy  of  His  voice  Nork,75. 
and  His  gentle  looks.  He  told  her  that  the  cliildren — Israel, 
the  sons  of  God — must  first  be  fed  before  others  could  be 
noticed.  "  It  is  not  right,"  said  He,  "to  take  the  children's 
bread  and  cast  it  to  the  dogs."  Then,  as  now,  the  traveller, 
entering  or  leaving  a  town  or  village,  had  only  too  much 
reason  to  notice  the  troops  of  lean,  sharp-nosed  masterless 
dogs,  which  filled  the  air  with  their  cries  as  he  passed,  and  no 
one  could  sit  at  a  meal  without  the  chance  of  some  of  them 
coming  in  at  the  ever-open  door  to  pick  up  the  frag- 
ments,^ always  to  be  found  where  only  the  fingers  were  used 
at  table. 

"With  a  woman's  quickness,  and  a  mother's  invincible 
love,  deepened  by  irrepressible  trust  in  Him  whose  face  and 
tones  so  contradicted  His  words,  even  this  seeming  harshness 
was  turned  to  a  resistless  appeah  "  Yes,  Lord,"  said  she, 
"  it  is  true  :  still  the  dogs  are  allowed  to  eat  the  fragments 
that  fall  from  the  children's  table."  She  had  conquered. 
"  0  woman,"  said  Jesus,  "  great  is  thy  faith ;  be  it  unto  thee 
as  thou  wilt."  His  word  was  enough,  and  going  her  way 
she  found,  on  reaching  her  house,  that  her  daughter,  no 
longer  raving,  was  perfectly  cured,  and  lay  calmly  in  bed, 
once  more  herself.''  The  Twelve  had  learned,  at  last,  that 
even  heathen  "  dogs"  were  not  to  be  sent,  unheard,  away. 

How  long  Jesus  stayed  in  these  parts  is  unknown.  It 
would  seem  as  if  this  incident  had  forced  Him  to  leave 
sooner  than  He  had  proposed.  He  did  not,  however,  return 
at  once  to  Capernaum,  but  set  out  north-eastwards,  through 
the  territory  of  Sidon,  to  the  country  east  of  Jordan.  The 
Roman  road  which  ran  over  the  richly  wooded  hills,  almost 
straight  eastward,  from  Tyre  to  Cassarea  Philippi,  was  too  far 
to  the  south.  He  must  have  taken  the  caravan  road,  which 
still  runs  from  Sidon  on  the  south  side  of  the  mountain 
stream  Bostrenus,  chmbing  the  spurs  of  Lebanon,  with  their 


220  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST, 

CHAP.  XLY.  Avoods  and  noble  mountain  scenery,  till  it  crosses  the  range 
amidst  peaks  six  thousand  feet  high,  at  the  natural  rock- 
bridge  over  the  deep,  rushing  Leontes.  Turning,  now, 
down  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Jordan,  under  the  shadow  of 
the  Hermon  range,  rising  9,500  feet  high  in  their  highest 
peak,  He,  erelong,  at  Cajsarea  Philippi,  reached  the  open 
country,  with  a  wide  view  of  the  broad  reedy  marshes  of 
Ulatha  and  J\Ierom,  the  hills  of  Galilee,  and  the  wide  up- 
lands of  Gaulonitis.  How  long  He  spent  on  the  journey  is 
not  told.  Perhaps  He  stopped  by  the  way,  for  Lebanon 
was  full  then,  as  now,  of  villages  ;  perhaps  He  only  passed 
through  them  on  His  way.  His  final  purpose  by  this  ^v\.de 
circuit,  was  to  reach  His  old  haunts  Avithout  passing  through 
Galilee,  and  this  brought  Him,  apparently  for  the  first 
time,  to  the  Avide  territory  of  the  ten  allied  free  cities — the 
Decapolis. 

These  cities  were  simply  places  which  the  Jews  had  not 
succeeded  in  re-conquering,  after  their  return  from  Baljylon. 
They  had  thus  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  heathen,  though 
in  Palestine  ;  had  preserved  distinct  municipal  government, 
and  had  joined  in  a  political  alliance,  offensive  and  defen- 
sive. To  the  Jews  they  were  a  continual  ofifence,  and  they 
were  the  first  to  suffer  from  the  frenzied  fanaticism  of  the 
nation  when  it  rose  in  its  last  great  revolt.  Most  of  them, 
full  of  busy  life,  and  adorned  Avith  splendid  temples,  baths, 
theatres,  and  pubhc  buildings,  when  Jesus  passed  through 
them,  were  destined,  before  another  generation,  to  perish 
amidst  fire  and  sword. 

Even  here  the  fame  of  the  great  Teacher  attracted  multi- 
tudes of  Jews  settled  all  over  the  half-foreign  district,  espe- 
cially in  its  towns  and  cities,  and  revived  for  a  time  the  cheer- 
ing scenes  of  the  past.  The  cripple,  the  blind,  the  dumb,  the 
deformed,'^  and  many  others,  variously  afllicted,  Avere  either 
brought  to  Him,  or  came ;  till  He  was  once  more  forced,  as 
of  old,  to  retreat  to  the  hills,  in  the  vain  effort  to  gain  quiet. 
The  popular  excitement,  however,  made  rest  impossible. 
They  sought  and  found  Him  Avherever  He  might  be,  and 
enjoyed  not  only  the  benefits  of  His  supernatural  poAver, 

M»«^^i5.       but  the  richer  blessings  of  His  teaching. ^^     Only  one  inci- 


THE   DUMB    HEALED.  "21 

dent  is  criven  in  detaiL^^     A  man  had  been  brought  to  Him  cHAPjav. 
who  was  deaf,  and  could  only  stammer  inarticulately  ;   and"  3^^,^- 
He  was  besought  to  heal  him.     From  what  motive  is  not 
told    He  varied  His  usual  course.     Taking  him  aside  from 
the  'multitude,  perhaps  to  have  more  freedom,  perhaps  to 
avoid  their  too  great  excitement  and   its  possibly  hurttul 
political  consequences.  He  put  His  fingers  into  the  man  s  ears, 
and  touched  his  tongue  with  a  finger  moistened   on    His 
own  lips.     It  may  be  that  these  simple  forms  were  intended 
to  waken  faith  in  one  who  could  hear  no  words,  for,  without 
the  fittino-  spirit,  the  miracle  would  not  have  been  wrought. 
Lookino-°np  to  heaven,  as  if  to  lift  the  thoughts  of  the  un- 
fortunate man  to  the  Eternal  Father,  whose  power  alone 
could  heal  him,  Jesus  then,  at  last,  uttered  the  single  word 
of  the  popular  dialect-"Ephphatha"— "  Be  opened  -and 
He  was  perfectly  cured.     An  injunction  to  keep  the  miracle 
private  was  of  no  avail:    the  whole  country  was  presently 
fiUed  with  reports  of  it,  and  of  other  similar  wonders. 

The  vast  concourse  attracted  by  such  scenes  may  be  ima- 
gined i^*  for  in  the  East  especially,  it  is  easy  for  the  popula-  »  «a«^«. 
tion,  with  then-  simple  wants,  and  the  mildness  of  the  sky,     ^^^-^^ 
which  in  the  warm  months  invites  sleeping  in  the  open  air 
by  nicrht,  to  camp  out  as  they  think  fit.     But,  as  often 
happens,  even  in  our  own  day,  with  the  Easter  pUgrims  at 
Jerusalem,  many  found  their  provisions  run  short,  and  as 
in  these  strange  and  motley  crowds  numbers  often  die  of 
want  15  many  of  those  following  Jesus  might  have  sunk  by  -  ^^^^Jf^p,^,. 
the  way  but  for  His  thoughtful  care,  for  numbers  had  come 
far.      Once  more  the   crowds  were    caused  to    sit  on  the 
ground,  and  were  fed  from  the  scanty  pro^-ision  found  on 
the  spot,  which  was  no  more  than  seven  of  the  round  loaves 
of  the  country,  and  a  few  small  dried  fishes  from  the  Lake 
of  Galilee.     Four  thousand  men,  besides  women  and  chUd- 
ren,  were  supphed  from  this  scanty  store,  and  seven  baskets^ 
of  fragments,  afterwards  gathered,  attested  that  they  had 
suffered  no  stint. 

Leaving  the  eastern  side  of  the  Lake,  to  which  His  wan- 
derings had  led  Him,  Jesus  now,  once  more,  crossed  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Magdala,*  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Flam  ot 


222  THE   LITE  OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLv.  Geniiesareth,  and  close  to  Capernaum.  He  had  hardly  re- 
appeared before  His  enemies  were  once  more  in  motion. 
The  Pharisees  had  already  stifled  their  dislike  of  the  Hero- 
dians,  and  had  formed  an  alUance  with  them,  that  they 
might  the  more  easily  crush  Him.  It  marked  the  growing 
malignity  of  feeling  that  a  class  fanatically  proud  of  their 
ceremonial  and  moral  purity — a  class  from  whose  midst  had 
sprung  the  Zealots  for  the  Law,  who  abhorred  all  rule  ex- 
cept that  of  a  restored  theocracy — should  have  banded 
themselves  Avith  a  party  of  moral  indiiferentists,  partial  to 
monarchy,  and  guilty  of  flattering  even  the  hated  family  of 
Herod.  But  a  still  more  ominous  sign  of  increasing  danger 
showed  itself  in  even  Sadducees  joining  the  Pharisees  to 
make  new  attempts  to  compromise  Jesus  Avith  the  authorities 
The  Sadducees,  few,  but  haughty  and  powerful,  held  the 
highest  posts  in  the  JcAvish  state,  and  represented  the  Law. 
They  were  of  the  priestly  caste,  and  held  the  chief  offices  in 
the  hierarchy.  Their  name  was  perhaps  derived  from  the 
famous  ancient  family  of  Zadok,  of  Avhom  Ezt^kiel  speaks 
as  having  the  charge  of  the  altar,  and  as,  alone,  of  the 
sons  of  Levi,  appointed  to  come  before  the  Eternal,  to 
wEzek.40.46.  serve  Him.^*"     Joshua,  the  son  of  Jozedek,  the  comrade   of 

ZoQZ  and 

Fursfs  Bibei.  Zcrubbabcl,  was  of  this  House,  so  that,  after  the  Return,  as 
before  it,  it  seems  to  have  been  the  foremost  among  the 
priestly  famiUes.  Li  any  case,  the  Sadducees  of  the  times  of 
Josephus  and  the  Apostles  not  only  held  the  highest  Temple 
1?  Ant.iTui.3.4.  offices,  but  represented  the  purest  JeAvish  blood. ^" 

But  this  priestly  aristocracy  Avere  by  no  means  the  most 
zealous  for  the  sanctuary  from  which  they  drew  their 
honours  and  wealth.  They  counted  in  their  ancestry  not 
only  high  priests  like  Joshua  and  Simon  the  Just,  but 
traitors  to  their  country  like  Manasseh,^  Menelaus,  and  the 
younger  Onias.  Already,  in  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Nehe- 
miah,  they  had  given  occasion  for  the  charge  that  the  highest 
officials  had  been  foremost  in  breaking  the  theocratic  laAvs, 
and  had  even  sought  to  turn  parts  of  the  Temple  into  a 
splendid  family  mansion.^*  They  had  coquetted  and  debased 
their  offices  to  win  favour  with  the  Ptolemies  and  the  Syrian 
kings ;  they   had  held  back,  in  half  Greek  irrehgiousness, 


AcU4. 1— 3, 


THE    SADDUCEES.  223 

from  taking  a  vigorous  part  in  the  glorious  ]\raccaba?an  cnxp.xLv. 
struggle,  and  now  truckled  to  heathen  procurators,  or  with 
a  half  heathen  king,  to  preserve  their  honours  and  vested  in- 
terests. To  please  Herod,  they  had  admitted  Simon  Boethus, 
the  Alexandrian,  the  father  of  the  king's  young  wife,  to  the 
high  priesthood,  from  which  a  strict  Jew,  Jesus  the  son  of 
Phabi,  had  been  expelled  to  make  room  for  him.  They  had 
even  shown  frank  and  hearty  submission  and  lo}-alty  to 
Rome. 

The  nation,  with  its  chosen  religious  leaders,  the  Phari- 
sees— the  representatives  of  the  "  Saints "  who  had  con- 
quered in  the  great  war  of  religious  independence — never 
forgot  the  faint-heartedness  and  treachery  of  the  priestly 
nobility  in  that  mao;nilicent  striiacfrle.  Their  descent  mio;ht 
secure  its  members  hereditary  possession  of  the  dignified  offices 
of  the  Church,  and  there  might  still  be  a  charm  in  their 
historical  names  ;  but  they  were  regarded  with  open  distrust 
and  dislike  by  the  nation  and  the  Pharisees  alike,  and  had 
to  make  many  concessions  to  Pharisaic  rules  to  protect  them- 
selves from  actual  violence. 

The  strict  fanatical  heads  of  the  Synagogue  and  leaders  of 
the  people,  and  the  cold  and  polished  Temple  aristocracy, 
were  thus  bitterly  opposed,  and  it  added  to  the  keenness  of 
the  dislike  that  the  dreams  by  the  Rabbinical,  or  Pharisaic 
party,  of  a  restored  theocracy,  could  only  be  realized  through 
the  existing  organization  of  the  priesthood,  of  which  the 
indifferent  Sadducees  had  the  control. 

Theological  hatred,  the  bitterest  of  all  passions,  added  addi- 
tional intensity  to  this  political  opposition.  The  Sadducees 
had  no  inclination  to  be  taught  their  duty  by  the  Rabbis  of 
village  synagogues,  and  rejected  the  whole  body  of  Pharisaic 
tradition  and  jurisprudence,  taking  for  their  only  authority 
the  written  law  of  ]\Ioses,  though  to  this  were  generally 
added  some  ti-aditions  of  their  own.  Holding  the  highest 
offices  of  the  theocracy,  and  the  uiembers  of  families  which 
had  officiated  in  the  Temple  of  Solomon  itself,  they  dis- 
dained to  be  taught  what  was  lawful  in  Israel,  or  to  accept 
the  hair-splitting  refinements  of  the  democratic  and  puri- 
tan Pharisees.      To  the  constantly  increasing  decisions  and 


224  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  SLY,  requirements  of  the  Rtibbis,  they  stolidly  opposed  the  vener- 
able letter  of  the  ancient  Law.  That  their  creed  was  cold 
and  rationalistic,  compared  to  that  of  the  Rabbis,  was,  per- 
haps, the  result  of  this  attitude,  but  was  not  its  cause.  The 
instinctive  conservatism  of  "  the  first  in  rank,"  inevitably 
took  its  stand  on  the  original  documents  of  the  Law  in  op 
position  to  the  heated  exaggerations  of  the  plebeian  school- 
u  Ant  xvii.2.4:  men.  Both  sides  vaunted  their  orthodoxy. ^^  The  Sadducees 
were  as  deeply  committed  to  support  the  theocracy  as  their 
popular  rivals,  for  it  was  the  basis  of  their  dignities,  their 
wealth,  and  even  their  existence.  Fierce  controversies,  often 
culminating  in  bloodshed,  marked  the  devotion  of  both  ahke 
to  their  opinions,  and  these  opinions  themselves  illustrated 
the  position  of  the  two  parties.  The  Sadducees  uniformly 
fell  back  on  the  letter  of  the  Law,  the  prescriptive  rights  of 
the  Temple,  and  the  glory  of  the  priesthood  ;  the  Pharisees, 
on  the  other  hand,  took  their  stand  on  the  authority  of  the 
Rabbinical  traditions,  the  value  of  sacred  acts  apart  from 
the  interposition  of  the  priest,  and  advocated  popular  in- 
terests generally. 

The  contrast  between  the  spirit  of  the  two  parties  sliowed 
itself  prominently  in  the  harsh  tenacity  with  which  the 
Temple  aristocracy  held  to  the  letter  of  the  Mosaic  Law  in 
its  penalties,  as  o^^posed  to  the  milder  spirit  in  which  the 
Pharisees  interpreted  them,  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of 
the  times.  The  Pharisees,  for  example,  explained  the  Mosaic 
»  Dent  22. 24.  demand — an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  ^^ — meta- 
phorically, and  allowed  recompense  to  be  made  in  money, 
but  the  Sadducees  required  exact  compliance.  The  Sad- 
ducees required  that  the  widow  should  literally  spit  in  the 
face  of  the  brother-in-law  Avho  refused  her  the  levirate  mar- 
s' Dent.  26. 9.  riagc  riglits,^^  but  it  was  enough  for  the  Pharisees  that  she 
spat  on  the  ground  before  him.  The  Pharisees  permitted 
K  Ley.  7. 24.  thc  cai'cass  of  a  beast  that  had  died^'^  to  be  used  for  any 
other  purpose  than  food,  to  save  loss  to  the  owner,  but  the 
Sadducees  denounced  the  penalties  of  uncleanness  on  so  lax 
a  practice.  They  sternly  required  that  a  false  witness  be 
put  to  death,  according  to  the  letter  of  the  Law,  even  if  his 
testimony  had  done  the  accused  no  injury,  and  many  did 


SADDDCEE    STERNNESS. 


225 


not  even  shrink  from  carrying  out  the  reasoning  of  the 
Rabbis,  that,  as  two  -witnesses  were  always  required  to  con- 
demn the  accused,  both  witnesses  should  always  be  executed 
when  any  perjury  had  been  committed  in  the  case.-^  : 

This  blind  insistance  on  the  letter  of  laws  which  ages  had 
made  obsolete,  fixed  on  the  Sadducees  the  name  of  "  The 
Condenniing  Judges,"  and  Josephus  testifies  that  they  were 
more  ruthless  in  their  judicial  decisions  than  any  other 
Jews.^*  The  Pharisees,  on  the  other  hand,  had  for  their : 
axiom  the  saying  of  Joshua  Ben  Perachia — "  Judge  every- 
thing on  the  presumption  of  innocence;"  or  that  of  Hillel — 
"  Put  yourself  in  your  neighbour's  place  before  you  judge 
him."  Hence,  a  pi'isoner  blessed  himself  when  he  saw  oppo- 
site him,  on  his  judges,  the  broad  phylactery  of  the  Pharisee, 
and  not  the  white  robe  of  the  priestly  Sadducee.  Both  our 
Lord  and  St.  Paul  had  the  multitude  stirred  up  against 
them  by  the  Pharisees,  but  they  were  condemned  by  Sad- 
ducee judges,  and  it  was  Sadducee  judges  who  murdered 
St.  James.-^  .. 

This  relentless  ferocity  of  priestly  houses,  who  rested  on 
the  favour  of  the  rich  and  titled  few,  was  dictated  only  by 
the  class  interests  of  the  Temple  nobility,  whose  claims  and 
privileges  could  not  be  justified  except  by  the  blind  main- 
tenance of  things  as  they  were.  Unchanging  conservatism 
was  their  only  safety;  the  least  innovation  seemed  an  omen 
of  revolution. 

But  there  were  even  deeper  grounds  of  dislike  and  opjao- 
sition.  The  Pharisees,  as  the  hereditary  representatives  of 
puritans  who  had  delivered  the  nation  in  the  great  struggle 
against  Syria,  looked  forward  with  touching  though  fana- 
tical yearning,  to  the  realization  of  the  prophecies  of  Daniel, 
which,  as  they  understood  them,  promised  that  Israel,  under 
the  Messiah,  and  with  it,  themselves,  should  be  raised  "  to 
dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom ;  that  all  peoples, 
nations,  and  languages  should  serve  Him,  and  that  His 
kingdom  should  be  everlasting."  -^  They  believed  that  this  •-" 
national  ti'iumph  would  be  inaugurated  so  soon  as  Israel,  on 
its  part,  carried  out  to  the  full  the  requirements  of  the  cere- 
monial laws,  as  expounded  in  their  traditions.  It  was  a 
VOL.  n.  5i 


Oriitz,  Gesc\ 
d.  Jud.  2  auf. 
3.  409. 


Derenbourg. 
200.  Renan, 
Vie  de  Jii'sus 


226  THE   LIFE    OF   CnRIST. 

cHAP.sLv.  matter  of  formal  covenant,  in  which  the  truth  and  righteous- 
ness^that  is,  the  justice,  of  Jehovah  were  involved.  The 
morals  they  demanded  might  be  only  mechanical,  and  their 
observances  slavery  to  rites  and  ceremonies,  but  they  be- 
lieved tliat  if  they  fulfilled  their  part,  God  must  needs  fulfil 
His,  and  they  strove  hard  to  make  the  nation,  like  them- 

81  phu.8.c.  selves,  "  blameless,"  touching  this  I'ighteousness ; ''  that  they 
might  claim  divine  interposition  as  a  right.  The  zeal  of  the 
Pharisee  for  the  Law  was,  thus,  a  mere  hired  service,  with 
all  the  restlessness,  exaggeration,  emulation,  and  moral 
impurity,  inseparable  from  a  mercenary  spirit. 

To  this  dream  of  the  future,  the  Sadducees  opposed  a  stolid 
and  contemptuous  indifference.  Enjoying  the  honours  and 
good  things  of  the  world,  they  had  no  taste  for  a  revolution 
which  should  introduce,  they  kncAV  not  what,  in  the  place  of 
a  state  of  things  with  which  they  Avere  quite  contented. 
Their  fathers  had  had  no  such  ideas,  and  the  sons  ridiculed 
them.  They  not  only  laughed  aside  the  Pharisaic  idea  of 
righteousness,  as  identified  with  a  life  of  minute  and  eaidless 
observance,  but  fell  back  on  the  Mosaic  Law,  and  mocked 
at  the  Messianic  hope  from  which  the  zeal  of  their  rivals  had 
spi"ung.  "The  Sadducees,"  says  Josephus,  "believe  that  the 
soul  dies  with  the  body,  and  recognize  no  authority  but  that 

^  Ant,xvin.i.4.  of  thc  Law."^  Good  was  to  be  done  for  its  own  sake,  not  for 
iX'Avard  in  the  ]\Iessianic  kingdom,  or  at  the  resurrection  of  the 

a  Geiger,        dead."     "  Thc  Sadducccs,"  says  Rabbi  Nathan,^^  "  use,  daily, 

Urschrift,  10.3,  l        -i  /.  •!        i  i  i 

note.  vessels  or  gold  and  silver,  not  for  pride,  but  because  the 

Pharisees  torment  themselves  in  this  life,  though  they  will 
have  nothing  in  the  next."'^  As  to  the  woi4d  to  come,  they 
left  it  doubtful,  maintaining,  if  the  words  in  the  Talmud  be  not 
an  interpolation,  in  opposition  to  the  Pharisees,  that  it  could 

s»  Derenbonrg,  uot  bc  provcd  froui  tlic  Books  of  Moscs.^"  They  even  went 
the   length  of  inventing  difficulties  which   they  supposed 

31  Matt. 22. 23.  involved  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.^"-  "They  believe 
neither  in  the  resurrection,  nor  in  angel,  nor  spirit,  but  the 

K  Acts  23. 8.     Pharisees  confess  both,"  says  St.  Luke.^^ 

To  all  this  was  added  the  embitterment  of  opposite  views 
on  the  great  subject  of  human  freedom  and  divine  fore- 
knowledge.    Like    all  puritans,   the   Pharisees  exalted  the 


DISLIKE    or   THE    SADDUCEES.  227 

latter  though  they  did  not  deny  the  former.  They  had  a  casp.  xlv. 
profound  belief  in  Providence,  understanding  by  it  that 
they  themselves  were  the  favourites  of  Jehovah,  and  could 
count  on  His  taking  their  side.  "The  Sadducees,"  says 
Josephus,  "  maintain  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  pre- 
destination, and  deny  that  human  affairs  are  regulated  by 
it,  maintaining  that  our  destiny  rests  with  ourselves ;  that 
we  are  the  cause  of  our  own  good  fortune,  and  bring  evil  on 
us  by  our  ownfolly."^^  The  Sadducee  was,  in  fact,  a  mere"  Ant. xiii. 5. i 
man  of  the  world,  believing  only  in  the  present :  the  Pha- 
risee, a  m}-stic,  to  whom  the  futui'e  and  the  supernatural 
were  all. 

The  nation  zealously  supported  the  Pharisees.  The  .spirit 
of  the  age  was  atijainst  the  Sadducees.  The  multitude  dis- 
liked  to  hear  that  what  the  Maccaba^ans  had  defended  with 
their  blood  was  uncanonical.  They  yielded  cheerfully  to  the 
heavy  yoke  of  the  Pharisaic  Rabbis,  for,  the  more  burden- 
some tlie  duties  required,  the  greater  the  future  reward  for 
performance.  The  Pharisees,  moreover,  were  part  of  the 
people,  mingled  habitually  with  them  as  their  spiritual 
guides,  and  were  the  examples  of  exact  obedience  to  their . 
own  precepts.  Their  Messianic  dreams  were  of  national 
glory,  and  thus  the  crowd  saw  in  them  the  representatives 
of  their  own  fondest  asjiirations.  The  Sadducees — isolated, 
haughty,  harsh,  and  unnational — were  hated:  their  rivals 
honoured  and  followed.  The  extravagances  and  the  hypocrisy 
of  some  might  be  ridiculed,  but  they  were  the  accepted 
popular  leaders.^^  «  Hausrath.i 

Indeed,  apart  from  all  other  considerations,  the  fact  that    J?f/f5^™''a 
the   Sadducees  supported   zealously  every  government   in     ]fg~{^_^ 
turn,  was  enough  to  set  the  people  against  them.     Instead  of    475"°^'  ^' 
this,  the   Pharisees  shared  and  fostered  the  patriotic  and 
religious  abhorrence  of  the   Roman  supremacy,  and  were 
sworn  enemies  of  the  hated  Herodian  family      The  result 
was  that,  in  the  words  of  Josephus,  "  the  Pharisees  had  such 
an  influence  -^-ith  the  people,  that  nothing  could  be  done 
about  divine  worship,  prayers,  or  sacrifices,^^  except  accord- «  Ant.  s™.  1. 
ing  to  their  wishes  and  rules,  for  the  community  believed 
they  sought  only  the  loftiest  and  Avorthiest  aims   alike  in 


228  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  sLv.  word  and  deed.  The  Sadducees  were  few  in  number ;  and 
thougli  tbey  belonged  to  the  highest  ranks,  had  so  little 
influence,  that  when  elected  to  ofiice,  they  were  forced  to 
comply  with  the  ritual  of  the  Pharisees  from  fear  of  the 
peojile." 

There  were,  doubtless,  many  priests  who  were  not  Sad- 
ducees— men  serving  God  humbly ;  devoted  to  their  sacred 
duties,  and  living  in  fuU  sympathy  of  thought  and  life  with 

Derenbourg,  the  Pharisccs.^''  In  the  disputes  with  Jesus,  we  may  be 
sure  that  many  such  Pharisaic  priests ;  the  great  company, 
perhajis,  who,  within  a  short  time  after  His  death,  became 

Acts c. 7.  "obedient  to  the  Faith,"^"  took  no  part  in  the  fierce  malignity 
of  their  brethren.  But,  now,  for  the  first  time,  the  Sad- 
ducees— haughty  clerical  aristocrats  of  the  Temple — joined 
with  the  hated  vulgar  Pharisee  of  the  Synagogue  to  accom- 
plish the  destruction  of  the  new  Teacher.  It  was  the  most 
ominous  sign  of  the  beginning  of  the  end  that  had  yet 
appeared. 

Eager  for  a  fresh  dispute,  the  strange  allies,  very  likely 
fresh  from  Jerusalem,  no  sooner  found  that  He  had  returned, 

Mark  8.10-1?.  than  they  sallied  forth  ^*  to  open  a  discussion.  "  You 
claim,"  said  they,  "  to  be  a  teacher  come  from  God,  and 
have  given  many  '  signs'  that  you  are  so  in  the  miracles  you 
have  performed.  But  all  these  signs  have  been  untrust- 
worthy, for  we  know  that  the  earth  and  even  the  air  are 
filled  with  demons.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  prince  of 
the  devils,  to  deceive  men  into  supporting  your  claims,  may 
have  given  you  power  for  a  time  over  these  demons,  and 
thus  all  that  you  have  done  may  be  only  a  dark  plot  to  undo 
us.  The  Egyptian  magicians  did  miracles,  and  our  fathers 
did  ]iot  believe  even  Moses  for  the  common  wonders  He  did, 
for  they  might  have  been  -WTOught  only  by  magic  and  incan- 
,  Maimonides.  tatious.^'*     A  Sign  from  hcaveu,  however,  is  different.     It  is 

m  sepp,  V.  G- .  ijgyQjjjj  ^]jg  2)ower  of  devils  :  '  they  can  neither  shine  like 
the  sun,  nor  give  light  like  the  moon,  nor  give  rain  unto 

Baruchc.      mcu.' *°     Our  Rabbls  tell  us  that  when  the  Kins;-Messias 

S3,  GO.  ° 

comes,  and  the  great  war  between  Gog  and  ]\Iagog  begins, 
Talmud,       signs  from  heaven  will  aijpear.^^     We  are  not  to  exiject  Him 

Sabbat,  f.  '^  ■'■J-  -l        _ 

till  a  rainbow  has  spanned  the  world  and  filled  it  with  light.^^ 


139. 1. 


NO    SIGN    TO   BE    GIVEN. 


229 


Give  ns  bread  from  heaven,  as  Moses  did,  or  signs  in  the  sun 
and  moon  like  Joshua,  or  call  down  thunder  and  hail  like 
Samuel,  or  fire  and  rain  like  Elijah,  or  make  the  sun  turn 
back  like  Isaiah,  or  let  us  hear  the  Bath  Kol  which  came  to 
Simon  the  Just — that  we  may  believe  you."^^  , 

But  Jesus  knew  the  men  Avith  whom  he  had  to  do,  and 
would  hold  no  communication  with  them  beyond  the  shortest. 
The  tempter  had  long  before  urged  Him  to  make  a  vain  dis- 
play of  His  supernatural  power  in  support  of  His  claims, 
but  as  it  was  monstrous  that  miracles  should  be  thrown 
away  on  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  or  wrought  at  his  will,  it 
was  no  less  so  to  work  them  at  the  bidding  of  men  filled  with 
his  spirit.  The  worth  of  proof  depends  on  the  openness  to 
conviction.  He  had  already  said  that  to  cast  pearls  before 
wild  swine,  was  only  to  invite  them  to  turn  and  rend 
you.  No  "  sign  "  could  avail  where  there  was  no  sympathy. 
The  truth  He  came  to  proclaim  appealed  to  the  heai-t,  and 
must  be  its  own  evidence,  winning  its  way  by  its  own  divine 
beauty  into  humble  and  ready  breasts.  External  proofs  could 
only  establish  external  facts. 

With  biting  irony  He  turned  on  them  in  a  few  brief  incisive 
sentences.  "  How  is  it  that  ye,  who  are  so  skilled  in  the 
signs  of  the  heavens,  are  so  dull  to  read  those  around  you  ? 
You  watch  the  sky,  and  talk  of  signs  in  it.  In  the  evening 
you  say,  '  Fair  weather,  for  the  sky  is  red ; '  and  in  the 
morning,  'Foul  weather  to-day,  for  the  sky  is  red  and  lower- 
ing.' When  you  see  a  cloud  rising  in  the  west,  you  say, 
'  There  comes  a  shower ; '  when  you  see  a  south  wind  blow- 
ing, you  say,  'There  will  be  heat.''"'  You  pretend  to  tell,  by ' 
the  way  the  smoke  blows  on  the  last  evening  of  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles,  what  weather  there  will  be  for  the  year.  If  it 
turn  northward,  you  say  there  will  be  much  rain,  and  the 
poor  will  rejoice  ;  if  it  turn  south,  you  say  the  rich  will 
rejoice  and  the  poor  mourn,  for  there  wiU  be  little  rain ;  if 
it  turn  eastward,  all  rejoice ;  if  westward,  all  mourn.'*'' " 
If  God  have  been  so  gracious  to  uaen  as  to  giAe  signs  of  fair 
weather,  of  wind,  and  of  rain,  how  much  more  must  He  have 
given  signs  of  the  near  approach  of  the  Messiah  ?  You  are 
diligent  to  excess  in  studying  the  sk}',  but  you  ask  signs  of 


328. 


EosenmiUler, 
i.  323. 
Paulus, 
Sepp,  V.  G5. 
Lightfoot, 
Hor.  Heb. 
231,  421. 


Lightfoot, 
Hor.  Heb.  il. 
231. 


230  THE  LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

(EAP^Lv.  my  being  the  Messiah,  as  if  none  had  been  given,  when  many 
unmistakable  ones  invite  you  in  your  own  Scriptures,  in  the 
events  of  the  day,  the  preaching  of  John,  and  in  my  own 
Rosen-  miracles,  teachino:,  and  life.*''  An  evil  and  adulterous  gene- 
New'TesTi  Tatlon  scoks  after  a  sign  of  the  approach  of  the  kingdom  of 
*^*'  God  to  suit  it,  while  it  is  blind  to  the  signs  around,  that  the 

Messiah  must  come,  if  the  nation  is  not  to  perish.  I  -will 
give  you  no  sign  but  that  of  the  prophet  Jonah,  for  as 
the  warning  of  his  words,  was  the  only  one  given  to  the 
Ninevites,  my  preaching  -will  be  the  only  sign  given  to  you. 
It  is  its  own  evidence.  Apart  from  my  miracles;  my  life,  and 
the  divine  and  heavenly  truth  I  preach,  are  sufficient  proof 
that  I  am  sent  by  God.  Hereafter,  indeed,  Jonah  wiU 
become  a  sign  in  another  sense,  for  as  he  was  three  days  and 
three  nights  in  the  whale's  beUy,  so  I,  when  put  to  death, 
shall  be  the  same  time  in  the  grave." 

So  saying,  He  left  them.  It  was  clearly  unsafe  to  stay  in 
their  neighljourhood.  Henceforth  He  could  only  lead  a 
fugitive  outlawed  life,  and  with  a  deep  sigh  at  the  hopeless- 
ness of  winning  over  men  blinded  by  prejudice,  and  hardened 
in  heart.  He  entered  the  boat  once  more,  and  crossed  the 
Lake  to  the  lonely  and  secure  eastern  side. 


IN  FLIGHT  ONCE  MORE.  231 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

IN  FLIGHT  ONCE  MORE. 

THE  renewed  attempt  to  involve  Jesus  in  a  damaging  dis- 
pute had  failed.  He  liad  not  made  an  ostentatious 
display  of  supernatural  power  at  the  bidding  of  His  enemies, 
but  had  turned  sharply  on  them,  and  had  left  them  discom- 
fited before  the  multitude.  They  had  hoped  to  have  de- 
preciated Him  as  a  mere  vinauthorized  intruder  into  the 
office  of  Rabbi,  and  to  have  had  an  easy  triumph,  but  His 
modest,  yet  dignified  and  keen  retort  had  put  them  to 
shame.  Their  bitterness  against  one,  now  hated  and  feared 
more  than  ever,  was  so  much  the  greater. 

His  departure  that  autumn  evening  might  well  have  sad- 
dened His  heai't.  It  was  His  final  rejection  on  the  very 
spot  where  He  had  laboured  most,  and  He  was  leaving  it,  to 
return,  indeed,  for  a  passing  visit,  but  never  to  appear  again 
publicly,  or  to  teach,  or  work  miracles.  As  the  boat  swept 
out  into  the  Lake,  and  the  whole  scene  opened  before  Him 
— the  white  beach,  the  green  plain,  the  wooded  hills  behind, 
the  white  houses  reflected  in  the  water,  and  over  them  the 
stately  synagogue,  in  which  He  had  taught  so  often,  and 
done  such  mighty  acts, — it  was  no  wonder  that  He  sighed 
deeply  in  spirit,  borne  down  by  the  thought  of  the  darkened 
mind,  the  perverted  conscience,  and  the  stony  heart  that 
had  rejected  the  things  of  their  peace. 

As  He  sat  in  the  boat  amidst  His  disciples  He  was  still 
full  of  such  thoughts.  They  had  heard  His  words  to  His 
enemies,  but  they  did  not  seem  to  have  realized  all  the 
danger  implied  in  the  incident.  Many  had  been  led  away 
from  Him  by  the  deceitful  slanders,  or  specious  arguments 


232 


THE   LIFE   OF   CUEIST. 


CHAP^LVL  of  the  hierarchical  party,  and  it  Avas  well  that  they  should  be 
put  on  their  guard. 

"  Take  heed,  beAvare,"  said  He  solemnly,   "  of  the  leaven 

'  M^"k"'"'^'  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  and  of  the  party  of  Herod."  ^ 
1*-"-  It  so  happened,  however,  that  in  their  hurried  flight,  having 
had  no  time  to  lay  in  provisions,  there  Avas  only  one  loaf  in 
the  boat,  and  Avith  the  childishness  of  uneducated  minds,  they 
at  once  fancied  He  referred  to  their  having  come  Avithout 
bread.  At  the  Avell  of  Samaria  they  had  thought  he  referred 
to  common  food  Avhen  He  spoke  of  the  meat  of  the  soul ; 
they  had  been  as  dull  in  catching  the  metaphor  of  His  flesh 
being  the  bread  of  life,  and  hereafter  they  Avere  to  think  only 
of  natural  rest  Avhen  he  spoke  of  the  dead  Lazarus  as  sleep- 
ing. Reflection,  like  continuity  of  thought,  comes  only  Avith 
mental  training.  The  uncultured  mind,  Avhether  old  or 
young,  learns  slowly.  They  might  have  remembered  from 
the  twice  repeated  miraculous  feedings  of  the  multitude, 
that  it  Avas  indilFerent  how  little  they  had  AA'ith  them  Avhen 
their  Master  Avas  in  their  midst,  but  it  needs  a  thoughtful 
ness  and  depth  beyond  that  of  average  fishermen  and  pea- 
sants, such  as  they  Avere,  to  reason  and  reflect.  "He  tells  us,' 
they  Avhispered,  "  that  if  Ave  buy  bread  from  a  Pharisee  oi- 
a  Sadducee,  the  bread  would  defile  us,  as  it  Avould  if  we 

■-  Roaemniuiera  boviglit  it  from  a  Samaritan. " ^     So  rude  was  the  spiritual 

Scholia  on  ^  1 

New  Test.!,    material  from  Avhich   Jesus  had  to  create  the  founders  of 

s'la'-^Storf,  Christianity  ! 

sjii.jua.4oi.  ^^  Q  ^^^  of  little  faith,"  niterrupted  He,  "  Avhy  do  ye  reason 
among  yourselves  because  ye  have  no  loaves?  Are  your 
hearts  hardened  that  you  cannot  understand  ?  Have  you 
forgotten  when  I  broke  the  five  loaves  among  the  five 
thousand,  and  the  seven  among  the  four  thousand,  hoAv 
many  baskets  and  Avallets  full  of  fragments  ye  took  up? 
HoAv  could  you  think  you  Avould  ever  Avant  after  that,  whe- 
ther Ave  had  bread  Avith  us  or  not  ?  Do  you  not  see  that 
Avhen  I  spoke  of  loaves  I  was  thinking  not  of  loaves,  but  of 
instruction  ?     Beware  of  the  teaching  of  the  Pharisees,  Sad- 

3  wieseier-9      ducccs,  aud  Hcrodlans,^  about  me  or  about  religion.     Thev 

Beitriige.  124.  i  i       i      n 

Sro^nd      would  gladly  fill  your  minds  Avith  slanders  and  misleading 
.Moses, 61.      fancies;  draw  you  aAvay  from  me  ;  and  corrupt  your  hearts 


HEALTN'G   OF  A   BLIN^D   MAN. 


233 


Thomson, 
Land  and 
Book,  360. 
Ruhr's 
Palaslina,  120. 


by  their  superstition,  and  religious  acting,  and  self-rigliteous  chap.slvi. 
pride,  or  by  their  worldliness  and  unbelief." 

The  course  of  the  boat  was  directed  to  the  head  of  the 
Lake,  to  Bethsaida,  newly  renamed  Julias  by  the  tetrarch 
Philip,  in  honour  of  the  daughter  of  Augustus,  his  patron. 
The  old  name  of  the  village  had  not  yet  been  lost,  however.  • 
It  was  on  the  route  to  the  district  to  which  Jesus  was 
hurrying,  and  might  well  have  detained  Him  as  a  resting 
place,  under  other  circumstances.  Lying  on  the  gi'een  hiU 
above  the  plain  of  Batiha — the  scene  of  the  miraculous 
feeding — it  overlooked,  at  a  short  distance,  the  entrance  of 
the  Jordan  into  the  Lake.  To  the  west  stretched  the  wide 
tract  of  black  basalt,  rough  and  barren,  reaching  from 
the  marshes  of  Jordan,  dotted  with  butFaloes  luxuriating 
in  the  mire,  to  Chorazin  and  Capernaum.  To  the  south 
rose  the  bare  table-land  on  the  east  of  the  Lake,  and  the 
town  itself,  boasting  the  splendid  tomb  just  built  by  Philip, 
for  his  o-\\m  use,  was  not  wanting  in  beauty.*  "  But  Jesus 
had  no  leisure  to  stay,  nor  was  there  an  inducement  in  any 
kindly  bearing  of  the  population  towards  Him.  He  had 
often  taught  in  their  streets  and  s}Tiagogue,  and  had  lived 
ui  their  houses,^  and  done  many  mighty  works  before  them, '  Lnkeia.26. 
yet,  like  the  people  of  Chorazin  and  Capernaum,  they  had  Mark8.22-e6. 
listened  to  their  Rabbis  rather  than  to  Him,  and  had  re- 
fused to  repent.  There  still,  however,  were  some  who  had 
better  thoughts,  and  these,  seeing  Him  enter  the  to^^^^,  hur- 
riedly brought  a  bUnd  man,  and  besought  Him  to  touch 
him.  Even  in  a  place  that  would  not  near  Him  His  tender 
heart  could  not  withhold  its  pity.  It  would  have  attracted 
laotice  when  He  most  sought  to  avoid  it,  had  He  healed  the 
sufferer  in  the  public  street,  and,  therefore,  taking  him  by 
the  hand,  he  led  him  into  the  fields  outside.  He  might 
have  wrought  the  cure  by  a  word,  but  He  chose  to  use  the 
same  simple  form  as  in  the  case  of  the  dumb  man  in  the 
Decapohs.  Touching  the  blind  eyes  with  His  moistened 
finger,  perhaps  to  arrest  the  wandering  thoughts  and  pre- 
dispose him  to  trust  in  the  Healer,  He  asked  the  blind  man 
"if  he  saw  aught?"  The  supernatural  power  of  the  touch  had 
had  due  eftect.    With  upturned  eyes,  the  hitherto  blind  could 


234  THE   LIFE    5f   CHRIST. 

cQAPsivi.  see  indistinctly.  Men  moved  before  Him,  in  undefined  haze, 
like  trees."  The  partial  cure  must  have  strengthened  his 
faith,  and  thus  prepared  him  for  perfect  restoration.  An- 
Tvxavyas.  otlior  touch,  Rud  He  could  see  clearly,  far  and  near.''  "  Go 
to  your  home,"  said  Jesus,  "  without  returning  to  the  town, 
and  tell  no  one  about  it."  "^  The  less  publicity  given  to  His 
acts  or  words,  the  safer  for  Christ. 

The  retreat  to  which  Jesus  was  making  was  the  toAvn  of 
Caesarea  Philippi.      It  lay  on  the  north-east  of  the  reedy 
and  marshy  plain  of  El  Huleh.     It  was  close  to  Dan,  the 
extreme  north  of  the  bounds  of  ancient  Israel,  as  Beer- 
shelja  was   the   extreme  south.     It  was  almost  on  a  line 
with  Tj-re,  and  thus,   far  out  of  the  reach  of  the  Rabbis 
and  High  Pi-iests.     A  town,  Baal-Gad — named    from    the 
Canaanite    god    of  fortune — had   occupied  the    site   from 
immemorial    antiquity,    but   Philip    had    rebuilt  it  splen- 
didly, three  years  before  Christ's  birth,  and,  in  accordance 
with    the    prevailing   flattery    of  the  Emperor,  had  called 
it  Ca3sarea,    in   honour    of    Augustus.       It  had  been    the 
pleasure  of  his   peaceful  reign    to   adorn  it    with    altars, 
'  Ant.  XV.  10. 3.  votive  images,  and  statues,"  and  his  own  name  had  been 
3;  ui.V?.  '  added  by  the  people,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Cajsarea  on 
Ren!;n,ciiap.8.  t]jg  sea-coast.^     Hcrod  the  Great,  Philip's  father,  had  already, 
niomson;  228.  nineteen  years  before  Christ,  in  fjrateful  acknowledgement 

turrer,  302.  .'  ;  o  o 

of  the  gilt  of  the  districts  of  Panias  and  Ulatha,  adorned 
the  spot  with  a  grand  temple  of  white  marble,  in  heathen 
flattery  of  the  Emperor,  deified,  thus,  while  still  alive,  by 
the  king  of  the  Jews.  The  worship  of  the  shepherd  god 
Pan,  to  whom  a  cave  out  of  which  burst  the  waters  of  the 
Jordan,  was  sacred ;  had  given  its  second  name — Panias — 
now,  Banias — to  the  place.  It  was  one  of  the  loveliest  spots 
in  the  Holy  Land,  built  on  a  teiTace  of  rock,  part  of  the 
range  of  Hermon,  which  rose  behind  it  seven  or  eight  thou- 
sand feet.  Countless  streams  murmured  down  the  slopes, 
amidst  a  unique  richness  and  variety  of  flower,  and  shrub, 
and  tree.  The  chief  source  of  the  Jordan,  still  bursts  in  a 
full  silver-clear  stream  from  a  bottomless  depth  of  water,  in 
the  old  cave  of  Pan,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  from 
l>eneath  a  high  perpendicular  wall  of  rock,   adorned  with 


C^SAEEA   PHILIPPI.  235 

niches  once  filled  with  marble  Naiads  of  the  stream  and  cilvp.xlyi. 
Satyrs  of  the  woods ;  and  with  countless  votive  tablets ;  but 
now  streAvn  round  with  the  ruins  of  the  shepherd  god's  ancient 
temple.  Thick  woods  still  shade  the  channel  of  the  young 
river.  Oaks  and  olive  groves  alternate  with  pastures  and 
fields  of  grain,  and  high  over  all  rises  the  old  castle  of 
Banias,  perhaps  the  "  Tower  of  Lebanon  that  looketh  towards 
Damascus,"  of  the  song  of  Solomon.^  '  song  ot  soi 

7.-t, 

To  this  scene  Jesus  had  now  come,  and  might  have  found 
in  the  charms  of  nature  a  balm  for  His  tired  and  stricken  heart, 
had  He  been  free  to  think  of  such  outward  charms.  From 
the  hill  on  which  the  town  stood — one  of  the  lower  spurs  of 
Hermon — ^the  view  ranged  over  all  northern  Palestine,  from 
the  plains  of  Phenicia,  to  the  hiUs  of  Samaria.  In  the 
north-west  rose  the  dark  gigantic  mountain  forms  of  Leba- 
non ;  to  the  south  stretched  out  the  rich  table-land  of  the 
Hauran.  From  Hermon,  not  from  Zion,  or  the  i\Iount  of 
Olives,  one  beholds  "  the  good  land,  the  land  of  brooks,  of 
waters,  of  fountains,  of  depths  that  spring  out  of  the  valleys 
and  hills ;  a  land  of  wheat  and  barley,  and  vines,  and  fig- 
trees,  and  pomegranates  ;  a  land  of  oil  olive  and  honey."  ^'^  wDents.  1 5. 
Far  and  near  the  surpassingly  fruitful  landscape  was  watered 
by  sparkling  brooks  flowing  into  the  main  stream  of  Jordan, 
here  only  twenty  steps  broad.  So  far  back  as  the  daj-s  of  the 
Judges,  the  children  of  Dan,  -wandering  hither  from  the  south, 
had  found  it  to  want  nothing  that  earth  could  give.  Wheat 
fields  alternated  -ivith  fields  of  barley,  maize,  sesame,  and  rice, 
olive  orchards,  meadows,  and  flowery  pastures,  the  delight 
of  countless  bees ;  and  the  slopes  were  covered  mth  woods, 
vocal  with  the  songs  of  birds. 

But  even  Jesus  had  few  thoughts,  at  such  a  time,  for  such 
natural  charms.  He  was  a  fugitive  and  outlaw,  rejected  by 
the  nation  He  had  come  to  save ;  safe  only  because  He  was 
outside  the  bounds  of  Israel,  in  a  heathen  region.  It  was 
clear  that  His  public  work  was  virtually  over,  for  even  in 
Gahlee,  where  multitudes  had  followed  Him,  His  popularity 
had  waned  under  the  calumnies  of  the  Rabbis,  and  His 
steady  refusal  to  sanction  the  popular  conception  of  the 
IMessiah.     From  the  moment  they  had  seen  that  He  sought 


236  THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

cHAP.xLvi.  only  spiritual  aims,  and  was  not  a  second  Judas  tlie  Galila?an 
they  had  gone  back  to  their  own  teachers,  who  favoured  the 
national  views,  and  instead  of  demanding  repentance  and  a 
new  life,  recognized  them  as  the  favourites  of  Jehovah,  and 
the  predestined  heirs  of  the  Messiah's  Kingdom.  The  death 
of  the  Baptist  foretold  His  own  fate.  The  crisis  of  His 
life  had  come.  If  He  had  won  few  true  followers.  He  had 
securely  founded  the  New  Kingdom  of  God.  It  might  indeed, 
as  yet,  be  but  a  seed  in  the  great  field  of  the  world,  or  a 
speck  of  leaven  in  the  vast  mass  of  humanity ;  but  the  seed 
would  multiply  itself  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  the 
leaven  would  slowly  but  surely  spread,  age  after  age,  through 
the  whole  race  of  man.  His  own  death  would  now  no  longer 
be  fatal  to  the  Xew  Society ;  the  germ  of  its  fullest  develop- 
ment would  suj'vive  in  the  little  circle  of  the  Twelve,  and  of 
the  few  other  faithful  souls  who  had  received  Him. 

But  it  was  necessary  that  the  band  to  whom  the  spread  of 
His  Ivingdom  after  His  death  would  be  entrusted  should  be 
confirmed  in  their  faith,  and  enlightened  by  explicit  dis- 
closures of  His  relations  to  themselves  and  to  it.  There  was 
much,  even  in  their  humble  and  honest  hearts,  that  needed 
correction  and  elevation.  They  were  Jews,  trained  in  the 
theology  of  His  enemies,  and  still  unconsciously  influenced 
by  it  to  a  great  extent. 

Jesus  had  utterly  difterent  conceptions  of  His  kingdom 
from  theirs,  and,  therefore,  had  not,  as  yet,  claimed  the  title 
of  Messiah  in  any  formal  way,  even  in  the  circle  of  the 
Twelve,  though  He  had  never  hesitated  to  accept  homage, 
as  such,  when  it  was  offered.  Once,  to  the  Samaritan 
woman,  and  once,  by  silent  assent,  to  the  Twehe,  He  had 
assumed  the  awful  dignity,  and  the  whole  spirit  of  His 
teaching  and  life  implied  His  claim  to  it.  But,  even  to  the 
Twelve,  there  had  been  a  reticence  and  caution,  that  He 
might  not  anticipate  the  development  of  their  religious 
natiu'e,  and  disclose  a  mystery  they  were,  as  yet,  unable  to 
receive.  Before  the  people  at  large  He  had  never  assumed 
the  ]\Iessiahship,  for,  vnth.  their  gross  political  ideas,  to  have 
done  so  would  have  been  to  bring  Himself  into  collision 
with  the  State  at  once.      He  had  even,  as  far  as  possible. 


JESUS,    THE    KING-MESSIAH.  237 

kept  His  supernatural  work  in  the  background,  sliunning  crap^xi 
publicit}'  as  a  worker  of  miracles,  and  leaving  the  progress 
of  His  kingdom  rather  to  the  di\dne  beauty  of  His  teaching 
and  life.     To  have  put  Himself  for^yard,  from  the  first,  as 
the  ]\Iessiah,  would  have  closed  at  once  all  avenues  of  in- 
fluence, for  He  was  in  every  way  the  very  opposite  of  the 
national  ideal.     They  expected  their  race  to  be  exalted  to 
supreme  honour  and  power.      He  sought  to  humble  them  to 
the   lowliest  contrition.      They   expected  that,    under   the 
I\Iessiah,    the  heathen  would   boAV  before  Israel;  He  pro- 
claimed that  the  heathen  were  to  have  equal  rank  and  rights 
with  "  the  people  of  God."     They  expected  that  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  Rabbis,  with  their  infinite  observances,  were  to 
be  made  the  law  for  all  countries  and  ages  ;  He  announced 
their  utter  abrogation,  and  the  establishment  of  a  new  cove- 
nant of  filial  liberty  with  men  at  large,  in  place  of  the  old 
covenant  with  a  single  people.     They  expected  a  sudden  and 
violent  political  convulsion,  heralded  by  a  disturbance  of 
the  order  of  nature  by  unprecedented  signs  and  wonders  in 
the  heavens,  and  on  earthi,  and  of  the  history  of  nations.   He 
taught  that  the  Messianic  kingdom  would  be  brought  about 
only  by  the  silent  might  of  words,  and  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
renewing  all  natural  and  moral  relations  of  men,  but  only 
by  a  slow  and  well-nigh  imperceptible  advance.     Not  only 
the  nation,  but  even  the  Twelve,  had  utterly  to  unlearn  the 
fixed  ideas  of  the  past,  before  a  spiritual  :\Iessiahship  could 
be  welcome  to  them.     How  difiicult  that  was,  is  shown  by 
the  request  of  Salome,  the  mother  of  James  and  John,  after 
the  disciples  had  formally  acknowledged  their  Leader  as  the 
:Messiah,  that  her  two  sons  should  sit  in  the  high  places  of 
honour,  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  Messianic  throne."  "  Ma^io.35 

In  the  conscious  divinity  of  His  nature,  Jesus  had  never 
\-et  asked  the  Twelve  any  question  respecting  Himself,  but 
it  was  necessary,  now  that  the  end  Avas  approaching,  that 
they  should  know  Him  in  His  true  dignity.  He  must  re- 
veal Himself  definitely  as  the  Messiah,  and  be  formaUy 
accepted  as  such.  To  have  confined  Himself,  like  John,  to 
the  announcement  of  the  kingdom  of  God  as  at  hand,  would 
have    left    that    kingdom    incomplete,    and    have    created 


238  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLvi.  expectations  of  the  future  advent  of  some  otlier  as  its  Head. 
Without  a  personal  centre  round  Avhich  to  gather,  the  work 
of  His  life  would  have  faded  away  with  His  death.  He 
Himself,  in  the  deathless  beauty  of  His  life,  and  the  infi- 
nite attractiveness  of  His.  self-sacrificing  death,  must  neces- 
sarily he  the  abiding  soul  of  the  new  Society  through  all 
ages,  for  its  fundamental  principle,  from  the  first,  had  been 
personal  love  towards  Him.  His  words,  His  whole  life.  His 
voluntary  humiliation;  the  transcendent  self-restraint  and 
self-denial  which  had  used  unhmited  supernatural  power 
only  for  others ;  and  had  submitted  to  poverty,  obscurity, 
and  opposition,  erelong  to  culminate  in  the  endurance  of  a 
violent  death  for  the  good  of  mankind,  raised  Him  to  a 
divine  and  perfect  ideal  of  love  and  goodness,  Avhich,  of 
itself,  proclaimed  Him  the  King — that  is,  the  Messiah — in 
the  new  kingdom  He  had  founded.  "  The  love  of  Christ " 
Avas  to  he  the  watchword  of  His  followers  in  all  ages :  the 
sentiment  that  Avould  nerve  them  to  endure  triumphantly 
the  bitterest  persecutions,  and  even  death :  that  would  con- 
strain them  to  life-long  devotion  to  His  cause ;  in  obedience 
to  His  commands,  and  in  imitation  of  His  example.  The 
words  of  a  future  disciple,  St.  Paul,  would  be  only  the  utter- 
ance of  all  others  worthy  the  name,  in  every  age.  "  The 
'=  J  Cor.  5. 14.  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us.''^'-  With  St.  John,  they 
i3ijuhn4.io.  would  "love  Him  because  He  first  loved  us."^^  He  had 
founded  a  kingdom,  for  the  first  and  only  time  in  history,  on 
personal  love  to  the  founder,  and,  as  such.  He  must  definitely 
reveal  Himself  in  His  spiritual  relation  to  it  as,  henceforth,  its 
recognized  Messiah-King. 

A  crisis  so  momentous  in  the  development  of  His  great 
A\'ork  must  have  profoundly  affected  a  nature,  sensitive  and 
holy,  like  His.  His  Avhole  life  was  an  unbroken  communion 
with  His  Father  in  Heaven,  but  there  were  moments  when 
this  passion  of  the  soul  appeared  to  grow  more  intense.  His 
human  weakness,  though  unstained  by  evil,  was  fain  to 
strengthen  itself  by  the  near  presence  of  His  Father 
above,  with  whom  eveiy  beat  of  His  thoughts  moved  in 
undisturbed  and  awful  harmony.  In  all  His  temptations, 
He  had  ever  betaken  Himself  to  prayer,  and,  noAv,  when 


A   CRISIS. 


239 


Israel  had  rejected  Him,  and  there  rose  before  Him  only  the  cnAP.xLvi. 
vision  of  the  Cross ;  when  His  kingdom,  more  clearly  than 
ever,  was  to  go  forth  to  conquer  the  world  only  from  the 
gates  of  His  opened  grave  ;  when  He  had,  therefore,  while 
yet  with  them,  to  take  His  seat  among  those  in  whom  that 
kingdom  had  its  first  subjects, — as  its  Messiah- King— the 
moment  was  one  of  unspeakable  sublimity. 

He  had,  thus,  been  absorbed  in  thought  and  separated 
in  fervent  prayer,  as  they  passed  from  town  to  town  on  His 
northward  journey,  until  at  last  they  had  reached  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Csesarea  Phihppi.i*  There,  He  once  more  »sr,tt.e.  13-20. 
went  aside,  in  some  lonely  spot  among  the  rich  wooded  L^eD.l^i?: 
valleys,  for  solitary  prayer.  Before  He  returned  to  the 
Twelve,  He  had  determined  to  delay  no  longer  a  full  self- 
revelation  :  to  throw  aside  the  veil,  and  openly  assume  the 
Messiahship  which  had  long  been  silently  ascribed  to  Him  in 
His  httle  circle,  and  as  silently  accepted,  without  a  formal 
and  definite  assumption. 

"  Whom  do  men  say  that  I,  the  Son  of  Man,  am?  "  sufficed 
to  introduce  the  momentous  topic.  The  answer  showed  how 
little  He  had  been  understood,  and  how  utterly  the  fixed 
national  idea  of  a  Messiah  had  darkened  the  general  mind. 
"  Some  say  with  Antipas,  the  spirit  of  John  the  Baptist  has 
entered  Thee,  and  that  Thou  workest  through  it,  or  that 
Thou  art  John  himself,  risen  from  the  dead,  and  appearing 
under  another  name ;  some  that  Thou  art  Elias,  who,  like 
Enoch,  has  never  died,  but  was  taken  up  bodily  to  heaven, 
and  has  now  returned  in  the  body  as  Malachi  predicted,  to 
prepare  for  the  Messiah ;  some  that  Thou  art  Jeremiah, 
come  to  reveal  the  Ark  and  the  sacred  vessels  which  he  hid 
in  j\Iount  Nebo,  and  thus  inaugiu-ate  the  approaching  reign 
of  the  Messiah ;  or  one  of  the  prophets,  sent  from  the  other 
world  by  God,  as  a  herald  of  the  Coming  One."''  They  could 
not  add  that  any  regarded  Him  as  the  Messiah.  His  refusal 
to  appeal  to  force,  and  head  a  political  revolution,  had 
caused  an  almost  universal  repudiation  of  the  thought. 

Jesus  expressed  neither  sorrow  nor  displeasure  at  such  an 
utter  failure  to  recognize  Him  in  His  true  character.  He  had 
been  the  subject  of  the  keenest  interest  and  discussion,  from 


240  .  THE   LITE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLvi.  his  felt  relation  to  the  Expected  One,  and  this,  of  itself,  pro- 
mised a  I'icli  result,  when  His  followers,  after  His  departure, 
directed  the  minds  of  men  to  a  clearer  conception  of  the 
Messianic  Kingdom.  He  Himself  knew  whom  He  was,  and 
was  unaffected  by  any  popular  judgment.  But  He  had  now 
to  obtain  from  the  lips  of  the  Twelve  themselves, — the  special 
witnesses  of  His  life  and  daily  words, — a  higher  confession, 
which  He  knew  they  only  needed  a  question  from  Him  to 
utter  gladly.  "  But  whom  say  ye  that  I  am  ?"  Instantly 
from  the  lips  of  Simon  Peter,  the  impulsive,  tender,  loving, 
rock-like  disciple,  came  all  that  the  full  heart  of  His  Master 
waited  to  hear.  "Thou,  my  Master  and  Loi'd,"  said  he, 
doubtless  with  beaming  joy,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ — Antah 
Meschicha — the  Son  of  the  living  God."  Thus,  in  the  out- 
skirts of  the  heathen  town  dedicated  to  the  deified  Augustus, 
Jesus  was  proclaimed,  with  no  preparatory  circumstance,  in 
the  privacy  of  a.  small  circle  of  Galilaean  fishermen,  as  the 
King  of  the  Universal  Israel :  here,  a  fugiti\'e  whose  only 
earthly  crown  was  to  be  the  one  of  thorns,  He  assumed  pub- 
licly the  empire  of  all  the  world,  as  the  Messiah  of  God. 

The  gi'eatness  and  significance  of  this  confession  of  Peter's, 
made  in  the  name  of  the  Twelve,  cannot  be  exaggerated.  It 
was  a  striking  advance  towards  realizing  the  great  truth  of 
the  Incarnation,  and  the  clear  intelligence  would  one  day 
follow  the  open  and  ardent  utterance  of  the  heart.  Hitherto 
Jesus  had  revealed  Himself  chiefly  as  the  "  Son  of  Man," 
and  "  the  Son  of  God ;  "  but  He  now  received  from  those  Avho 
had  been  constantly  with  Him,  as  a  faint  acknowledgment  of 
the  conviction  wrought  by  His  life,  and  words,  and  mighty 
works,  the  formal  inauguration  as  the  Messiah-King  of  a 
spiritual  and  deathless  empire.     Nathanael  had  anticipated 

'=  John  1.50.  the  great  confession,  indeed,  at  the  opening  of  His  ministry,^'' 
and  the  disciples  had  recognized  Him  as  the  Son  of  God,  on 
that  wild  night  when  they  found  that  the  form  walking  on 
the  waves  was  not  the  spirit  of  the  storm,  but  their  loving 
]\Iaster,  and  when  the  veiy  winds  and  waves  were  seen  to 

i«  Matt.  u.  33.  obey  Him.^^  But  the  time  was  not  then  ripe  for  His  definite 
installation  as  Messiah,  and  the  incidents  passed  off.  Simon, 
also,  had  cheered  His  troubled  soul,  when  the  great  secession 


EULOGY   ON   PETER.  241 

of  the  disciples  took  place  at  Capernaum/'^  by  an  anticipation  ohap.  slvi. 
of  His  confession  at  Ca>sarea  Philippi,  but  He  bad  waived  it,  "  J<"^  •=•<=»• 
as  it  were,  aside.  Now,  however,  He  formally  accepted  what, 
hitherto.  He  had  silently  allowed ;  for  the  hour  had  come. 

"  Blessed  art  Thou,  Simon  Barjona,"  said  He;  "  Flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  this  to  you,  for  you  have  not  learned 
it  from  my  lowly  outward  form,  and  it  has  come  to  you  from 
no  human  teaching ;  My  Father  in  Heaven  has  thought 
you  worthy  to  have  it  revealed  to  you."  It  was,  indeed,  an 
amazing  utterance.  The  Twelve  had  been  the  daily  witnesses 
of  the  human  simplicity  and  poverty  of  His  life,  His  home- 
lessness.  His  weary  wanderings  afoot,  and  all  the  circum- 
stances of  His  constant  humiliation,  which  might  have 
counterbalanced  the  great  memories  which  their  privileged 
intimacy  had  afforded,  and  obscured  their  spiritual  signifi- 
cance. These  last  months  had,  moreover,  surrounded  Him 
with  all  the  depreciations  of  a  fugitive  life.  Yet  they  had 
broken  through  the  hereditary  national  prejudice  of  their  race, 
with  whom  tradition  and  absolute  uniformity  in  religious 
things  had  an  inconceivable  power, — they  had  disregarded 
the  judgment  of  their  spiritual  rulers  and  leaders;  risen  above 
the  vitmost  ideas  of  those  around;  and  had  seen,  in  their  lowly 
rejected  Master,  the  true  Lord  of  the  new  kingdom  of  God. 
Nor  is  the  fact  less  wonderful  that  the  life  and  words  of 
Jesus,  seen  thus  closely,  should  have  created  such  a  lofty 
and  holy  conception  of  His  spiritual  greatness,  amidst  all  the 
counteractions  of  outward  fact  and  daily  familiarity.  In 
spite  of  all,  He  was  the  ilalka  Meschicha — the  King-Messiah 
— to  those  who  had  known  Him  best. 

The  ardent,  immovable  devotion  of  Peter,  the  first  to 
o-\vn  his  Master  as  Messiah,  as  He  had  been  first  in  all  other 
utterances  of  ti-ust  and  reverence,  won  for  itself  an  illustrious 
tribute  from  Jesus.  The  weary,  sad  heart,  that  had  so  much 
to  grieve  it,  had  been  filled  for  the  time  with  a  pure  and 
kingly  joy  at  the  proof  thus  given,  that,  at  last,  a  true  and 
sohd  beginning  had  been  made.  He  had,  doubtless,  long 
yearned  for  a  time  when  the  Twelve  would  be  advanced 
enough  in  spiritual  things  to  let  Him  disclose  His  utmost 
thoughts  and  ultimate  designs,  and  this  time  had  now  come. 

VOL.  II,  55 


242  THE  LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

rHAP.  sxYi.  He  liad  never  yet  spoken  of  the  future  government  or  organ- 
ization of  the  New  Kingdom,  as  a  visible  communion,  and 
did  not  propose  to  lay  down  any  detailed  laws  even  now. 
He  hastened  to  tell  Peter,  however,  that  this  society, — His 
Church"'  or  consregation,  "called  out"  from  the  world  at  larOT, 
would  be  entrusted,  after  His  decease,  to  him.  As  buildings 
in  the  country  around  Avere  founded  on  a  rock,  that  the 
floods  and  storms  might  not  overthrow  them,  so  it  would  be 
raised  on  the  rock-like  fidehty  shown  by  him  in  his  great 
confession. 

Turning  to  him,  He  continued,  "  I  have  something  to  say 
that  concerns  thee.  Thou  art  to  me,  as  when  I  first  saw  you, — 
Petros; — the  rock  (petra)  Avhicli  I  will  make  the  founda- 
tion stone,  when  my  Clun'ch,  in  which  my  followers  will  be 
enrolled,  is  to  be  built.  In  its  building  you  will  do  me  the 
greatest  service,  like  the  stone  on  which  all  others  rest,  itself 
resting  on  the  firm  rock  beneath — which  is  Myself.  On  you 
and  such  i"ock-hke  souls,  it  will  rise,  but  on  you  first ;  and  the 
gates  of  death  will  be  powerless  against  it,  for  it  shall  outlive 
the  grave  and  reach  on  into  eternity.  Unopening  though 
the  gates  of  the  grave  be,  they  shall  open  wide  to  let  forth 
my  followers  to  the  resurrection  of  the  just,  nor  shall  the 
powers  of  evil  be  able  to  overturn  the  new  society  thus 
gathered.  I  have  called  you  the  rock  on  which  I  shall  raise 
my  Church" — I  call  you  also  the  steward,  to  whom  the  charge 
of  it  is  entrusted.  As  such  I  shall  give  you,  after  my  ascent 
soei3iiah  to  heaven,  the  keys  of  it,^^  to  admit  such  as  you  think 
Gfrorer,i.  155.  worthy,  both  Jcws  and  heathen,  and  to  shut  out  those  Avhom 
you  think  unfit.  I  commit  to  you,  moreover,  the  govern- 
ment and  discipline  of  its  membership  :  whatever  you  forbid 
as  unbecoming  my  kingdom,  or  as  unfitting  for  membership 
in  it,  shall  be  as  if  forbidden  by  me,  mj^self,  in  heaven , 
and  whatever  you  permit,  as  not  contrary  to  its  welfare, 
or  not  excluding  from  it,  shall  be  as  if  I,  myself,  per- 
mitted it,  from  above.  It  wiU  be  left  to  your  decision,  which 
will  be  recognized  before  God,  what  may  be  forbidden,  as  a 
hindrance  to  entry  into  my  Church  on  earth,  or  unworthy  of  it; 
and  what  may  be  permitted,  as  not  barring  from  its  member- 
ship."^    How  Peter   exercised  this  honour  in  the  Apostolic 


CALL   TO   JERUSALEM.  243 

Church  was  hereafter  to  be  seen,  when  he  rose  as  spokesman  chap,  slyl 
of  the  eleven  in  the  election  of  a  twelfth  :^^  when  he  spoke  "  ^"l/sV^ss; 
for  them  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  before  the  multitude,    Vslth^^s, 

,  29 ■  8  20  • 

and  by  his  constant  mention  as  chief  and  foremost  of  the    io.'5;'ii.'2: 

•'  _  ,  12. 5,  So.,  So. 

Apostles.  Jesus  was  almost  immediately  to  extend  the  same 
dignity  and  authority  to  the  whole  of  the  Twelve,-"  Jbut  20  Matt.  is.  is. 
Peter  had  iust  precedence  in  recognition  of  his  worth  and  Apostouc^' 
character.  The  figments  of  Roman  creation,  by  which,  from 
this  tribute  to  his  love  and  enthusiasm,  a  vast  structure  of 
priestly  arrogance  and  usurpation  has  been  raised,  need  no 
notice  in  this  place. 

The  New  Society  was  at  last  formally  constituted,  and 
provision  made  for  its  government  and  continuance  after  its 
founder's  death.  Henceforth,  He  moved  in  the  circle  of  the 
Twelve  as  the  recognized  ]\Iessiah  of  whom  they  were  the 
future  designated  heralds. 

But  the  approaching  end  of  the  great  drama  could  not  be 
left  untold.  Jerusalem  was  the  one  spot  in  which  alone  the 
work  of  Jesus  could  be  completed.  Galilee  had  been  only 
the  place  of  prepai'ation.  The  Temple  and  its  ministering 
priests,  the  Rabbis  and  the  schools,  were  in  the  Holy  City. 
David  had  reigned  there,  and  there  must  the  Messiah  be 
declared,  to  vindicate  the  honour  of  God,  and  proclaim  the 
new  spiritual  theocracy  in  the  centre  of  the  religious  world. 
His  work  in  Galilee  was  virtually  over,  for  though  not 
finished,  it  Avas  hoj^elessly  paralyzed  and  checked.  He  might 
return,  but  it  would  avail  nothing  against  the  conspiracy 
that  everywhere  faced  Him.  But  in  Jerusalem  His  woi-k 
was  both  to  begin  and  to  complete.  He  must  go  to  the 
Capital,  for  Galilee  was  in  great  measure  closed  against 
Him.  He  had  assumed  the  Messiahship,  and  he  must  needs 
proclaim  it  openly  before  His  enemies  in  their  stronghold. 
He  knew  that  only  death  awaited  Him,  but  that  death  had 
been  foreseen  in  the  eternal  counsels  of  God  as  the  mys- 
terious atonement  foi>  the  sins  of  the  world. 

It  would  have  been  premature  to  have  spread  abroad  the 
momentous  incident  of  the  ascription  and  formal  accept- 
ance of  the  title  of  Messiah.  The  Twelve  must  needs  know 
the  great  truth,  but  the  multitude  must,  for  a  time,  be  left 


244  THE   LIFE    OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLvi.  iQ  their  own  fancies.  He  was  to  be  preached  as  a  crucified 
and  risen  Saviour,  not  as  a  Jewish  Messiah,  and  tliis  could 
not  be  till  the  end  had  come.  Nor  did  the  Twelve  as  yet  under- 
stand the  divine  j^lfin  of  salvation  clearly  enou,2:h,  and  the 
Jews,  moreover,  might  have  taken  advantage  of  the  preach- 
in*  for  seditious  movements.  So  imperative  was  temporary 
secrecy,  indeed,  that  He  gave  the  strictest  injunctions  that 
no  man  should  be  told  what  had  happened. 

The  idea  of  a  suffering  Messiah  was,  however,  so  Avholly 
foreign  to  all  prevailing  conceptions,  that  it  was  indispensable 
that  the  catastrophe  at  Jerusalem,  foreseen  by  Jesus  from 
the  first,  but  now  near  at  hand,  should  be  made  familiar  to 
the  Twelve,  as  part  of  the  all-wise  puqiose  of  God  in  the 
development  of  the  new  spiritual  kingdom.  It  has  been  a 
disputed  point  whether  any  of  the  Rabbis  of  Christ's  day 
had  thought  of  the  Messiah  as  destined  to  sufl^er  and  die.^ 
Beyond  question  some  had  applied  to  Him  the  passages  of 
Isaiah,  which  speak  of  the  servant  of  God  as  wounded  for 
our  transgi'cssions,  but  it  is  equally  certain  that  the  idea  had 
not  only  found  no  general  acceptance,  but  was  entirely 
opposed  to  the  feeling  of  the  nation.  From  this  time,  there- 
fore, Jesus  began  systematically  to  prepare  the  Twelve  for 
His  approaching  violent  death,  returning  to  the  sad  topic 
at  every  opportunity ;  that  a  truth,  so  disagreeable  and  so 
contraiy  to  their  life-long  ideas,  might  gradually  become 
familiar  to  them ;  and  that  they  might  come  to  feel  that 
it  was  in  accordance  with  the  divine  plan  of  His  kingdom. 
He  had  spoken  of  it  before,  but  now  threw  aside  all  vague- 
ness, and  impressed  it  on  them  with  the  utmost  distinctness ; 
doubtless,  explaining  from  their  own  Scriptures,  as  He  did 
afterwards  to  the  disciples  at  Emmaus,  how  "  it  Avas  necessary 
that  Christ  should  suffer  these  things,  and  then  enter  into 

=1  Luite  24. 2G.    His  glory."-^     To  revolutionize  fixed  belief  is  never  easy, 

Matt.16.21— 28.  i  .n   i 

Mark  8. 31-38;  for  the  wiU  has  to  be  persuaded  as  weU  as  the  understand- 

Luke 9.22-27. -Qg      Hithcrto,  their  minds  had  not  been  prepared  for  such 

a  shock,  and  even  yet,  as  we  shall  often  see,  they  were  very 

slow  to  give  up  their  preconceptions,  and  realize  what  seemed 

so  contradictory. 

It  was  impossible,  how^ever,  to  mistake  the  warnings  of 


A   KEW   TEMPTATION.  245 

tlieir  Master,  however  hard  it  might  be  to  reconcile  them  CHAP.XL^•^ 
■with  their  own  ideas.  "He  must  go  to  Jerusalem,"  He 
said,  "  and  suffer  many  things  of  the  elders,  and  chief 
pi'icsts,  and  scribes,  and  be  kiUed,  and  after  three  days,  rise 
again."  But  so  far  were  the  Twelve  from  comprehending 
such  an  announcement,  that  Peter,  too  impulsive  to  wait  for 
an  oj^portunity  of  telhng  how  much  it  distressed  hun,  could 
not  restrain  his  feelings.  True  to  his  character,  he  forth- 
■\vith  took  Him  by  the  hand,  and  led  Him  aside,  to  remon- 
strate with  Him,  and  dissuade  Him  from  a  journey  which 
would  have  such  results.  "  God  keep  this  evil  far  from 
Thee,  my  Lord  and  Master,"''  said  he.  "  You  must  not  let 
such  things  happen.  They  will  utterly  ruin  the  prospects 
of  your  kingdom,  for  they  match  ill  Avith  the  dignity  of  the 
Messiah.  If  there  be  any  danger  such  as  you  fear,  why  not 
use  your  supernatural  power  to  preserve  yourself  and  us. 
It  is  not  to  be  endured  that  you  should  suffer  such  in- 
dignities." It  was  the  very  same  temptation  as  the  arch 
enemy  had  set  before  Him  in  the  wilderness :  to  employ 
His  divine  power  for  His  own  advantage,  instead  of  using  it, 
Avith  absolute  self-surrender,  only  to  carry  out  the  will  of 
His  Father.  But,  as  ever  before,  it  was  instantly  repelled.  / 
His  quick,  stern  answer  must  have  made  Peter  recoil  afraid. 
"  Get  thee  behind  me,"  said  He,  "  out  of  my  sight,  thou 
tempter  ;  thou  art  la^dng  a  snare  for  me  ;  thy  words  shew 
that  in  these  things  thou  enterest  not  into  the  thoughts  and 
plans  of  God,  but  considerest  all  things  only  from  the  ideas  of 
men,  with  their  dreams  of  ambition  and  human  advantage." 
Peter  still  fancied  that  Jesus  woidd  be  an  earthly  monarch, 
and  that  the  proper  course  to  take,  under  the  circumstances, 
was  to  oppose  force  with  force.  He  had  yet  to  learn  that 
the  kingdom  of  His  Master  was  to  be  established  by  suffering 
and  self-denial. 

It  was  a  moment  unspeakably  solemn.  Even  the  few 
faithful  ones,  and  their  very  Corypha?us, — their  leader  and 
mouthpiece — while  hailing  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  clung  to 
the  old  national  ideas,  and  could  not  reconcile  them  with 
His  suffering  and  dying.  He  had  rebuked  the  temptation 
which  appealed  to  Him  as  a  man,  so  strongly,  to  take  the 


246  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CBAP.  sLYi.  ease  and  glory  whicli  invited  Him,  and  to  abandon  the  path 
of  sorrow  and  lowliness,  which  might  be  the  spiritual  life  of 
the  world,  but  was  His  own  humiliation  and  martjTdom. 
It  had  been  driven  away  from  His  stainless  soul,  like  dark- 
ness from  the  sun,  but  its  power  in  the  minds  even  of  the 
Twelve,  was  only  too  clear.  The  truth,  in  all  its  repug- 
nancy, must  be  forced  on  them  more  clearly  than  ever,  that 
they  might  no  longer  continue  vdih  Him  if  it  offended  them ; 
for  He  would  receive  none  as  His  disciples  who  did  not 
cheerfully  embrace  a  life  of  self-denial  and  absolute  devo- 
tion, even  to  the  sacrifice  of  life,  for  His  sake ;  with  no 
prospect  whatever  of  earthly  reward.  Nor  would  He  even 
accept  any  one  willing,  from  a  mercenary  spirit,  to  suffer  here 
that  He  might  receive  a  reward  hereafter ;  for  though  such 
a  reward  was  promised  to  those  who  were  faithful  to  the  end, 
absolute  sincerity  was  required  in  His  service.  It  must  be  the 
\  grateful,  spontaneous  expression  of  true  love  and  devotion. 

Even  in  such  an  outlying  district  as  that  of  Ca^sarea 
Philippi,  nundjei's  of  the  population — for  there  were  many 
Jews  in  the  region — had  gathered  to  hear  and  see  him,  and 
were  near  at  hand  at  the  moment.  The  test  required  of  the 
Twelve  was  no  less  imperative  for  these  :  the  "  floor  "  must 
be  thoroughly  "  fanned  and  cleansed "  from  all  self-decep- 
tion or  designed  hypocrisy. 

"Without  giving  Peter  time,  thei'efore,  to  excuse  himself, 
and  leaving  him  to  the  shame  of  his  reproof,  Jesus  called 
the  people  and  the  Twelve  round  Him,  and  continued  the 
subject  on  which  He  had  begun  to  speak. 

"  I  must  needs  suffer,"  said  He,  "  before  I  enter  into  my 
glory,  but  so  must  all  who  would  be  my  followers.  If  any 
man  propose  to  be  my  disciple,  he  must  literally  follow  me 
in  my  path  of  humiliation  and  sorrow.  Whatever  would 
hinder  absolute  devotion  and  self-sacrifice  must  be  given  up. 
He  must  make  !Me  his  one  aim.  All  that  stands  in  the  way 
of  undivided  loyalty  to  Me — the  love  of  ease,  of  pleasure, 
and  even  of  life — must  be  surrendered.  The  hopes  and 
prospects  which  engage  other  men  must  be  abandoned,  and 
in  their  stead  he  must  daily  take  u])  the  sufferings  and  self- 
denials  which  come  on  him  for  my  sake,  and  bear  them  as  a 


CHKIST    SPEAKS    TO   THE   PEOPLE.  247 

man  condemned  to  death  bears  the  cross  on  which  he  is  to  chap,  sxvi 
die.  I  have  set,  and  shall  set  him  the  example  I  require 
him  to  follow.  Any  one  who  thinks  he  can  be  my  disciple, 
and  enter  into  my  kingdom  hereafter,  and  yet  bear  himself 
so  in  this  evil  time  as  to  escape  suiFering  and  enjoy  hfe  and 
its  comforts,  deceives  himself.  If  he  seek  this  life  by  deny- 
ing my  name,  as  he  must  needs  do  in  this  age  to  escape 
persecution,  he  will  lose  life  eternal.  But  he  who  is 
willing,  for  mj'  sake,  to  sacrifice  his  natural  desire  for  plea- 
sure and  ease,  and  even  to  give  up  life  itself,  if  required,  for 
my  name,  will  receive  everlasting  life  Avhen  I  come  in  my 
kingdom.  Hard  though  this  seem,  it  is  the  wisest  and  best 
thing  you  can  do  to  comply  heartily  with  it.  What  has  a 
man  in  the  end  if,  by  denying  me  for  his  worldly  interests, 
he  gain  even  the  whole  world,  and  lose  that  life  which  alone 
is  worthy  the  name  ?  Unprepared  for  the  eternal  life  of  my 
kingdom,  and  without  a  share  in  it ;  with  his  breath  he  loses 
not  only  all  that  he  has,  but  himself  as  well.  What  gain 
here  will  repay  him  for  the  loss  of  the  life  hei'eafter? 

"  I  say  this  on  good  grounds,  and  with  absolute  truth. 
For,  though  now  only  a  man  like  j'ourselves,  I  shall  one 
day  return  in  a  very  different  form,  with  the  majesty  of  my 
Father  in  heaven,  and  accompanied  by  legions  of  angels,  to 
recompense  every  one  according  to  his  works.  In  that  day 
each  true  disciple  will  be  rewarded  according  to  his  loving 
devotion  and  self-sacrifice  for  my  sake,  and  will  be  received 
by  me,  as  the  Messiah,  into  my  kingdom.  But  I  shall  be 
ashamed  of  any  one,  and  count  him  imfit  to  enter  that 
kingdom,  who  for  love  of  life  and  ease,  or  for  fear  of  man, 
or  from  shame  of  my  j^resent  lowly  estate,  or  of  my  cross, 
has  wanted  courage  and  heart  to  confess  me  openly,  and 
separate  himself,  in  my  name,  from  this  sinful  generation. 
It  may  be  hard  for  you  to  think,  as  you  see  me  standing 
here  before  you,  that  I  shall  one  day  come  in  heavenly 
majesty;  but  that  you  may  know  how  surely  it  will  be  so,  I 
shall  grant  to-  some  of  you,  now  present,  a  glimpse  of  this 
majesty,  not  after  my  death,  but  Avhile  I  am  still  with  you, 
that  they  may  see  me,  the  Son  of  Man,  in  the  glory  in  which 
I  will  come  when  I  return  to  enter  on  my  kingdom." 


248 


THE  LIFE   OF   CHEIST. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 


CHAP.  XLVU. 

1  Authorities  for 
this  chapter: — 
Hess,  Leben 
Jesu,  ii.naf. 
EwaH  V.  460, 
461.    Preasel, 
1S6  ff.    Light- 
foot,  Hor.  Heb. 
ii.  243. 
Schleier- 
macher's 
Predigten,  ii. 
386 ;  iv.  388. 
EosenmliUer'a 
Schoha  on 
New  Test 
in  loc. 


THE  TRANSFIGURATION. 

JESUS  had  now  utterly  broken  with  the  past.^  Hitherto 
He  had  been  slowly  educating  the  Twelve  to  right  con- 
ceptions of  Himself  and  His  great  Avork,  and  in  doing  so 
had  had  to  oppose  their  stubborn  prejudice,  enlighten  their 
ignorance,  illustrate  His  meaning  by  significant  acts,  resist 
the  sophistry  and  superficial  literalism  of  the  Rabbis,  and 
lead  the  way  to  a  higher  spiritual  ideal  and  life  by  His  own 
daily  example  and  words.  They  had  now  been  iu  His 
society,  however,  for  over  two  years,  and,  at  last,  had  risen 
to  a  more  just  estimate  of  His  dignity  and  of  the  nature  of 
His  work.  He  was  henceforth  free  from  the  anxiety  which 
had  been  inevitable  so  long  as  nothing  had  been  definitely 
accomplished  towards  the  perpetuity  of  His  kingdom ;  for 
the  confession  of  Peter,  in  the  name  of  his  brethren,  was  the 
assurance  that  that  kingdom  would  outlive  His  own  death, 
and  spread  ever  more  widely  through  an  unending  future. 
The  joy  of  victory  filled  His  soul,  though  the  cross  lay  in 
the  immediate  future.  Henceforth  He  bore  Himself  as  soon 
to  leave  the  circle  with  whom  He  had  dwelt  so  long ;  now, 
preparing  them  for  His  humihation  by  showing  its  divine 
necessity ;  now,  uttering  His  deepest  thoughts  on  the  things 
of  His  kingdom  ;  now,  kindling  their  hearts  by  visii  ns  of 
the  joy  that  would  spread  over  all  nations  through  the 
Gospel  they  were  to  preach.  The  future  alone  filled  His 
heart  and  mind. 

His  gladness  of  soul  at  Peter's  confession  had,  like  all 
human  raptures,  been  tempered  by  shadow.  He  had  read 
the  hearts  of  the  Twelve,  and  saw  that,  though  they  had 
approached  the  truth  in  their  conception   of  the  Messiah, 


WITH   THE   TWELVE.  249 

they  were  still  Jews,  in  linking  with  it  the  expectation  of  an  ch.\p.  xlto. 
earthly  political  kingdom,  with  its  ambitions  and  human 
satisfiictions.  They  had  risen  above  the  difficulties  that 
bUnded  the  nation; — the  thought  of  Kazareth — Galilee — 
human  relationship — lowly  position — human  wants — rejec- 
tion by  the  Rabbis — familiar  intercourse  with  the  "unclean" 
multitude,  and  much  beside,  that  had  been  a  stumbling- 
block  to  others ;  but  it  was  hard  for  them,  in  the  presence 
of  one  who,  to  outward  appearance,  was  a  man  like  them- 
selves, to  realize  that  He  was  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God, 
and,  like  His  Father,  di\-ine. 

The  announcement  that  He  was  to  enter  into  His  glory  as 
Messiah,  by  suffering  shame  and  death,  not  only  shocked  all 
their  preconceptions;  they  could  not  understand  it,  and 
were  sorely  discouraged.  They  needed  to  be  cheered  in 
their  despondency,  and  led  gradually  to  accept  the  dis- 
closure of  His  approaching  humiliation.  His  promise  that 
some  of  them,  before  their  death,  should  see  His  kingdom 
come  with  power,  was  doubtless  treasured  in  their  hearts ; 
but  they  little  thought  its  fulfiknent  was  so  near. 

Six  days  passed  ;2  or  eight,  including  the  first  and  last: ,  Matt.  17. i_i3. 
days  full,  doubtless,  of  sad  and  grave,  as  weU  as  joyous,  ^e'.ldsl 
thoughts  :  sad  that  their  Master  spoke  of  suffering  violence, 
and  death  :  grave  that  He  should  not  only  have  dashed  all 
their  hopes  of  a  national  regeneration,  but  should  have 
painted  their  own  future  in  colours  so  sombre;  yet  joyous, 
amidst  all,  in  vague  anticipations  of  the  predicted  spiritual 
glory  of  the  New  Kingdom,  of  which  they  were  to  be  heralds. 
Little  by  little  they  would  be  sure  to  catch  more  of  His 
spirit,  from  daily  intercourse  with  Him,  and  learn  imper- 
ceptibly how  the  purest  joy  and  the  noblest  glory  come 
from  self-sacrificing  love ;  how,  in  the  highest  sense,  it  is 
more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.  We  are  told  nothing 
of  this  sacred  interval,  but  may  well  conjecture  how  it 
passed. 

The  scene  of  the  Transfiguration,  like  that  of  nearly  all 
other  incidents  in  the  life  of  our  Lord,  is  not  minutely 
stated.  St.  Luke,  indeed,  calls  it  "  The  Mountain,"  but  gives 
it  no  closer  name.      It  seems,   however,  certain,  that  the 


250  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

i-HAj.  xLvii.  tradition  which  from  the  clays  of  St.  Jerome  ^  has  pointed  to 

TJbier^""'  Mount  Tabor  as  the  locality,  is  incorrect.     The  summit  of 

DesTriptiones  that  hill — au  irrcgular  platform,  embracing  a  circuit  of  half 

Ti-     '  ""  '  an  hour's  Avalk,  was  apparently  from  the  earliest  ages  fortified, 

and  Josephus  mentions,  about  A.i).  GO,  that  he  strengthened 

the  defences  of  a   city  built  on  it.     Picturesque,  therefore, 

though  the  hill  looks,  as  the  traveller  approaches  it  over  the 

wide  Plain   of  Esdraelon,  it  could  not  have  been  tlie  spot 

where  Jesus  revealed  His  glory,  for  it  could  not  offer  the 

seclusion    and  isolation   indicated  in  the  gospels.     Nor   is 

there  any  reason  to  think  that  the  Twelve  and  their  Master 

'  ""■  '•'"■       had  left  the  neighbourhood  of  Cfcsarea  Philippi,  for  St.  Mark^ 

expressly  mentions  that  tliey  did  not  start  for  Galilee  till  at 

least  the  day  after. 

It  was,  doubtless,  therefore,  on  one  of  the  spurs  of  Her- 
mon,  "  the  lofty  mountain,"  near  which  He  then  found 
Himself,  that  the  Transfiguration  took  place.  Brought  up 
among  the  hills,  such  a  region  ;  with  distant  summits,  Avhite 
in  spots  with  snow,  even  in  summer ;  its  pure  air ;  and  the 
solitude  of  wood}' slopes  and  shady  valleys,  imist  have  breathed 
an  ethereal  calm  and  deep  peaceful  joy,  seldom  felt  amidst 
the  abodes  of  men,  on  the  wearied  and  troubled  spirit  of  our 
Lord. 

Taking  the  thi'ee  of  His  little  band  most  closely  in 
sympathy  with  Him,  and  most  able  to  receive  the  disclosures 
that  might  be  made  to  them.  He  ascended  into  the  hills 
towards  evening,  for  silent  prayer.  The  favoured  friends 
were  Peter — the  rock-like — His  host  at  Capernaum  from  the 
first ;  and  the  two  Sons  of  Thunder,  John  and  James ;  loved 
disciples  both,  but  John,  the  younger,  nearest  his  Master's 
heart  of  all  the  Twelve,  as  most  like  Himself  in  spirit.  They 
had  been  singled  out,  already,  for  similar  especial  honour, 
for  they  only  had  entered  the  death-chamber  in  the  house  of 
Jairus,  and  they  were,  hereafter,  to  be  the  only  witnesses  of 
the  awful  sorrow  of  Gethsemane. 

Evening  fell  while  Jesus  poured  out  His  soul  in  high  com- 
munion with  His  Father,  and  the  three,  having  finished  their 
nightly  devotions,  had  -wTapped  themselves  in  their  abbas 
and  lain  do-*™  on  the  grass,  to  sleep  till  called.     Meanwhile 


THE   TRANSFIGURATION.  251 

their  Master  continued  in  prayer,  His  -whole  soul  filled  with  chap.slyii 
the  crisis  so  fast  approaching.  He  had  taken  the  three  with 
Him,  to  overcome  their  dread  of  His  death  and  repugnance 
to  the  thought  of  it,  as  unbefitting  the  Messiah ;  to  strengthen 
them  to  bear  the  siglit  of  His  humiliation  hereafter  ;  and  to 
give  them  an  earnest  of  the  glor}-  into  which  He  would  enter 
when  He  left  them,  and  thus  teach  them  that,  though  unseen, 
He  was,  more  than  ever,  mighty  to  help.  He  was  about  to 
receive  a  solemn  consecration  for  the  cross,  but,  with  it,  a 
strong  support  to  His  soul  in  the  prospect  of  such  a  death. 
He  was  a  man  like  ourselves,  and  His  nature,  now  in  its  high 
prime,  and  deUghting  in  life,  must  have  shrunk  from  the 
thought  of  dying.  The  prolonged  agony  and  shame  of  a 
death  so  painful  and  ignominious,  must  have  clouded  His 
spirit  at  times  ;  but,  above  all,  who  can  conceive  the  moral 
suffering  that  must  have  lain  in  the  thought  that,  though 
the  Holy  One,  He  was  to  be  made  an  offering  for  sin ;  that, 
though  filled  with  unutterable  love  to  His  people.  He  was  to 
die  at  their  hands  as  their  enemy;  that,  though  innocent 
and  stainless.  He  was  to  suffer  as  a  criminal ;  that,  though 
the  beloved  Son  of  God,  He  was  to  be  condemned  as  a 
blasphemer?  As  He  continued  praying,  His  soul  rose  above 
all  earthly  sorrows.  Drawn  forth  by  the  nearness  of  His 
Heavenly  Father,  the  divinity  witliin  shone  through  the  veil- 
ing flesh  till  His  raiment  kindled  to  the  dazzling  brightness 
of  light,  or  of  the  glittering  snow  on  the  peaks  above  Him, 
and  His  face  gloAved  with  a  sunlike  majesty.  Amidst 
such  an  effulgence  it  was  impossible  the  three  could  sleep. 
Housed  by  the  splendour,  they  gazed,  awe-struck,  at  the 
wonder,  when  lo !  two  human  forms,  in  glory  like  that  of  the 
angels,  stood  by  His  side — Moses''  and  Elijah — the  founder, 
and  the  great  defender  of  the  Old  Dispensation,  which  He  had 
come  at  once  to  supersede  and  to  fulfil.  Their  presence  from 
the  upper  world  was  a  symbol  that  the  Law  and  the  Prophets 
henceforth  gave  place  to  a  higher  Dispensation ;  but  they  had 
also  another  mission.  They  had  passed  through  death,  or 
at  least,  from  life,  and  knew  the  triumph  that  lay  beyond 
mortality  to  the  faithful  servants  of  God.  Who  could  speak 
to  Him  as  they  of  His  decease,  which  He  should  accomplish 


252  THE  LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

cH.\j'.xLvir.  at  Jerusalem,  and  temper  the  gloom  of  its  anticipation? 
Their  presence  spoke  of  the  gi'ave  conquered,  and  of  the 
eternal  glory  beyond.  The  empty  tomb  under  Mount 
Abarim,  and  the  horses  and  chariot  of  EUjah,  dispelled  all 
fears  of  the  future,  and  instantly  banished  all  human 
Enskin's  Mod.  wcakncss.^     That  His  Eternal  Father  should  ha\x'  honoured 

Painters,  iii.  ,  ,  .  , 

88»-  and  cheered  Him  by  such  an  embassy  at  such  a  tune,  girt 

His  soul  to  the  joyful  acceptance  of  the  a'W'ful  task  of  re- 
demption. Human  agitation  and  spiritual  conflict  passed 
away,  to  return  no  more  in  their  bitterness  till  the  night 
before  Calvary.  His  whole  nature  rose  to  the  height  of  His 
great  enterprise.  Henceforth  His  one  thought  Avas  to  finish 
the  work  His  Father  had  given  Him  to  do. 

Meanwhile,  the  three  Apostles,  dazzled,  confused,  and  lost 
in  wonder,  gazed  silently  on  the  amazing  sight,  and  listened. 
But  it  is  not  given  to  earth  to  have  more  than  brief  ghmpses 
of  heaven.  Moses  and  Elijah  had  erelong  finished  their 
mission,  and  were  about  to  return  to  the  presence  of  God. 
Could  they  not  be  induced  to  stay  awhile  ?  Peter,  ever  first 
to  speak,  and  hardly  knowing,  in  his  contusion,  what  he  said, 
would  at  least  try  to  prolong  such  an  interview.  "  Master," 
said  he,  to  amplify  his  words,  "  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here ; 
let  us  gather  some  branches  from  the  slopes  around,  and  put 
up  three  booths,  like  those  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  ;  one 
for  Thee,  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elijah."  The  cares  and 
troubles  of  his  wandering  life,  and  all  his  gloomy  forebodings 
for  his  Master  and  himself,  had  faded  away  before  such 
brightness  and  joy,  and,  in  his  fond  child-like  simplicity,  he 
dreamed  of  lengthening  out  the  delight. 

The  Almighty  had  come  down  of  old,  to  Mount  Sinai,  in 
blackness,  and  darkness,  and  tempest;  but  now,  a  bright 
cloud  descended  from  the  clear  sky,  like  that  from  Avhich  He 
had  of  old  spoken  to  Moses  at  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle, 
and  overshadowed  Jesus  and  the  two  heavenly  visitors,  fill- 
ing the  three  Apostles  with  fear,  as  they  saw  it  spread  round 
and  over  their  Master,  and  those  with  Him.  It  was  the 
sjTnbol  of  the  presence  of  God,  for  He,  also,  had  drawn  nigh 
to  bear  witness  to  His  Eternal  Son.  It  Avas  not  enough  that 
Moses  and  Ehjah  had   honoured  Him — a  voice  from  the 


MOSES   AND   ELIAS.  253 

midst  of  the  cloud  added  a  stiU  higher  testimonj— "  This  is  chapjlvii. 

my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased ;  hear  ye  Him." 

Such  a  confirmation  of  the  great  confession  of  Peter  was 

never  to  be  forgotten.    Almost  a  generation  later,  when  he 

wrote  his  second  Epistle,  the  remembrance  of  this  night  was 

as  vivid  as  ever.   "We  were  eye-witnesses,"  says  he,  "of  His 

Majesty.     For  He  received  from  God  the  Father  honour  and 

glory,  when  there  came  such  a  voice  to  Him  from  the  excel- 

knt  glorv,  '  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 

pleased ;  hear  ye  Him.'     And  this  voice  which  came  from 

heaven,  we  heard,  when  we  were  with  Him  in  the  holy 

mount." «  The  brightness  of  a  vision  so  amazing  lingered  m'2Peteri.iT,i8 

the  memory  of  those  who  beheld  it  to  the  latest  day  of  their 

lives. 

Sore  afraid,  the  three  fell  on  their  faces,  for  who  could 
stand  before  God  ?  But  the  Voice  had  come  and  gone,  and,  • 
with  it,  the  Cloud  and  the  visitors  from  the  eternal  world ; 
and  Jesus  was  once  more  alone.  Calming  their  feai-s  by  a 
gentle  touch.  He  bade  them  "  arise  and  not  be  afraid,"  and 
they  found  themselves  once  more  alone,  Master  and  followers, 
with  the  stars  over  them,  and  the  silent  hiUs  around.  The 
di\ane  glory  had  faded  from  His  countenance,  and  His  robes 
were  once  more  hke  their  own,  but  they  could  never  forget 
in  what  ^lajesty  they  had  seen  Him ,  never  forget,  in  His 
humiUation,  that  they  had  heard  Him  called  "the  beloved 
Son,"  by  the  lips  of  the  Eternal  Himsetf;  nor  could  they  ever 
hesitate  whom  to  obey  when  they  had  seen  Moses  and  Elias- 
representatives  of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets-withdraw 
before  Him,  and  had  heard  Him  proclaimed  from  the  Cloud 
of  the  Presence  as  far  higher  than  they.  God  Himself  had 
said,  in  express  words,  or  m  effect,  "  He  who  is  now  .nth 
you  alone,  whose  heavenly  dignity  you  have  seen,  He  whom 
you  daily  see  in  His  wonted  lowliness,  is  the  same,  even  in 
this  humiliation,  as  when  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father— '31y 
Son  who  pleases  me  always.'  Henceforth  receive  the  Law 
from  His  lips  alone;  henceforth,  let  allmen^hear  Him  only; 
He  is  the  Living  Voice  of  the  unseen  God."^ 

It  was  now  morning,  and  the  nine  were  awaiting  the  return 
of  their  Master  and  His  friends.     What  the  conversation  was 


254  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CH.VP.  sLYii.  between  Jesus  and  the  three,  as  they  descended  from  the  moun- 
tain, is  not  told  us.  There  was,  once  more,  freedom  to  speak, 
though,  doubtless,  they  did  so  with  a  strange  reverence,  hardly 
venturing  to  talk  of  what  they  had  seen  and  heard.  Nor  could 
they  relieve  their  minds  by  telling  the  wonders  of  the  night 
to  the  others  of  the  Twelve,  for  even  they  were  so  little 
prepared  for  such  disclosures,  that  Jesus  commanded  that 
the  vision  should  be  told  "  to  no  man,  till  the  Son  of  Man 
be  risen  from  the  dead." 

It  illustrates  the  difficulty  Jesus  had  to  overcome,  before 
new  religious  ideas  could  be  familiarized  to  the  minds  even 
of  those  under  His  continuous  teaching,  that,  though  the 
three   had   often   heard   of  the   resurrection  of  the   dead 

'.inhn2.i9.      directlv  or  indirectly  from  Jesus  Himself/  tliev  were  at  a 

Murk  8  31  '  J 

loss  to  know  what  the  words  meant,  as  He  now  used  them, 
and  disputed  among  themselves  about  them.  He  had  told 
the  Jews  that  if  they  destroyed  the  Tem25le  of  His  body.  He 
should  raise  it  again  the  third  day ;  and  only  a  week  before 
the  Transfiguration,  on  the  day  of  Peter's  memorable  utter- 
ance. He  had  used  almost  the  very  words  which  perplexed 
them  now.  But  though  thrice  repeated,  they  were  stiU  dark 
and  mystei'ious. 

The  resurrection  from  the  dead  was,  indeed,  an  article  of 
the  current  Jewish  theology,  but  it  was  so  taught  by  the 
Rabbis,  that  the  three  found  it  hard  to  reconcile  their  pre- 
vious ideas  with  the  language  of  Jesus.  They  had  heard 
from  some  of  the  preachers  in  the  synagogues,  that  Israel 

«  Eisenmenger,  alouc  would  risc  ;  ^  from  others,  that  the  resurrection  would 

'  Eisenmenger,  includc  godly  heathen  also,®  who  had  kept  the  seven  com- 
mands given  to  the  sons  of  Noah ;  from  some,  that  all  the 
heathen  outside  the  holy  land  would  be  raised,  but  only  to 

'»  Eisenmenger,  shamc  aud  cvcrlasting  contempt  before  Israel ;  ^^  while  still 
others  maintained,  that  neither  the  Samaritans,  nor  the  great 
mass  of  their  own  nation,  who  did  not  observe  the  precepts 

■I  Eisenmenger,  of  the  Rabbis,  would  havc  part  in  the  resurrection."  But 
if  there  was  confusion  as  to  who  should  rise  again,  there  was 
still  more  contradiction  between  what  they  had  always 
heard  before,  of  the  occasion  and  time  of  the  resurrection ; 
and  the  words  that  had  fallen  from  Jesus.     They  had  been 


THE    RESURRECTION. 


255 


trained  to  believe  that  all  Israel  would  be  gathered  from  the  chap,  xlyil 
four  quarters  of  the  earth  at  the  coming  of  the  Messiah, 
and  that  the  dead  would  be  raised  immediately  after. ^^  But « 
before  this  resurrection,  which  would  thus  inaugurate  the 
reign  of  the  Messiah,  Elias  was  first  to  come,  and  they  still 
clung  to  this  idea,  in   spite  of  all  that  Jesus  had  said^^  to  " 
remove  it.    They  had  always,   moreover,    heard  the  syna- 
gogue preachers  say  that  the  holy  dead,  when  thus  raised, 
were    to    take  part   in   the   kingdom   of  the  j\Iessiah,    at 
Jerusalem,  and  once  more  become  fellow-citizens  with  the 
living. 

At  the  mention  of  the  resurrection,  therefore,  the  thought 
instantly  rose  in  their  minds,  how  it  could  take  place  when 
EUas  had  not  yet  appeared,   and  how  Jesus  could  speak  of 
Himself  alone  as  rising  from  the  grave,    and  that  on   the 
third  day.     It  was  clear  there  must  be  some  contradiction 
between  His  words  and  what  they  had  always  been  taught. 
What  could  He  mean  by  this  rising  from  the  dead  ?     Only 
He  could  answer.    To  solve  the  point  they  asked  Him,  "  How 
is  it  our  Rabbis  say  that  Elias  must  come  before  the  dead 
shall  be  raised — that  is,  before  the  opening  of  the  reign  of 
the  ]\Iessiah,  which  the  resurrection  is  to  announce  ?     You 
speak  of  yourself  rising,  alone,  from  the  dead,  and  that  on 
the  third  day,  and  say  nothing  about  this  reappearance  of 
Elias,  which  our  Rabbis  say  is  to  be  three  days  before  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah.^*     Is  it  wrong  when  they  tell  us  ■<  i 
that  he  will  stand  and  weep  and  lament  on  the  hills  of    g 
Israel,  over  the  desolate  and  forsaken  land,  till  his  voice  is    | 
heard  through  the  world,  and  that  he  will  then  cry  to  the 
mountains,  "  Peace  and  blessing  come  into  the  world,  peace 
and  blessing  come  into  the  world!" — "Salvation  cometh, 
salvation  cometh  !"^^  and  gather  all  the  scattered  sons  of  i^  e 
Jacob,  and  restore  all  things  in  Israel  as  in  ancient  times  ? 
They  say  that  EUas  will  turn  the  hearts  of  all  Israel  to 
receive  the  Messiah  gladl}- ;  how  is  this  to  be  reconciled  with 
your  saying  that  the  Messiah  must  suiFer  many  things  of  the 
high  priests  and  rulers,  and  be  rejected  and  put  to  death  ?  " 

"  You  are  right,''    replied  Jesus,  "  when   you   say  that 
EUas  must  come  before  me,  the  Messiah.     The  ^^"ipose  of 


256 


THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


CHAP.  sLYn.  God,  and  ancient  prophecy  require  it.  But,  as  I,  the  Son  of 
Man,  now  when  I  have  come,  have  to  suffer  many  things, 
and  be  set  at  nought  and  rejected,  as  the  prophets  have  fore- 
told, although  I  have  given  so  many  proofs  of  my  heavenly 
mission ;  so  has  it  already  happened  with  Him  who  was  the 
Elias  sent  by  my  Father  to  prepare  my  way.  He,  like 
myself,  has  already  come,  but  they  knew  him  as  little  as 
they  have  known  Me,  and  they  have  done  to  him  as 
their  hearts  wished.  He  has  suffered  even  to  death,  as  I,  the 
Messiah,  must  also  suffer."  Words  so  precise  could  not 
be  misunderstood.     They  saw  that  He  spoke  of  John  the 

16  Matt.  17.       Baptist.^*' 

14—21.   Murk  '■ 

Li^l"'  Our  moments  of  exaltation  and  rapture  are  only  passing, 

'''"*'■  and  are  often  thrown  into  vivid  contrast  by  the  shadows 
that  constantly  linger  beside  the  light.  Jesus  had  left  the 
other  disciples  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  when  He  ascended 
it  with  Peter  and  the  sons  of  Zebedee.  The  night,  with 
its  wondrous  vision,  had  passed  away,  and  He  was  now 
returning  to  His  little  band,  who  waited  for  Him  in  a 
neighbouring  hamlet  or  village.  The  Jewish  population 
scattered  round  Cajsarea  Philippi  had  already  heard  of  His 
arrival  in  their  parts,  and  from  various  motives  had  gathered 
to  see  and  hear  Him.  Hence  no  sooner  was  He  noticed 
descending  the  slopes,  than  the  whole  multitude  moved  in 
His  direction  to  meet  Him.  His  sudden  appearance  was 
opportune.  An  incident  had  just  taken  place,  which  was 
still  exciting  no  little  dispute  between  some  scribes  and  the 
disciples.  A  Jew  in  the  crowd  had  a  son — his  only  child — 
who  had  been  afflicted  from  birth  with  the  form  of  demoniac 
possession  shown  by  epilepsy,  joined  with  madness  and  want 
of  speech.  He  had  brought  him  in  the  hope  that  Jesus 
would  heal  him,  and  the  disciples,  who  had  often  before 
A^TOught  similar  miracles  when  sent  on  tours  through  the 
country,  had  tried,  in  His  absence,  to  heal  the  boy,  and 
had  failed.  It  was,  indeed,  a  sj)ecial  case,  for  the  lad  was 
subject  to  violent  convulsions,  in  which  he  foamed  at  the 
mouth,  and  gnashed  with  his  teeth,  and  these  had  often  en- 
dangered his  life,  by  coming  on  him  at  times  when  he  would 
have  been  droAvned  or  burned  had  not  help  been  near.     His 


WA2>!T   OF   STRONG   FAITH.  257 

whole  body,   moreover,    was  witherkig   away   under  tlicir  chap,  xlytl 
influence. 

The  failure  of  the  disciples  had,  apparently,  been  connected 
with  the  excitement  and  agitations  of  the  last  week.  Peter's 
confession  in  their  name  that  they  beUeved  their  Master  to 
be  the  ]\Iessiah,  had  been  sadly  overcast  by  the  shock  to  all 
their  previous  ideas  given  by  His  repeated  intimations  of 
His  approaching  violent  death,  and  that  a  similar  fate  might 
overtake  themselves.  It  had  been  a  week  of  spiritual 
struggle,  which  Jesus  designedly  left  them  to  undergo, 
though  He  knew,  throughout,  that  one  of  them  would  yield 
to  the  trial.  The  nearer  the  time  came  for  the  journey  to 
Judea  of  which  He  had  spoken,  and  the  less  they  could 
conceal  from  themselves  that  their  devotion  to  Him  was 
perilous  to  themselves,  the  more  troubled  and  faltering  grew 
their  minds,  and  this  inevitably  affected  them  in  all  their 
relations.  In  such  a  hesitating  and  half-dispirited  frame, 
they  had  no  such  triumphant  faith  as  when  they  had  gone 
out  on  their  first  independent  apostolic  mission  and  diseases 
and  evil  spirits  yielded  to  their  commands,  in  their  Leader's 
name.  Hence,  they  had  the  mortification  not  only  of  failing 
to  work  a  cure,  but  of  ha\'ing  to  bear  the  cavils  and  sneers  of 
the  Rabbis,  who  were  only  too  glad  to  seize  a  momentary 
triumph  at  their  expense. 

Meanwhile,  the  crowd  showed  Jesus  all  outward  respect. 
The  report  of  His  wonderful  deeds  elsewhere  had  raised  an 
excitement  that  was  visible  on  every  face.  They  greeted  and 
welcomed  Him,  and  were  impatient  to  hear  what  He  should 
say  in  this  matter  between  His  followers  and  their  own 
doctors. 

Turning  to  these,  now  in  the  flush  of  victory,  Jesus  dis- 
concerted them  by  the  simple  demand  to  know  the  matter 
in  dispute.  But  though  they  had  been  bold  enough  before 
the  simple  disciples,  they  were  silent  in  the  commanding 
presence  of  their  Master. 

Presently,  the  father  of  the  unfortunate  boy  pressed 
through  the  crowd,  catching  fresh  hope  that  the  Teacher 
could,  perhaps,  do  what  the  disciples  could  not.  Kneel- 
ing before  Him,  he  told  all  that  had  happened :  how  the 

VOL.  II.  56 


258  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

OHAP.xLTn.  disciples  had  been  willing  to  help,  but  had  failed.  The  whole 
story  kindled  Christ's  sad  indignation.  He  had  been  long 
with  both  disciples  and  people,  and  after  all  His  mighty  acts 
and  unwearied  teaching,  the  former  had  at  best  a  dark  and 
wavering  faith,  and  the  latter  were  ready  to  reject  Him 
entirely.  "  0  faithless  and  perverse  generation,"  cried  He, 
' '  have  ye,  then,  no  faith  at  all  ?  J\Iust  I  be  always  present  mth 
you?  Are  all  the  proofs  you  have  had  of  my  help,  when 
absent  from  you  in  body,  forgotten  ?  Have  not  I  given  you 
power  over  demons,  and  to  cure  diseases,  and  promised  to  be 
with  you,  that  you  might  do  such  wonders  ?  How  could  you 
show  such  want  of  faith  as  to  doubt  my  promises,  and  think 
anything  too  difficult  either  to  attempt  or  do,  whether  I  am 
present  with  you  or  not  ?  Will  you  never  conquer  your 
unbelief?  How  long  shall  I  suiFer  j'ou  ?  "Where  is  the  boy? 
Bring  him  to  me." 

The  boy  was  brought  at  once  ;  but  his  eyes  no  sooner  met 
those  of  Jesus  than  he  was  seized  with  a  paroxysm  of  his 
malady,  and  fell  on  the  ground,  in  violent  convulsions  and 
foaming  at  the  mouth.  Insane,  dumb,  and  writhing  on  the 
earth  :  no  sadder  spectacle  of  the  kind  could  well  have  been 
seen. 

It  was  desirable  that  the  crowd  should  have  the  whole 
incident  impressed  on  their  minds,  and  it  was  necessary  for 
the  permanent  good  of  the  agonized  father  himself  that  his 
faith  should  be  strengthened. 

"How  long  has  he  suffered  in  this  way  ?  "  asked  Jesus. 
"From  childhood,  and  often  the  spirit  casts  him   into 
the  water  and  into  the  fire,  to  kill  him.     But  if  Thou  canst 
do  anything  at  all,   have  compassion  on  me  and  him,   and 
help  us." 

"7/'  Thou  canst?"  replied  Jesus,  repeating  his  words 
in  gentle  rebuke. — "  All  things  are  possible  to  him  that 
believes." 

The  intense  emotion  of  the  father  could  restrain  itself  no 
longer.  His  son's  cure  had  been  made  to  turn  on  his  own 
confidence  in  the  Healer,  and  that,  even  if  felt,  might  not  be 
deep  enough  to  secure  the  favour  so  unspeakably  wished. 
In  his  distress  he  could  only  break  out  into  the  pitiful  cry 


HELP   5IINE    UNBELIEF. 


259 


which  has   risen  from   unnumbered   hearts  since  his  day,  cilvp^t.vit. 
"Yes,  I  believe:  help  Thou  mine- unbelief,  if  my  faith  is  too 
weak."  ° 

The  crowd  had  been  closing  in  from  all  sides  on  Jesus  and 
the  unhappy  fether  and  son,  and  further  delay  was  to  be 
avoided.  Turning,  therefore,  to  the  boy,  Jesus  addressed 
the  demon  :  "  Speechless  and  deaf  spirit,  I  charge  thee,  come 
out  of  him,  and  enter  no  more  into  him."  A  wild  shriek 
and  a  dreadful  convulsions^  followed,  and  then  the  boy  lay 
still  and  motionless,  so  that  he  seemed  dead.  Many,  indeed, 
said  he  Avas  dead.  But  Jesus  took  him  by  the  hand,  and, 
lifting  him  up,  delivered  him  to  his  father,  amidst  the 
loudly-expressed  wonder  of  the  multitude  at  the  mighty 
power  of  God. 

The  disciples,  humbled  by  their  failure,  and  unable,  in 
their  self-deception,  to  account  for  it,  took  the  first  opportu- 
nity, on  their  gaining  privacy,  to  ask  their  Master  to  what  it 
was  owing.  "  It  was  simply,"  said  Jesus,  "because  of  your 
little  faith ; "  indeed,  I  may  say  your  want  of  faith,  for  I 
assure  you  if  you  had  steadfast,  unwavering  faith,  tliough  ever 
so  small,  in  my  help,  and  in  the  power  of  God,  no  difficulty 
would  seem  too  great  for  you  to  remove.  You  know  how 
men  call  overcoming  difficulties  '  remo\dng  a  mountain  ;  '^  I 
tell  you  that  no  mountain  of  difficulty  would  be  so  great — 
far  less  this  one  which  foiled  you — that  it  would  not,  at  the 
word  of  firm  trust  in  God,  be  moved  out  of  your  way."^''  ^  seweier- 

-.,-,.    1  macher's 

"  As  regards  this  cure,  He  added,  "  you  had  to  do  with  a  R-|(iisten,ui 
kind  of  demoniac  possession,  which  especially  demands  strong 
faith,  for  every  attempt  to  overcome  it  without  such  faith 
as  comes  through  prayer,  so  persistent  that  it  neglects  even 
the  needs  of  the  body  for  the  time,  must  be  fruitless.^  It 
never  is  the  greatness  of  the  difficulty,  but  only  the  weakness 
of  your  faith,  that  stands  in  your  way.  Remember  this  in 
yeai's  to  come." 

Jesus  did  not  stay  long  in  the  district  of  Ctesarea  Philippi, 
but  erelong  turned  once  more  towards  Galilee,  probably 
taking  the  road  by  Dan,  across  the  slopes  of  Lebanon, 
with  the  wild  reed-forests  of  the  Huleh  marshes  on  its  south 
side,  and  on  its  north  the  huge  mountain  masses  of  Lebanon 


260  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAT.  xLviL  and  Hermon,  and  the  broad,  well-watered  sweep  of  upland 
>8  Matt.  17. 22,    valley  between. ^^    He  would  thus  most  easily  reach  the  hills 

23.    Mark  9.  *'  •' 

»!43^^'*°  of  Galilee  by  an  unusual  route,  and  escape  the  publicity  of 
an  approach  by  the  ordinary  roads.  It  was  the  last  time 
He  was  to  visit  the  scene  of  so  great  a  part  of  His  public  life, 
and  He  felt,  as  He  journeyed  on,  that  He  could  no  more  pass 
from  village  to  village  as  openly  as  in  days  gone  by,  for  the 
eyes  of  His  enemies  were  everywhere  on  Him.  The  time 
He  had  previously  given  to  teaching  and  healing  was  now 
devoted  mainly  to  the  special  preparation  of  His  disciples 
for  the  approaching  end.  Now  and  then,  when  special 
occasion  demanded.  He  was  as  ready  as  ever  to  relieve  the 
wretched,  or  to  justify  and  repeat  the  words  which  He  had 
so  often  delivered  in  the  synagogues;  but  He  usually  shunned 
notice,  not  wishing,  in  the  words  of  St.  Mark,  that  any  man 
should  know.  Avoiding  the  more  populous  places,  and 
seeking  by-paths  among  the  hills,"^  where  He  would  meet 
few  and  be  little  known,  He  made  His  way  towards  His  old 
home,  Capernaum.  But  He  could  no  longer  show  Himself 
anywhere  as  He  had  done  in  the  days  of  His  popularity,  for 
every  word  or  act  would  have  created  new  excitement,  and 
given  a  fresh  ground  for  accusation.  He  had  resolved  to  go 
to  'Jerusalem  and  there  meet  His  fate,  but  He  could  only  do 
this  by  guarding  against  anything  which  might  lead  to  His 
arrest  in  Galilee,  for  in  that  case  He  would  be  tried  and 
condemned  by  a  local  court.  Jerusalem  alone  must  see  the 
catastrophe,  for  it.  was  the  centre  of  the  nation,  the  head- 
quarters of  the  priesthood  and  Rabbis — His  enemies — and  His 
death  then  would  be  distinctly  their  work  :  their  open  and 
formal  rejection,  as  representatives  of  the  nation,  of  the  New 
liingdom,  and  of  Himself  as  the  Messiah. 

He  stayed  in  Galilee,  therefore,  only  so  long  as  His  purpose 
to  go  to  Jerusalem  permitted,  and  meanwhile  withdrew  from 
public  life,  to  devote  Himself  especially  to  the  Twelve  and 
prepai'e  them  for  His  death,  of  which  He  seems  to  have  spoken 
very  often.  One  of  the  fragments  of  His  intercourse  with 
them,  while  slowly  journeying  onwards  to  His  own  town,  has 
been  preserved  to  us.  "  You  have  heard,"  said  He,  "  how 
the  multitudes  express  their  amazement  at  the  mighty  power 


FALSE   HOPES   CHERISHED.  261 

of  God  shown  in  the  miracles  they  have  seen  me  perform,  as  chap.  sLvn. 
in  the  case  of  the  cure  of  the  boy,  after  my  descent  from  the 
mount.  Let  their  words,  in  which  they  have  thus  acknow- 
ledged and  magnified  my  acts  as  not  less  than  divine,  sink 
into  your  memories,  and  strengthen  and  confirm  your  faith 
in  me  as  the  Messiah.  For  I,  the  Son  of  Man — the  I\Iessiah 
— whose  mighty  works  you  have  heard  extolled  so  greatly, 
might  easily  have  set  myself  at  the  head  of  the  people,  and 
led  them  by  supernatural  power,  as  they  and  their  chief  men 
wish,  to  outward  national  glory.  But  I  will  assuredly  be 
delivered  up  and  abandoned  by  these  very  crowds,  and  given 
over  to  the  authorities,  because  I  -will  not  use  my  power  for 
any  but  holy  and  spiritual  ends.  I  will  be  betrayed  into 
the  hands  of  my  enemies,  and  they  will  put  me  to  death,  but 
I  shall  rise  again  on  the  third  day." 

They  were  too  full  of  their  worldly  hopes,  which  still 
mingled  strangely  with  their  vague  recognition  of  their 
Master  as  the  Son  of  God;  too  unwilling  also  to  think 
earnestly  on  a  subject  so  unpleasant,  and  so  opposed  to 
their  ideas  of  the  Messiah,  to  understand  what  He  meant 
by  these  sad  forebodings.  He  needed  only  speak  the  word 
and  the  people  would  follow  Him,  and  He  might,  by  His 
miraculous  power,  which  it  seemed  to  them  could  not  be 
used  for  a  nobler  end,  set  up  the  theocracy,  as  even  John, 
apparently,  had  expected  He  would.  Such  language  seemed 
part  of  His  dark  sayings,  with  a  secret  meaning  which  He 
would  some  day  explain.  They  would  fain  have  -wished 
this  explanation,  indeed,  at  once,  to  calm  their  minds,  but 
they  hesitated  to  ask  Him  for  it.  He  might,  perhaps,  if  they 
did  so,  tell  them  something  still  more  unpleasant,  as  He 
had  done  lately  to  Peter,  in  a  similar  case.  Besides,  they 
did  not  like  to  think  about  what  they  so  much  disrelished, 
and  turned  from  matters  which  only  filled  them  with  gloom 
to  others  more  in  keeping  with  their  wishes  and  hopes. 

These  oftered  themselves  in  the  distinction  Jesus  often 

seemed  to  make  in  His  bearing  to  one   or  other  of  their 

number.  1^     Human  nature  is  always  the  same,  and  jealous^'  "  Matt  is. 

•  c   •       1  -1  •  11      TT       1— 3'-   ^^'^ 

was  as  rue  in  those  days  as  now.     However  impartially  He    l^^"- 

might  treat  them,  their  own  characteristics  made  it  impossible 


46— ia 


262  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  XLYn.  that  he  should  be  as  intimate  and  confidential  with  some 
as  with  others.  In  some  cases,  as  in  the  Transfiguration, 
lately.  He  had  thought  fit  to  take  only  a  fijw  of  them  with 
Him,  and  He  seemed  lately  to  have  put  especial  honour  on 
Peter,  while  his  friendship  for  John  was  closer  and  more 
tender  than  for  any  other.  All  this,  however,  would  have 
troubled  the  less  favoured  ones  little  but  for  their  almost 
invincible  belief  that  He  would  soon  proclaim  Himself  as  the 
Messiah  in  the  Jewish  sense,  and  found  a  great  political 
kingdom.  Everything  was  seen  through  this  preconception, 
and  any  marks  of  preference  were  taken  as  indications  of 
future  position  in  the  expected  revolution.  They  assumed 
that,  having  been  chosen  from  all  their  countrymen  by  Jesus 
as  his  closest  followers,  they  would  have  the  chief  places  in 
the  new  empire  He  was  to  found,  but  there  was  abundant 
room  for  jealousy  in  their  individual  claims  to  this  or 
that  prominent  dignity.  Accustomed  to  discuss  everything 
openly,  they  naturally  fell  into  warm  controversy  as  to  the 
just  disti'ibvition  of  the  great  ofiices  of  state  among  them, 
when  Jesus  should  be  installed  as  Monarch  of  the  world  at 
Jerusalem. 

In  this  dispute,  however,  their  Master  took  no  part.  Nor, 
indeed,  did  they  wish  Him  to  do  so,  for  they  had  fallen 
behind,  in  order  that  He  might  not  hear  them.  They  were 
ashamed  to  have  Him  know  what  occupied  their  thoughts, 
so  little  in  harmony  with  His  teaching  and  spirit.  But  He 
had  noticed  all,  though  He  said  nothing  for  the  moment 
Meanwhile  they  once  more  entered  Capernaum. 


BEFOBE   THE   FEAST.  263 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

BEFORE     THE     FEAST. 

THERE  is  something  intensely  liuman  in  the  return  of  ca-u*.  sLvm 
Jesus  to  Capernaum  in  the  face  of  imminent  dancer.^ '  Matt.  n. 

.  .  .  24—27. 

It  had  been  His  home,  and  He  was  in  all  sinless  regards  a  "arUD.ss. 
man.  He  longed  to  see  the  old  femiliar  spots  once  more  ; 
the  hills  behind  the  town,  among  which  He  had  so  often 
■wandered ;  the  shady  woods,  and  orchards,  aiid  vineyards, 
rich  in  foliage,  or  glowing  with  their  ripening  fruit  in 
these  summer  months.  He  had  often  looked  out  from 
them  on  the  sparkling  waters,  and,  above  all,  had  met 
among  them  the  few  whom  He  had  gathered  round  Him  in 
His  long  sojourn  as  their  fellow-citizen.  These  He  would 
now  fain  strengthen  in  their  faith,  before  leaving  them  for 
ever. 

His  entrance  into  the  town  Avas  marked  by  an  application 
to  Peter  by  the  local  collectors  of  the  Temple  tax,  for  its 
payment  by  His  Master.  Moses  had  provided  funds  for  the 
erection  of  the  Tabernacle,  by  the  imposition  of  a  tax  of  half 
a  shekel  on  each  male,  payable  at  the  "numbering  of  the 
people,'"-  and  this,  since  the  Babylonish  Captivity,  had  been  -  Exoa.  30.11, 
required  yearly.  It  was  equal,  nominally,  to  about  one  and  n^*? lo^sl^' " 
threepence  of  our  money,  but  really  to  at  least  six  times  as 
much,^  and  Avas  demanded  from  every  Isi-aelite  of  the  atre  of  ^  Puxtorf,  .■>;7. 

•'  ^  Ewald,  Alter- 

twenty — even  the  poorest.  thumer.  403. 

./  1  Michaebs'  Da8 

It  was  mainly  from  this  heavy  tax,  paid  as  a  sacred  m.tm^'^' 
duty  by  every  Jew,  in  whatever  country,  that  the  Temple 
treasury  was  filled  with  the  millions  of  silver  coins  which 
were  so  strong  a  temptation  to  lawless  greed.  Ci'assus, 
Sabinus,  and  Pilate,  in  succession,  had  laid  violent  hands  on 
this  unmeasured  wealth,  and  the  reckless  greed  of  Florus  in 


264  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  sLvin.  its  plunder  was  the  proximate  cause  of  the  last  great  war, 
<  jo3.  Bell.  jud.  which  destroyed  both  Temple  and  city.*^ 

ji.  3. 3;  14.6;  •'  I  J 

15.  G.  I'ljg  Shelihim,''  or  "messengers,"  who  collected  this  tax  in 

Judea,  visited  each  town  at  fixed  times.  In  foreign  countries 
places  were  appointed  for  its  collection  in  every  city  or 
district  where  there  were  Jews — and  where  were  they  not  ? 
T-the  chief  men  of  their  community  in  each  acting  as 
treasurer,  and  conveying  the  amounts  in  due  course  to 
sphiiodo        Jerusalem.^      Three   huge  chests,    carefully  guarded  in  a 

Monarch,  u.  O  )  ./      O  _ 

Aiu  iTii"!'  1  Particular  chamber  in  the  Temple,  held  the  yearly  receipts, 
which  served,  besides  j^roviding  the  beasts  for  sacrifice,  to 
pay  the  Rabbis,  inspectors  of  victims,  copyists,  bakers, 
judges,  and  others  connected  with  the  Temple  service,  and 
numerous  women  who  Avove  or  washed  the  Temple  linen. 
It  supplied,  also,  the  costs  of  the  water  supply,  and  of  the 
repairs  of  the  vast  Temple  buildings. 

The  collection  began  in  the  Holy  Land  on  the  1st  of 
Adai' — part  of  our  February  and  March — the  month  of  the 
"  returning  sun,"  and  the  next  before  that  of  the  Passover. 
By  the  middle  of  it  the  official  exchangers  in  each  town  had 
set  up  their  tables,  and  opened  their  two  chests  for  the  tax 
of  the  current  and  of  the  past  year,  for  many  paid  the 
tax  for  two  years,  together.  They  supplied  the  old  sacred 
shekel,  coined  by  Simon  the  Maccabee,  for  a  trifling  charge, 
to  all  who  required  it,  for  only  that  coin  was  received  by  the 
Temple  authorities  in  homage  to  Pharisaic  and  national 
sentiment.  At  first  everything  was  left  to  the  good  will 
of  the  people,  but  after  the  25th,  prompt  payment  was 
required,  and  securities,  such  as  an  under  garment,  or  the 
like,  were  taken  even  from  the  pilgrims  coming  up  to  the 
feast. 

It  was  very  likely,  therefore,  that  the  time  of  gi-ace  had 
expired  before  Jesus  reached  Cajjernaum,  so  that  the  col- 
lectors— apparently  respectable  citizens — felt  themselves 
justified  in  broaching  the  question  to  Peter — whether  his 
Teacher  did  not  pay  the  two  drachmas  ?  Perhaps  they 
fancied  He  was  of  the  irreconcilable  school  of  Judas  the 
GaUlajan,  who  would  pay  no  Temple  tax  so  long  as  the 
•  gf^'^?<*H<»-.  Holy    City   was   polluted   by  the   heathen  Roman.^      His 

Sepp,  ii.  247. 


THE    TEMPLE    TAX.  265 

enemies,  indeed,  very  likely  had  insinuated  that  this  was  chap.  xLvm. 
the  case,  to  bring  Him  into  suspicion  with  government. 

Peter,  ever  zealous  for  his  Master's  honour,  and,  as  usual, 
impulsive,  no  sooner  heard  the  application  than  He  answered 
affirmatively,  on  his  own  authority,  and  fortliwith  set  off  to 
find  Jesus  and  report  the  matter  to  Him. 

The  exact  time  for  payment  had  passed  while  Christ  had 
been  away  from  Capernaum,  and  the  collectors  were,  doubt- 
less, anxious  to  gather  all  arrears,  to  take  mth  them  to 
Jerusalem  at  the  approachmg  Feast  of  Tabernacles  in  Sep- 
tember. As  if  to  show  that  not  even  the  most  insignificant 
matter  that  concerned  His  disciples  escaped  His  notice,  even 
when  not  bodily  present  with  them,  Peter  no  sooner  appeared 
than  his  errand  was  anticipated  by  asking  him  his  opinion, 
whether,  when  kings  levy  taxes  or  toUs,  they  exacted  them 
from  their  own  children,  or  only  from  their  subjects  ? 

"I  think,"  replied  Peter,  "that  only  the  subjects  pay." 
"Then,  of  course,"  replied  Jesus,  "the  king's  children  are  free." 

He  wished  to  show  that  it  would  have  been  no  failure  of 
duty  to  leave  the  tax  unpaid.  Peter  had  already  o'UTied 
Him  as  the  "  Son  of  God,"  and  it  was  for  the  Temple  of  God 
the  impost  was  levied.  It  might,  therefore,  be  just  and 
proper  to  collect  it  from  the  nation  at  large,  but  it  was  not 
fitting  to  ask  it  from  Him.  "  I  am  a  king  and  a  king's  son  ; 
far  more  than  any  Roman  or  Herodian  prince — for  I  am 
the  Son  of  God,  as  thou  hast  said,  and  this  tax  is  for  my 
Father — God — the  Great  King ;  for  His  Temple,  and  thus  I 
should  be  free."" 

But,  while  thus  maintaining  to  His  apostle  His  rightful 
immunity.  He  was  too  prudent  to  urge  it  in  public.  He 
was  not  recognized  as  the  Son  of  God  outside  the  little  circle 
of  His  disciples,  but  was  only  an  Israelite,  like  others,  to 
men  at  large,  and,  as  such,  was  under  the  Law.  It  would 
have  given  ground  of  accusation  and  misconception  had  He 
hesitated  to  pay  what  all  Jews  paid  cheerfully,  as  a  religious 
duty.d 

"  It  would  not  do  for  me,  nevertheless,"  continued  He, 
therefoi-e,  "  to  seem  to  refuse.  They  would  not  understand 
what  I  have  been  saying  to  you.     Take  your  line,  and  go  to 


266  THE   LITE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  sLYin.  the  lake  ;  you  need  not  wait  till  you  catcli  a  number  of  fisli 
to  make  up  the  amount.  Take  the  first  that  comes  to  your 
hook,  and  you  will  find  in  its  mouth  a  stater, "  which  is 
twice  as  much  as  is  needed.  With  it  you  can  pay  for  me 
and  for  yourself." 

The  result  is  not  given,  but  there  can  be  no  question  that 

'  Trenche       the  Command  secured  its  own  fulfilment."  No  lesson  could  have 

flliraclea, 

373-38S.  l)Q(iii  given  more  suited  to  benefit  Peter  and  his  companions. 
It  taught  them  that,  though  they  were  His  apostles,  they 
could  not  claim  exemption  from  labour  for  their  own  supjDort, 
but  )^et  quickened  them  to  a  firm  repose  on  His  watchful  care, 
which  could  helj)  them  in  any  extremity. 

They  remained  for  a  short  time  in  Capernaum,  and,  hap- 
pily, we  have  a  glimpse  of  their  quiet  private  intercourse  ; 

'  Matt.  18.1-55.  doubtless  the  picture  of  many  such  occasions.^      He  had  de- 
Mark  9.  3.3, 5().  ^      '■  .  •'    ^ 

Lukes. 40-40.  lay (1(1  allusion  to  their  hot  discussion  on  the  Avay  till  the 
quiet  of  evening  and  home. 

"  Tell  me,"  said  He,  turning  to  one  of  them,  "about  what 
were  you  dis2)uting  among  yourselves  on  the  road  ?  "  But  the 
question  received  no  answer,  for  all  were  alike  ashamed  of 
their  unworthy  jealousies  and  ambitions,  and  sat  humbled 
and  silent. 

It  was  an  opportunity  for  impressing  on  them,  once  more, 
the  fundamental  characteristic  of  His  kingdom.  Their  daily 
work,  as  disciples,  reminded  them  continually  of  their  rela- 
tions to  it,  and  it  already  engrossed  their  thoughts,  but  they 
stUl  failed  to  realize  its  purely  spiritual  character.  The 
trials  waiting  them  rendered  it,  thus,  the  more  necessary  to 
strengthen  and  support  them  beforehand,  by  correcting  their 
misapprehensions,  and  elevating  their  tone. 

In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  they  had  heard,  if  they  could 
have  understood  it,  how  utterly  His  kingdom  contrasted 
with  all  their  previous  ideas.  They  had  been  told,  in  eftect, 
that  moral  fitness  alone  secured  entrance  to  it,  and  that 
every  external  claim ;  whether  the  fulfilment  of  legal  duties, 
or  national  privilege,  or  sacred  calling — whatever  had, 
hitherto,  been  supposed  to  give  a  title  to  membershij)  in  the 
Baur.DieDrei  old  Tlicocracy,  must  bc  abandoned  as  worthless.-'  The  reign 
"'*•    ,  ,       of  God,  now  proclaimed,  was,  in  fact,  only  the  homage  of 

SchenkeL  153.  '  -^  j  f  j  j  c 


DREAMS   OF   AMBITION.  267 

the  soul,  wliich  hfid  prejaared  itself,  like  a  purified  Temple,  chap,  xlvui. 
by  humble  repentance  and  holy  life,  to  be  a  habitation  of  His 
Heavenly  Father.     Man  must  only  receive  from  God :  not 
pretend  to  give  to  Him. 

Citizenship  in  the  new  kingdom  of  the  IMessiah  was  pos- 
sible, only  when  no  thought  of  claim  obtruded. 

It  was  thus,  in  effect,  simjjly  a  reproduction  of  the  spirit 
of  Jesus  Himself  that  was  demanded,  for  the  great  charac- 
teristic which  gave  His  life  its  matchless  beauty,  was  His 
perfect  divine  humiUty.  His  lowly  meekness  had  protected 
Him  at  the  opening  of  His  ministry,  Avhen  tempted  to  self- 
exaltation  :  it  had  subordinated  His  own  will,  as  by  a  law  of 
His  being,  to  that  of  God  ;  it  had  opened  His  heart  to  the 
poor  of  His  nation,  cast  out  and  despised  by  the  religious 
pride  of  the  day ;  it  had  made  Him,  throughout,  the 
friend  of  the  oppressed,  the  lowly,  and  the  ■svi-etched  ;  it  had 
led  Him,  of  His  free  choice,  to  despise  all  worldly  honour, 
and  it  was  now  bearing  Him,  with  a  kingly  gi-andeur,  to 
the  abasement  of  the  Cross,  that  He  might  open  to  His 
nation,  and  to  mankind,  the  way  to  peace  with  their 
Father  in  Heaven,  and  found  a  kingdom  of  holiness,  truth, 
and  love ;  to  ennoble  and  bless  the  present,  and  expand  into 
eternal  fehcity  in  the  world  to  come. 

It  was  vital,  therefore,  for  His  disciples,  then,  as  now, 
that  they  should  have  the  same  heavenly  temper.  Without 
it,  they  could  neither  be  efficient  instruments  in  spreading 
His  kingdom,  nor  have  any  share  in  it  themselves,  for  it  was, 
itself,  the  Kingdom — the  reign  of  God,  in  the  soul.  The 
danger  of  self-elevation  had  been  greatly  increased  from  the 
moment  when  Jesus  had  accejited  from  them  their  formal 
ascription  of  the  Messianic  dignity,  at  Cajsarea  Philippi. 
What  seductive  dreams  lay  for  Galila'an  fishermen  in  their 
being  commissioned  by  the  Messiah,  as  His  confidential 
friends,  and  the  first  dignitaries  of  His  kingdom  !  Tliey  had, 
indeed,  heard  Jesus  speak  of  suiFering  a  shameful  death,  as 
the  immediate  result  of  His  proclaiming  Himself  as  the  Mes- 
siah, but  when  the  mind  is  already  preoccuj^ied  by  its  own 
Adews,  it  is  incredibly  hard  to  turn  it.  Even  the  most  dis- 
couraging incidents  are  transformed  into  supports,  or  at  least 


268  THE  LffE   OV   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  xLvni.  argued  aside.  "  Perliaps  Jesus  bad  only  spoken  thus  to  try 
them  :  j^erhaps  it  was  one  of  the  dark  sayings  He  used  so 
often."  Their  future  dignity  in  the  kingdom  had  been  the 
topic  of  constant  disputes  and  discussions,  ever  since  the 
eventful  day  at  Cassarea  Phibppi.  Had  they  not  received 
sjiiritual  gi'aces  and  powers?  For  what  had  they  gone 
through  so  much  toil  and  danger  ?  The  reward  could  not 
be  far  distant.  When  it  came,  which  of  them  should  have 
the  first  place,  and  be  the  Minister  of  the  New  Reign  ? 

They  must  be  taught  how  utterly  they  deceived  them- 
selves. 

Jesus  had  sat  down  in  the  house  and  called  the  Twelve 

"  Mait.18.1.     before  puttinir  the  question.'*'     As  they  stood  round  Him, — 

Mark  9. 33.        ^         t       .     ,  '  ,.  t,    i  i  •       i  t        i  i      • 

Luke9.46.  tor  disciplcs  ot  a  Kabbi  always  stood  when  their  masters  sat 
down  to  teach  them, — His  first  words  scattered  the  whole 
unworthy  dream  of  their  hearts. 

"  Whoever  of  you,"  said  He,  "  it  matters  not  Avhich,  seeks 
to  be  before  the  other,  and  would  distinguish  himself  in  my 
"  Hess,  ii.  147.  Kingdom,^'  can  only  do  so  b}^  cheerfully  stooping  to  render 
even  the  hmnblcst  services  to  all  the  rest.  He  must  show 
himself  the  willing  servant  of  all,  by  doing  whatever  he  can 
to  serve  the  others.  He  must  seek  and  find  his  greatness  in 
being  the  humblest,  and,  therefore,  the  servant  of  all."^ 

Such  language  was  well-nigh  incomprehensible  to  men 
misled  by  worldly  pride  and  ambition.  They  w(!re  thinking 
of  themselves  rather  than  of  their  INIaster ;  of  receiving  rather 
than  rendering ;  of  selfish  ease  and  honour,  rather  than 
loving  self-sacrifice,  which  He  had  often  told  them  was  the 
condition  of  their  discipleship.  He,  therefore,  resolved  to 
bring  them  to  a  better  frame,  and  this  by  an  illustration 
rather  than  words.  They  knew,  by  experience,  that  even  His 
most  unpalatable  and  His  darkest  words,  had  a  greater  ful- 
ness of  truth  than  their  imperfect  insight  could  realize. 
They  had,  doubtless,  also,  at  times,  misgivings  respecting  their 
di'eams  of  the  future,  though  they  could  not  as  yet  lay  these 
aside.  Some  of  them  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  ask  Him  the 
particular  dignities  He  intended  for  each,  that  all  future 
strife  might  be  checked  by  an  authoritative  announcement. 

Calling  to  Him  a  little  boy  of  the  household;  hfting  him 


CHILD-LIKE   HTOIILITY.  269 

in  His  arms,  and  pressing  Him  fondly  to  His  breast,— as  if  ch-^p^lviu. 
to  show  how  much  nearer  such  an  one  was  to  Him  than  the 
Twelve  standing  at  a  distance  round, — He  drew  their  atten- 
tion to  the  child.  Love  of  children  and  of  their  childish 
traits,  had  always  marked  Him.  A  child,  in  His  eyes,  was  a 
type  of  the  grace  so  dear  to  Him — humility.  It  raises  no 
overweening  claims  such  as  men  advance,  and  accepts  all  its 
relations  in  life  as  it  finds  them  ;  it  adapts  itself  uncon- 
sciously to  the  lo'ndiest  and  most  ungenial  lot,  and  finds 
happiness  in  it.  It  is  the  embodiment  of  dependence  and 
need ;  of  having  nothing,  and  yet  looking  with  simple  trust 
to  a  higher  than  itself. 

The  Twelve  noted  His  act  with  wonder,  not  knowing  what 
it  meant.     He  now  proceeded  to  explain  it. 

"You  see  this  child,"  said  He ;  "I  tell  you  solemnly,  that, 
unless  you  abandon  your  present  worldly  ideas  and  ambitious 
tlioughts,  and  become  as  simple  and  humble  as  it,  and  as 
lovingly  dependent  on  God  as  it  is  on  man,  you  shall  not 
even  enter  my  Kingdom,  far  less  hold  a  high  place  in  it.  You 
see  how  this  chUd  has  no  thought  but  of  perfect  loving  trust 
towards  me  ;  how  it  does  not  pretend  to  give  the  worth  of 
what  it  receives,  but  opens  its  whole  soul  to  me  with  artless 
innocence.     Such  sweet  humiUty  must  be  found  in  him  who 
would  seek  to  be  greatest  in  my  New  Kingdom.     To  have 
the  heart  of  a  child  is  the  fixed  abiding  condition  of  admis- 
sion, of  accepted  service,  or  of  honour.     This  child  is  willing 
to  be  the  least  of  you  all,  and  to  serve  you  all,  and,  as  I  have 
said,  Avhoever  of  you  is  like  it  in  this,  is  the  greatest  among 
you.  Your  ambition  must  guide  itself  by  this  rule.  Your  strife 
shows   that  you  have  not  yet  rightly   grasped  the  ^  true 
nature  of  my  Kingdom.     It  has  no   external   dignities  of 
power  and  rank,-  for  it  is  a  reign  of  principles,  not  a  worldly 
dominion.    All  its  members  are  therefore,  brethren,   on  a 
footing  of  perfect  equality.     Any  one  may,  indeed,  distm- 
guish  himself  beyond  others,  but  not  as  in  the  Old  Testament 
Kino-dom,  or  as  in  that  of  the  Messiah  expected  by  the  nation 
at  krge,  by  external  honour  and  dignity.    The  honours  of 
my  Khigdom  are  won  only  by  spiritual  Ukeness  to  myself, 
your  example  and  Master.     Self-denial,   self-saciifice ;    the 


270  THE   LITE   OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP^xLvni.  surrender  of  person  and  goods  for  the  sake  of  the  brother- 
hood ;  unselfish  love — are  the  only  path  to  the  highest 
place." 

He  had  now  answered  the  question  ;  but  the  sight  of 
the  child  kindled  another  thought  of  no  less  moment. 
"  You  are  looking  for  great  events,  and  thinking  with  weak 
pride,  of  your  claims  as  my  followers,  and  may  be  tempted  to 
slight  and  despise  any  one  as  spiritless,  and  beneath  you,  who 
is  humble  and  unassuming,  like  this  child  on  my  knee.  But 
let  me  tell  you,  that  any  one  Avho  honours  and  receives  to  his 
heart  even  a  single  child-like  soul  which  delights  in  meekness 
and  humility,  as  learned  from  me,  has  done  the  same  in  spirit, 
and  will  receive  a  like  reward,  as  if  he  had  received  me  my- 
self, and  done  me  personal  honour.  And  since  all  that  is 
done  to  me  from  an  honest  heart,  is  homage  done  to  my 
Father  who  sent  me,  He  Himself  will  show  His  approval,  for 
even  the  humblest  that  lives,  if  he  be  my  disciple,  is  great 
and  honoured  before  Him." 

The  use  of  the  words  "  in  my  name "  had,  meanwhile, 
recalled  an  incident  of  their  recent  journey  to  John,  "  the 
Son  of  Thunder."  The  Twelve  had  met,  in  their  way,  one 
casting  out  devils  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  though  he  was  not 
one  of  their  company,  and  instead  of  "  receiving  "  him,  had 
charged  him  to  desist,  because  he  was  not  of  their  own 
number.  John  now  reported  the  matter,  as  if  struck  by 
the  contrast  between  his  own  conduct  and  the  counsel  just 
given.  "Forbid  him  not,"  replied  Jesus, — "One  who, 
though  not  of  my  circle,  has  yet  attained  so  strong  a  faith 
in  me  that  he  works  miracles  through  my  name,  needs  not 
be  feared  as  likely,  by  any  sudden  change,  to  speak  against 
me."  The  want  of  forbearance  had  sprung  from  the  want 
of  humility,  for  pride  is  the  special  source  of  impatience. 
"  He  who  is  not  against  us,"  continued  Jesus,  "  is  for  us." 
He  whom  John  had  treated  so  harshly  had,  at  least,  acted 
in  His  name,  though,  perhaps,  with  a  very  imperfect  concep- 
tion of  His  true  dignity,  or  of  the  scope  and  greatness  of 
His  work.  But  he  was  very  different  from  the  blasphemers 
who  did  not  shrink  from  speaking  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a 
spirit  of  evil.     Moreover,  the  nearer  the  end  approached,  the 


DISCOURSE    OF   JESUS,  271 

more  needful  it  was  to  root  out  any  signs  of  selfisli  or  liauglity  ohap.  xlvxh. 

feelings  in  the  Twelve,  and  to  lead  them  to  look  with  kindly 

eyes  on  even  a  partial,  if  friendly  relationship  to  Him.     He 

wished  them  to  realize  that  worthiness  to  rank  in  the  New 

Society  was  shown  by  the  goodwill,  and  trustful,  child-like 

spirit,  which  led  to  devotion  to  Him,  rather  than  by  the 

measure  of  knowledge  evinced.     It  was  of  great  moment,  at 

this  time,  to  wake  kindly  and  broad-hearted  feehngs  towards 

any,  who,  while  acting  apart,  were  yet  friendly.     Were  He 

once  gone,  it  would  be  left  to  His  disciples  to  continue  His 

work,  and  it  would  depend  upon  them  whether  the  Society, 

founded  by  Him,  would  be  really  the  beginning  of  a  new 

epoch  in  religion,  or  only  a  piece  of  new  cloth  sewed  on  an 

old  garment ;  whether  it  would  be  a  Jewish  sect  or  a  faith 

for  mankind.^ 

"  No  one  is  to  be  lightly  esteemed,"  continued  Jesus,  "  who 
shows  you  the  slightest  mark  of  goodwill  or  friendship,  were 
it  only  a  drink  of  cold  water,  which  all  give  so  readily  in 
these  sultry  lands — when  given  because  you  are  my  disciples. 
Even  this  will  be  rewarded  by  God  as  an  act  worthy  His 
favour.  Nor  are  you  only  thus  honoured.  So  precious  to 
Me  is  the  humble  child-like  spirit  which  you  are  disposed  to 
despise,  that  if  any  one,  by  words  or  deeds,  cause  even  one 
such  soul  who  beheves,  to  turn  away  from  me;  as  you  were 
in  danger  of  doing  when  you  forbade  the  stranger  to  cast 
out  devils  in  my  name ;  it  would  be  better  for  him  that  a 
huge  ass-mill-stone '^  were  hung  round  his  neck  and  he 
drowned  in  the  depths  of  the  lake,  that  he  might  be  saved 
from  so  great  a  sin. 

"Alas  for  the  world-wide  sorrow  which  the  sins  of 
many  who  will  call  themselves  mine  will  cause,  by  keeping 
men  from  me!  They  will  judge  of  me  by  these  unworthy 
followers,  and  keep  aloof  from  my  kingdom.  It  cannot, 
indeed,  be  otherwise,  for  the  evil  that  is  in  man  ^dll  make 
even  the  name  of  religion  a  scandal.  But  how  awful  the 
judgment  that  awaits  him  who  leads  another  from  the  way 
of  life! 

"  I  have  said  that  it  would  he  better  for  a  man  to  die  than 
that  he  should  lead  another  astray.     So,  whatever  may  lead 


272  THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

QgAP.  xLvni.  you  to  sin,  and  thus  bring  scandal  on  my  name,  had  much 
better  be  put  from  you,  at  any  cost.  If  anything,  therefore, 
however  dear  to  you,  incites  }'ou  to  sin,  or  keeps  you  from 
a  godly  life,  thrust  it  from  you.  If  the  most  precious 
members  of  the  body — a  foot  or  a  hand — be  cut  off,  to 
prevent  death  of  the  whole;  how  much  rather,  at  any  sacrifice, 
whatever  sins  of  thought  or  act,  which,  by  misleading  others, 
would  cause  us  to  lose  eternal  life,  and  be  cast  into  hell-fire, 

>2  Isaiah  66. 24.  wlierc  their  Avorm  never  dies,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched !^^ 

Nork,  121.  '  .  '■ 

schurer,s96.  "  Evcry  ouc  cast  into  the  fire,  which  the  prophet  thus 
calls  unquenchable — every  one,  that  is,  who  gives  himself 
up  to  sin,  shall  certainly  suffer  the  wrath  of  God,  and  be 
salted  Avith  fire,  as  the  victims  on  the  altar  are  salted  with 
salt.  But  every  one  whose  humble  and  steadfast  faith  in  me 
has  shown  him  to  be,  as  it  were,  a  pure  and  worthy  sacrifice, 
fit  to  be  laid  on  the  altar  of  God,  will,  on  his  entrance  into 
the  heavenly  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  be  salted,  not  with 
fire,  but  with  the  gift  of  higher  grace,  that  he  may  endure 
unto  life  eternal.'  Salt  is  of  value  to  prevent  corruption, 
and  I  have,  before  now,  called  you  '  the  salt  of  the  earth  ; ' 
because,  if  you  are  my  true  disciples,  you  will  arrest  the 
corruption  that  prevails  among  men,  and  make  the  community 
sound.  How  dreadful,  however,  if  you,  the  salt,  lose  your 
savour.  How  wiU  you  regain  it?  If  you  turn  to  evil,  and, 
through  sloth  or  faint-heartedness,  be  untrue  to  your  calling, 
how  can  your  needful  energy  and  efiiciency  be  restored  ? 
You  wish  to  be  accepted  at  last  as  pure  and  worthy  offerings 
to  God,  and  to  receive  the  gift  of  heavenly  wisdom,  which  is 
everlasting  life.  To  attain  it,  take  care  to  guard  the  salt  of 
true  wisdom  which  has  been  already  given  you — the  grace 
bestowed  on  you  to  be  my  disciples.  Remember,  moreover, 
that  salt  is  the  symbol  of  peace ;  be  at  peace  among  your- 
selves, and  do  not  dispute  and  argue  as  you  have  been 
doing,  lest  you  lose  the  power  and  fruits  of  my  teaching." 

Jesus  had  for  the  time  digressed  from  His  original  subject 
— the  humble  and  child-like  among  His  followers — but  now 
returned  to  it. 

"  Respecting  those  little  ones  of  whom  I  was  speaking — 
lowly,  self-distrustful ;  as  weak,  yet,  it  may  be,  in  faith,  as  little 


TREATMENT    OF   AN    OFFENDER.  273 

children  in  strength — I  -would  further  say  :  Take  heed^'^  that  cn.u'.  slviu. 
ye  do  not  slight  or  contemn  any  one  of  thern,  for  I  tell  }ou  "  ^ugTi'Mi'*' 
so  greatly  honoured  and  so  dear  are  they  in  the  sight  of  God, 
that  the  humblest  of  them,  for  their  very  humility,  are  placed 
by  Him  under  the  loving  care  of  the  highest  angels,  who 
stand  before  Him,  and  see  His  face  continually.  Glorious 
though  all  angels  be,  only  such  exalted  spirits — the  princes 
of  heaven — are  thought  worthy  by  God  to  minister  to  them 
and  protect  them.'"' 

"  To  slight  or  despise  even  one  such  would,  indeed,  be  to 
undo,  so  far,  the  very  end  for  which  I  have  come  as  the 
Messiah.  You  may,  by  doing  so,  turn  him  away  from  me, 
and  so  cause  his  soul  to  be  lost.  Much  rather,  if  you  meet 
with  an  humble  spirit,  still  weak  in  the  faith,  which  has 
gone  astray,  should  you  do  your  utmost  to  bring  it  back. 
For  what  shepherd  feeding,  it  may  be,  a  hundred  sheep,  in 
our  upland  pastures,  if  one  of  them  stray,  does  not  leave  the 
ninety  and  nine,  and  set  off  into  the  hills  to  seek  for  the  one 
that  has  wandered?  And  if  he  be  so  happy  as  to  find  it,  I  tell 
you,  beyond  doubt,  he  rejoices  more  over  the  one  thus 
saved  than  over  the  ninety  and  nine  that  had  not  strayed. 
In  the  same  way  as  it  grieves  the  shepherd  that  even  one  of 
his  sheep  should  be  lost,  so  it  grieves  my  Father  in  Heaven 
that  one  of  these  feeble,  simple  souls  should  perish,  and  it 
sorely  displeases  Him  if  it  perish  by  the  neglect  or  fault  of 
any  of  my  disciples. 

"  Let  me  pass  to  a  distinct,  j-et  related  subject — the  proper 
treatment  of  a  brother  in  the  faith  who  does  you  any  A\Tong, 
by  anger,  en^y,  selfishness,  or  in  any  other  way.  Do  not 
wait  till  he  who  has  thus  injured  you  comes  to  you  to  make 
amends,  but  go  to  him  by  yourself,  and  tell  him  his  fault 
in  private ;  that,  if  possible,  you  may  get  him  to  own  it 
between  you  and  him  alone,  and  thus  the  scandal  of  differ- 
ence between  disciples  spread  no  farther,  and  he  be  won  for 
my  New  Kingdom,  from  which  he  would  have  been  shut  out, 
if,  by  refusing  to  be  reconciled,  he  had  shown  no  repentance. 
Seek  his  good,  not  your  own  justification  mei-ely :  however 
wronged,  think  less  of  yourself  than  of  his  eternal  salvation. 

"  If,  however,  he  will  not  listen  to  your  kindly  remonstrance 

VOL.  II.  57 


274 


THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


CHAP.  siLvni.  and  persuasion,    go    a    second   time  to 
or  three  witnesses  "vvith   you,  as  Moses 


11  Deut.]9.15,i 
Sept. 


Lightfoot, 
Hor.  Hob.  i 
2U. 


him,  taking  two 
directed  in  other 
cases  ;^^  if,  perchance,  though  he  had  not  been  moved  by 
your  single  appeal,  that  of  two  or  three  supporting  you,  may 
lead  him  to  see  and  acknowledge  his  fault.  Their  testimony, 
besides,  will  prevent  his  denial  of  his  confession,  should  he 
make  one,  and  afterwards  repudiate  it ;  while,  if  he  refuse  to 
listen  and  to  admit  his  fault,  and  the  matter  must  be  brought 
before  the  Assembly,  it  will  support  and  confirm  at  once  the 
fact  of  your  private  visit  for  attempted  reconciliation,  and 
his  stubborn  refusal  to  hear  even  the  two  or  three  brethren 
you  took  with  you  on  the  second  visit. 

"  The  Rabbis  enjoin  that  the  offender  shall  go  to  him 
whom  he  has  injured,  and  own  his  fault,  and  that  if  he  can- 
not thus  procure  forgiveness,  he  shall  take  others  mth  him 
and  seek  to  obtain  it;^^  but  I  require  that  he  who  is  wronged 
do  this,  that  he  may  show  his  humility,  and  his  patient  love 
for  a  guilty  brother. 

"  You  know,  moi'eover,  how  a  stubl)orn  offender,  who 
refuses  private  amends,  is  at  last  proclaimed  as  such,  in  the 
Synagogue  and  in  the  schools.^^  In  my  New  Society,  the 
congregation  of  the  new  Israel — the  Kahal,  or  assembly  of 
my  folloAvers,  which  Avill,  hereafter,  be  called  the  Church, 
is  to  make  a  third  final  attempt  to  win  the  guilty  one  to 
repentance.  You  are  to  tell  the  facts  to  the  '  congregation,' 
and  ask  theii'  godly  offices,  and  the}*,  through  appointed 
representatives,  will  then  seek  to  bring  him  to  a  right  frame 
of  mind.  If,  after  all,  he  refuse  to  hear  even  the  congregation, 
you  are  freed  from  further  responsibility,  and  are  absolved 
from  all  further  religious  relationship  to  him,  as  you  have 
hitherto  thought  yourselves  to  be  from  the  heathen,  and 
from  men  of  vicious  life,  such  as  the  publicans.  Not  that 
you  are  to  despise  him,  or  refuse  him  the  common  offices  of 
humanity,  as  your  countrymen  do  to  such  classes,  for  you 
are  still  to  love  and  seek  to  win  him  back,  even  tiU  the  very 
last,  as  your  Heavenly  Father  does  with  the  unthankful  and 
evil. 

"Let  every  offender  think  how  solemn  his  position  will 
be  if  thus  obdurate  before  the  congi-egation.     I  have  already 


TILL   SEVENTY   TIMES    SEVEN.  275 

given  Peter— as  the  key-bearer  of  my  spiritual  Temple— the  cHAP^Lvm. 
New  Society  I  have  founded — power  to  forbid  and  allow,  to 
enact  and  define,  what  is  needed  for  its  future  government  and 
discipline,  and  have  told  you  that  what  he  ordains,  so  far  as 
it  is  in  harmony  with  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  will  be 
confirmed  by  me  in  heaven,  as  if  I  were  still  with  you  on 
earth.  This  power  I  now  extend  to  you  all,  my  twelve 
faithful  foUowers,  and  I  give  you,  as  a  body,  the  same  assur- 
ance of  my  confirmation  of  what  you  appoint  for  the  govern- 
ment of  my  Society.  Peter  is,  thus,  only  thefirst  among  eqtials. 
If  the  remedy  I  have  pointed  out  be  insufficient,  as  my  Society 
extends,  to  meet  such  offences,  I  leave  it  to  you  to  devise 
and  apply  what  other  means  may  seem  needed,  as  the  occasion 
demands.  And  that  you  may  feel  how  formally  and  solemnly 
I  now,  before  my  departure,  depute  this  power  to  you,  I  tell 
you,  further,  that  if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  any  matter, 
thus  affecting  the  salvation  of  souls  by  the  right  discipline 
of  my  Society,  or  for  other  good  ends,  and  shall  ask  my 
Father  in  Heaven  to  grant  your  desire.  He  will  do  so.  For 
where  two  or  three  of  you  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name,  I  am  in  their  midst,  so  that  you  need  not  doubt  my 
promise  that  what  even  so  few  agree  to  ask  my  Father,  in 
matters  pertaining  to  my  kingdom,  will  be  granted."  ^ 

The  Twelve  had  hstened  to  their  Master  m  reverent 
silence,  but  now  the  ever  self-asserting  Peter,  still  intensely 
Jewish  in  feeling,  interrupted  Him  by  a  question  conceived 
in  the  narrow  and  formal  spirit  of  Ptabbinism. 

"Lord,"  said  he,  "our  teachers  tell  us  that  if  a  person 
do  us  wrong  we  are  to  forgive  him,  a  first,  second,  and  third 
time,  but  not  a  fourth."    T\Tiat  sayest  Thou  ?   Would  seven  -  w  Jcm^ 
times  be  enough  ?  " 

"I  am  far  fi-om  limiting  my  requirement  to  seven  times," 
replied  Jesus.  "  So  far  from  that,  if  you  be  of  a  truly 
humble  and  child-like  spirit,  as  you  ought,  you  wiU  forgive 
to  seventy  times  seven— that  is,  any  number  of  times.  Let 
me  show  you  my  thoughts  on  this  point  by  a  parable. 

"The  subjects  of  my  kingdom  are  like  the  servants  of  a 
certain  ruler,  with  whom  their  lord  would  make  a  reckon- 
in  «•.     So  he  called  before  him  his  revenue  collectors— the 


276  THE   LIFE    OF   CUEIST. 

CHAP.  xLvm.  gatherers  of  his  taxes  and  tolls,  and  demanded  a  settlement 
from  them.  Among  others,  one  was  brought  to  him  who 
OAved  him  ten  thousand  talents — that  is,  tliirty  millions  of 
shekels" — a  sum  it  was  hopeless  for  him  to  think  of  repay- 
ing. When  the  king  heard  how  much  he  owed,  he  cried  out 
that  '  he  -would  be  paid,'  and  commanded  him  to  be  sold  as  a 
slave,  with  his  wife  and  children,  and  all  that  he  had,  in 
payment  of  the  debt."  On  hearing  this,  the  servant  fell 
down  before  him,  beseeching  him,  'Lord,  have  patience 
with  me,  and  I  will  pay  thee  all.'  At  this  his  lord  was 
moved  with  compassion,  and  having  ordered  him  to  be 
unbound,  not  only  gave  him  time,  as  he  had  asked,  but, 
kno'wing  he  could  never  pay,  forgave  him  the  debt  alto- 
gether. 

"This  servant,  however,  thus  freely  forgiven,  went  out 
and   found   one  of  his   fellow-servants   who   owed   him  a 

IS  At  7jd.  a      hundred  denarii ^^ — less  than  the  seven  hundredth-thousandth 
whS?d°ebt     of  what  he  had  himself  owed — and  laid  hold  of  him  by  the 

was  £3  2a.  6d.  .  -^ 

throat,  saying  fiercely,  '  Pay  what  you  owe.  The  debtor 
thereupon  fell  down  at  his  feet,  as  he  had  fallen  at  those  of 
his  lord,  and  besought  him,  '  Have  patience  with  me,  and  I 
will  pay  thee.'  But  he  had  no  pity,  and  cast  him  into 
prison,  till  he  should  pay  the  debt.  His  fellow-servants, 
seeing  what  was  being  done,  were  troubled  at  such  hard- 
heartedness,  and  at  the  ill-treatment  of  the  poor  man,  and 
came  and  told  their  lord  all  that  had  happened.  Then  the 
lord,  having  called  the  offender,  said  to  him,  '  0  thou  wicked 
servant,  I  forgave  you  all  the  great  debt  you  owed  me, 
because  you  asked  me,  though  you  sought  only  time,  not 
forgiveness.  Should  not  you,  also,  have  had  pity  on  your 
fellow-servant,  as  I  had  pity  on  you?'  And  his  lord  was 
indignant,  and  delivered  him  over  to  the  torturers,  to  deal 
Avith  him  in  tlie  prison-house  as  they  thought  fit,  till  he 
should  pay  all  that  was  due  to  him. 

"  So,  the  forgiveness  God  has  granted  you,  of  your  great 
debt  to  Him,  which  you  could  never  pay — the  guilt  of  your 
sins — must  lead  you  from  your  heart  to  forgive  your  brother 
man,  not  seven,  but  any  number  of  times,  the  far  smaller 
debt  he  may  owe  you ;  for  if  you  do  not  forgive  him,  the 


GRAXDEUR    OF    CHRIST's   HUMILITY.  277 

wrath  of  God  "will  burn  upon  you  at  the  great  clay,  and  you  chap,  slviii. 
■will  be  cast  into  everlasting  punishment." 

The  transcendent  loftiness  of  Christ's  spiritual  nature 
shines  out  through  this  whole  episode.  In  His  perfect 
humility  He  makes  no  personal  claims.  As,  on  every  occa- 
sion, He  declares  simplicity  and  lowUness,  like  that  of  child- 
hood, the  mark  of  true  discipleship ;  asks  no  higher  or 
more  signal  acknowledgment,  as  a  man,  than  was  to  be 
shown  to  all  others ;  and  ranks  the  friendly  and  kind  treat- 
ment of  any  of  His  followers  as  if  done  to  Himself.  He 
demands  no  exclusive  honour,  but,  on  the  contrary,  every 
childlike  spirit  in  the  kingdom  of  God  has  in  His  sight  a 
priceless  value,  however  slight  the  instance  by  which  its 
character  was  shown.  The  good  deed  done  to  the  least  of 
His  people,  is  considered  as  personal  to  Himself.  Neither 
now,  nor  at  any  time,  does  He  bear  Himself  as  one  to  whom 
all  were  to  bow  as  servants ;  He  takes  His  place  in  the 
midst  of  the  little  band  round  Him,  as  one  who  shai-es  with 
them  the  highest  and  holiest  joys.  "Within  this  circle  we 
ever  find  Him  strengthening  and  encouraging  each  to  sur- 
render himself  for  the  good  of  the  rest,  and  to  cheer  and 
honour  especially,  the  humblest,  the  least  esteemed,  the  most 
unpretentious ;  or,  it  may  be,  the  mere  Avorkers  who  could 
not  push  themselves  into  notice.  jNIeek  and  lowly  in  heart. 
He  was  no  less  of  an  infinite  pity.  The  New  Society,  taught 
by  His  example  and  words,  learned  that  they  Avere  to  repro- 
duce the  spirit  of  little  children,  in  that  hitherto  unimagined 
grandeur  of  humility  which  almost  rejoices  to  suffer  because 
it  gives  an  opportunity  to  forgive. 


278  THE  LITE  OF  CHRIST. 


CHAPTER   XLIX. 

AT  THE  FEAST  OF  TABERNACL.llS. 


CHAP.  SLiy 


THE  seventh  month,  Tisri,  part  of  our  September  and 
October — "  the  month  of  the  full  streams,"  and  the 
autumnal  equinox,  had  now  come.  Nisan,  "  the  flower 
month,"  knowi  of  old  as  Abib,  "  the  earing  month,"  had 
John  7. 2-10.  seen  the  Passover  pass  without  the  presence  of  Jesus.^  Ijjar, 
nal-isT^'^'  "the  beautiful  month,"  with  its  blossoming  trees;  Siwan, 
"  the  bright ;"  Tammuz ;  Ab,  "  the  fruit  month  ;  "  and  Elul, 
"  the  month  of  wine  ;  "  had  gone  by  in  the  journey  to  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  and  to  Cajsarea  Philippi.  Jesus  had  now  been 
Avell-nigh  half  a  year  little  better  than  an  outlawed  fugitive, 
hiding,  in  unsuspected  districts,  from  His  enemies.  The 
fifteenth  day  of  Tisri  was  the  first  of  the  great  harvest  feast 
of  the  year — that  of  Tabernacles — a  time  all  the  more  joyful 
from  its  coming  only  four  days  after  the  Day  of  Atonement 
— the  close  of  the  Jewish  Lent.  Galilee  was  no  longer  open 
to  Him,  and  the  Kingdom  was  yet  to  be  proclaimed  in  Jeru- 
salem, the  haughty  city  of  the  Temple,  and  of  David.  He 
knew  that  to  go  there  would  be,  sooner  or  later,  to  die  ;  but, 
with  this  clearly  before  Him,  He  cahiily  resolved,  at  the  sum- 
mons of  duty,  to  transfer  the  sphere  of  His  activity  from  the 
remote  and  secluded  security  of  the  north  to  the  head-quarters 
of  the  Rabbis  and  priests.  He  had  come  into  the  world  to  be 
the  Lamb  of  God,  bringing  salvation  to  His  people  and  man- 
kind by  the  proclamation  of  the  New  Kingdom,  sealed  with 
His  blood ;  and  Jerusalem  alone,  the  seat  of  the  dispensation 
He  came  to  supersede,  was  the  fitting  scene  for  inaugurating 
the  economy  that  was  to  take  its  place. 

He  was  stiU  in  Capernaum  when  the  great  caravan  of 
pilgrims  began  to  pass  to  the  feast.     His  relations,  who,  as 


DELAY  IN  STARTING  FOR  THE  FEAST.        279 

yet,  had  declared  neither  for  nor  against  Him, had,  apparently,  ch.\rslix. 
come  over  from  Kazareth  to  get  Him  to  go  up  to  Jeru- 
salem with  them.    They  could  not  have  felt  any  hostility  to 
One  whose  holy  life  had  passed  under  their  eyes,  but,  like 
the  nation  at  large,  they  clung  to  what  they  had  always  been 
taught  by  the  Rabbis,  that  the  Messiah  was  to  restore  Israel 
to  national  glory,  and  to  transfer  the  sceptre  of  universal 
power  from  Rome  to  Jerusalem.     In  their  worldly  wisdom 
they  could  not  understand  Him.     It  seemed  to  them  unwise 
that  He  should  stay  in  a  corner  of  the  land,  if  he  wished  to 
establish  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah.     Tiie  Rabbis,  as  He 
knew,  taught  that  it  w^as  to  be  set  up  in  Jerusalem,  and  it 
Avas  clear  that  it  could  be  extended  best  from  the  Holy  City, 
as  a  centre.     Why  did  He  not  go  up  mth  them  now,  they 
asked,  to  the  feast,  that  all  who  were  friendly  to  Him,  or 
who  might  become  so,  might  see  His  miracles,  and  thus  be 
constrained  to  support  Him?     "Nobody,"  they  urged,  "who 
aimed  at  being  a  great  national  leader,  as  they  fancied  He 
did,  by  His  claiming  to   be  the   Messiah,  could  hope  for 
success  if  He  wrought  all  the  "  signs"  which  were  to  rally 
the    people   round  Him,    in    an  out-of-the-way  place  hke 
Gahlee.     He  had  not  been  at  the  last  Passover,  or  at  Pen- 
tecost, when  the  people  were  gathered  in  the  Holy  City  from 
aU  the  land,  and,  indeed,  from  all  the  world ;  but  He  might, 
perhaps,  repair  this  error  even  yet,  if  He  went  up  now,  and 
showed  His  power  before  the  assembled  myriads  of  Israel. 
If  they  accepted  Him  as  Messiah,  their  very  numbers  would 
sweep  away  the  heathen  like  chaff  before  the  wind,  especially 
when  supported  by  miraculous  help.    It  was  unwise  to  keep 
back  in  this  obscure  and  hidden  district ;  He  should  show 
Hhnself  openly  to  the  Jewish  world,  which  He  could  only 
do  in  Jei'usalem." 

"  You  think  the  present  the  fit  moment  for  carrying  out 
my  plans,"  said  Jesus.  "You  err.  It  is  not  yet  the 
diA-inely  appointed  time  for  my  doing  this.  You  may  go 
up  openly  before  all  Israel,  at  any  time,  because  you  and 
they  are  at  one  in  not  receiving  me.  They  have  no  reason 
to  hate  you,  nor  have  the  priests  and  Rabbis,  their  leaders ; 
but  they  hate  me,  because  I,  the  Light  of  the  world— the 


280  THE   LIVE   OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP.sLis.  true  Messiah — on  whom  all  should  believe,  am  a  stand- 
ing protest  against  them,  that  they  sin  in  hating  and  per- 
secuting me,  as  a  transgressor  of  the  Law  and  a  blasphemer, 
because  I  have  Avitnessed  against  their  corruption  and 
h}'pocrisy.  They  wish  a  political  Messiah  :  I  seek  only 
spiritual  ends.  Go  up,  yourselves.  The  present  time  does 
not  suit  me  to  go  with  you."  Their  hope  that  He  would 
lift  the  family  to  the  highest  honour,  by  heading  a  national 
Messianic  movement,  had  come  to  nothing. 

The  object  of  His  delay  was  to  avoid  going  with  the  great 
Galilitan  caravan,  which  entered  the  Holy  City  with  public 
rejoicings.  He  would  be  recognized  at  once,  and  the  multi- 
tude, in  the  excitement  of  the  time,  might  again  try  to  force 
Him  into  political  action.  PubUcity  and  popular  enthusiasm 
would  have  drawn  the  attention  of  those  in  power,  and  this 
He  at  present  earnestly  wished  to  avoid.  His  work  was  not 
to  be  rashly  broken  off  by  any  imprudent  act,  for  He 
needed  all  the  opportunities  that  remained,  to  devote  Himself 
to  the  Twelve  and  to  His  other  followers.  He  could  go  up 
a  few  days  later,  and  thus  avoid  the  caravan.  The  feast 
lasted  seven  days,  closing  with  the  eighth  as  the  greatest, 
and  thus,  even  if  He  started  later.  He  could  mingle  with  the 
multitudes,  and  find  out  how  men  felt  towards  Him  and 
His  work,  and  proclaim  the  New  Kingdom  as  He  saw  fit.  The 
danger  would  be  averted,  and  His  great  end  better  served. 
It  was  more  in  keeping  Avith  His  spirit  to  avoid  all  appear- 
ance of  courting  popularity,  and  to  deliver  His  great  message 
of  love  in  stillness  ;  leaving  its  reception  to  its  own  charms, 
and  to  the  lowly  humility,  self-denial,  and  gentleness,  with 
which  it  was  delivered. 

Waiting,  therefore,  for  some  days,  till  things  were  quiet. 
He  started  with  the  Twelve,  and  a  number  of  disciples,  for 
■  ^°^  ''■  ^-i"-  Jerusalem.2  Crossing  Esdraelon,  now  stripped  of  its  harvest, 
Engannim,  the  "fountain  of  gardens,"  saw  Him  once  more 
on  Samaritan  soil.  The  caravans  had  perhaps  gone  over  the 
Jordan,  to  travel  do-mi  its  eastern  bank,  and  thus  avoid  the 
pollution  of  the  direct  route  through  hated  Samaria. 

He  had  been  kindly  received  in  the  alien  district  on  His 
former  passage  through  it,  northwards,  but  He  was  now 


FIERCE    SPIRIT    OF   JOHN.  281 

going  towards  Jerusalem  instead  of  leaving  it,  and  this  was  chap.xlix. 

enough  to  rouse  the  bitterness  of  the  Samaritans.     As  was 

His  custom,  He  had  sent  on  messengers  before  Him  to  secure 

hospitality  for  the  night,  but  it  was  at  once  refused.     John 

and  James — "the  Sons  of  Thunder  " — who  had  perhaps  been 

the  messengers,  were  especially  indignant,  and  showed  hoAV 

little  they  had  profited  by  the  lessons  of  meekness  they  had 

so  long  been   receiving.     With    the    harsh    Jewish   feeling 

which  regarded  every  one  except  a  Jew  as  accursed,  and 

hateful  to  God,  and  sought  to  establish  the  New  Kingdom, 

not  by  mildness  and  love,  but  by  force,  they  would  fain  have 

had  fire  called  down  from  heaven  to  consume  the  unfriendly 

village.''     They  had  likely  spoken  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  or, 

perhaps.   His  fame  as  such,   may  have  already  crossed  the 

border.      But  the   Samaritans  expected  from  the   Messiah 

that  he  would  restore  the  Temple  on  Mount  Gerizim,  and 

instead  of  that,  Jesus  was  going  up  to  a  feast  in  Jerusalem. 

John  and  James,  however,  could  make  no  allowance.     Elias 

had  once  called  fire  from  heaven  m  his  own  honour  :^  how  '2  Kings  i. 

9—18. 

much  more  should  men  perish  who  had  rejected  the  Messiah. 
The  teaching  of  Jesus  had  not  as  yet  softened  the  fierce 
Jewish  spirit  of  the  Twelve.  Fanatical  bitterness  had  struck 
its  roots  into  their  deepest  nature.  How  utterly  were  they 
still  wanting  in  patience  towards  the  erring,  and  filled  only 
with  the  thought  of  wrath  and  destruction  !  They  had  not 
yet  realized  that  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  is  one  of  faith  alone  : 
that  it  cannot  be  spread  by  compulsion  and  violence,  but 
must  spring  from  humility  and  love ;  that  it  must  rest  on 
free  and  honest  conviction,  and  can  grow  strong  and  abiding 
only  when  a  child-like  spirit  obeys  and  advances  it. 

Deeply  troubleu,  and  no  less  offended,  Jesus  turned 
towards  the  fierce  zealots,  and  rebuked  their  foolish  and 
cruel  harshness.  They  had  heai'd  Him  say  that  He  came 
to  serve,  not  to  reign  ;  to  suffer  for  others,  not  to  inflict 
suffering  on  any ;  and  He  had  but  lately  told  them,  once  and 
again,  how  He  was  about  to  give  Himself  up  to  death  for 
the  gooa  of  the  world.  But  though  their  ears  had  heard, 
and  their  conscience  approved,  their  hearts  had  not  AviUingl}- 
accepted  the  intimation,  and  hence  they  were  ever  exposed 


282  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  sxis.  to    fall   back    into    Jewish    fonaticism.*      Rebuking    them 
'  schenkei,  172.  gtemly,  He  taught  them  a  needed  lesson,  by  merely  passing 
to  another  village. 

It -was  hard  for  the  disciples  to  realize  that,  to  be  followers 
of  Jesus,  they  must  surrender  themselves  unconditionally  to 
the  will  of  God,  and  devote  themselves  to  the  work  of  the 
Kingdom,  without  a  lingering  tie  to  the  world  they  had  left. 
The  circumstances  demanded  exjilicit  statements  of  what 
discipleship  thus  involved,  and  hence,  when  fresh  applicants 
for  the  honour  presented  themselves,  Jesus  was  more  frank 
and  earnest,  if  possible,  than  ever  before,  in  setting  the  cost 
before  them.  A  Samaritan  had  come  forAvard  asking  leave 
to  follow  Him ;  as  if  to  show  that  all  were  not  like  the 
villagers  who  had  treated  Him  so  imkindly.  It  may  be  he 
had  very  imperfect  ideas  of  what  his  wish  implied,  but  Jesus 
did  not  leave  him  in  doubt.  He  told  him  all  His  own  posi- 
tion, and  all  that  awaited  His  disciples  :  that  He  had  forsaken 
house  and  home  for  ever,  and  that  the  birds  of  the  air,  and 
the  beasts  of  the  field,  had  a  lot  to  be  envied  compared 
with  His. 

The  seeming  harshness  of  His  replies  to  two  others,  per- 
haps Samaritans,  who  also  asked  leave  to  follow  Ilim,  is 
explained  by  these  facts.  From  the  first  He  had  held  out 
no  rewards,  but  predicted  only  privation  and  sufi'ering  to 
His  disciples,  but  these  were  closer  at  hand  now  than  they 
had  been  when  He  called  the  Twelve.  To  follow  Him  had 
come  to  mean,  literally,  to  leave  all,  and  to  make  up  one's 
mind  to  the  Avorst.  He  was  a  mark  for  the  fiercest  hatred  of 
those  in  authority,  and  His  circle  could  not  escape  suffering 
with  their  Master.  The  most  utter,  unqualified  devotion,  the 
purest  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  were  required.  "  Let  the  dead ; 
those  who  will  not  receive  the  preaching  of  the  Kingdom, 
bury  their  dead,"  said  He,  to  one  who  wished  to  bury  his 
father.  "  Surrender  yourself  utterly  to  God."  Another, 
whose  want  of  the  supreme  resolution  demanded,  shoAved 
itself  in  a  request  to  be  allowed  to  bid  farcAvell  to  his  friends, 
was  told  that  it  could  not  be.  "  The  prayers,  the  tears  of 
your  circle  at  home,  might  shake  your  decision  to  consecrate 
-  Schenkei,  173.  yoursclf  whoUy  to  the  kingdom  of  God."* 


THE    SEVENTY    SENT    OUT.  283 

It  was  now  many  months  since  the  sending  out  of  the  chap.xlix. 
Twelve  on  their  first  missionary  journey.  It  had  been  ne- 
cessary to  confine  them  to  strictly  Jewish  ground,  to  avoid 
offence,  and  from  their  own  defective  sympathy  with  other 
populations.  Both  difficulties  were  now,  however,  in  part, 
removed :  the  openly  hostile  attitude  of  the  leaders  of  the 
nation  made  it  unnecessary  to  consider  their  prejudices ;  the 
Apostles  had,  in  some  degree,  gained  broader  charity,  and, 
above  all,  the  near  approach  of  the  end  made  it  desirable 
that  the  full  grandeur  of  the  New  Kingdom,  as  intended  for 
all  men  alike,  should  be  clearly  shown  before  its  founder's 
death,  that  there  might  be  no  possible  misconception  after- 
wards. Jesus  had  always  yearned  to  proclaim  the  words  of 
life  to  the  different  races  whom  He  saw  around  Him.  A 
boundless  field  opened  itself  for  the  missionary  labours  of 
any  number  of  disciples,  and  He  now  had  round  Him  a 
larger  number  than  before,  whom  He  could  thus  send  out. 
He  determined,  therefore,  to  send  out  no  fewer  than  seventy 
disciples ;  in  the  Jewish  opinion,  the  number  of  the  nations 
of  the  world.  The  lesson  could  not  be  doubtful.  It  was  a 
significant  announcement  that,  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  man,  a  universal  religion  was  being  proclaimed. 

Samaria,  through  which  He  was  passing,  had,  naturally, 
the  first  claim  on  the  new  enterprise,  and  that  all  the  more 
from  the  proof  of  its  need  of  spiritual  light,  furnished  by  the 
inhospitality  shown  to  Him  who  was  bringing  that  light  to 
its  borders. 

The  Seventy,  separated  into  pairs,  were  detailed  to  carry 
the  message  of  peace  to  all  the  habitations  of  the  race  they 
had  formerly,  as  Jews,  so  hated.  They  had  grown  up  from 
childhood  in  the  narrowest  Pharisaic  spirit,  and  were  still,  in 
some  measure,  under  its  speU.  The  Rabbis  did  not  permit 
any  close  intercourse  of  Jews  with  heathen  or  Samaritans  ; 
they  were  forbidden  to  enter  their  houses,  or  return  their 
greetings,  and,  still  more,  to  join  them  in  a  common  meal. 
But  the  grand  maxims  of  charity  and  love  which  Jesus  had 
so  often  taught,  were  now  to  be  put  in  practice.  Jewish 
exclusiveness  was  to  be  done  away  for  ever,  by  the  procla- 
mation of  a  Saviour  of  Mankind.    His  messengers,  therefore, 


284 


THE    LIFE   OP   CHRIST. 


cHAP.xLix.  Avliile  losing  no  time  on  the  way  by  long  and  formal 
salutations,  were  to  bear  themselves  with  loving  trust  even 
among  hostile  populations,  taking  neither  purse,  nor  wallet, 
and  wearing  only  the  sandals  of  the  jioor — to  show  their 
lowly  bearing,  and  humble  personal  claims.  The  instruc- 
tions given  formerly  to  the  Twelve,  were,  in  fact,  repeated ; 
instructions  then  as  amazing  as  if  Hindoo  Brahmins  of  to- 
day were  sent  forth  Avith  orders  to  care  nothing  for  caste,  and 
associate  freely,  and  even  eat,  with  abhorred  Pariahs  and 
Sudras.  The  Seventy  were  to  join,  without  hesitation  or 
reserve,  in  the  household  life  of  the  hated  Samaritans,  and  eat 
■with  them  at  their  tables  !  No  other  condition  of  spiritual 
brotherhood  Avas  to  be  required  than  that  of  a  believing 

«  schenkei,L     rcccption  of  tlic  salvatiou  throun;!!  Jesus.^ 

Only  one  incident  of  the  journey  of  Jesus  Himself  is  re- 
corded, but  it  is  wondrously  significant.  His  repulse  at  the 
border  village  had  changed  His  route,  for  now,  instead  of 
going  straight  south.  He  turned  eastwards,  and  followed  the 

r  LukDi:.  road  that  runs  between  Samaria  and  Galilee,"''  down  the 
ravines,  to  the  fertile  meadows  of  Bethshean  or  Scythopolis, 
where  a  ford  or  bridge  led  over  the  Jordan.  The  route 
stretched  thence,  southwards,  to  Jericho. 

The  calm  rebuke  of  John  and  James  for  their  anger  and 
rcA'cngeful  spirit,  and  the  return  of  good  for  evil  in  the 
sending  foi'th  the  Seventy  to  jircach  the  Kingdom  throughout 
the  Samaritan  region,  had  shown  that  the  rudeness  He  had 
received  had  not  rufiled  His  spirit.  He  was  noAv  to  add 
another  proof  of  His  serene  and  loving  nature.  As  they 
approached  a  border  village,  a  dismal  spectacle  was  presented. 
Ten  men,  hideous  with  leprosy,  ranged  themselves  at  a  dis- 
tance fi'om  the  road,  as  similar  sufferers  still  do,  before  their 
huts  at  the  Zion  Gate  at  Jerusalem.  It  was  a  law  in  Samaria 

►  Aiitis.4.5.  that  no  leper  could  enter  a  town,*  and  hence  the  unfortu- 
nate creatures  accosted  Jesus  while  He  was  still  outside  the 
village.  Misery  had  broken  down  all  prejudice  of  race  or 
faith,  and  had  brought  together  even  Jew  and  Samaritan,  as 
it  still  does  in  the  leper  haunts  of  Jerusalem  and  Nablous. 
The  ten  had  heard  of  Jesus,  and  the  wonderful  cures  He  had 
performed  on  such  as  they,  and  no  sooner  saw  Him  than 


THE   TEN   LEPERS.  285 

they  broke  out  with  the  common  cry — "Tame!  Tamd !  oh.\p.5:lis. 
Unclean,  unclean  !  Jesus,  Master,  have  mercy  on  us."  It 
was  a  sight  that  might  have  touched  any  heart,  for  it  must 
have  been  like  that  which  still  repeats  itself  to  passers-by  at 
the  leper  quarters  elsewhere — a  crowd  of  beggars  without 
eyebrows,  or  hair  on  their  faces  or  heads,  the  nails  of  their 
hands  and  feet,  and  even  a  hand  or  a  foot  itself,  gone  from 
some ;  the  nose,  the  eyes,  the  tongue,  the  palate,  more  or  less 
wanting  in  others.^  As  they  stood  afar  off,  their  lips  covered  9  Rar,  Paiaes- 
with  their  abbas,  like  mourners  for  the  dead  ;  for  they  were  Thomson,  65 1. 
smitten  with  a  living  death,  which  cut  them  off  from  inter- 
course with  their  fellows  ;  the  pity  of  Jesus  was  excited,  and 
without  even  waiting  to  come  near,  sent  hope  to  them  ■  in 
the  words,  "  Go,  show  yourselves  to  the  priests."  They 
knew  what  the  command  meant,  for  no  one  who  was  not 
cleansed  could  approach  a  priest,  and  as  they  moved  off, 
the  disease  left  them.  The  Samaritan  would  have  to  show 
himself  to  a  Samaritan  priest ;  tne  nine  Jews  needed  to  go 
up  to  Jerusalem  for  an  officia.  certificate  of  health,  at  the 
Temple  ;  but  it  was  the  least  either  the  one  or  the  others 
could  do,  when  they  lelt  their  cure,  to  return,  if  only  for  a 
moment,  to  thank  their  benefactor  for  a  deliverance  from 
worse  than  death.  But  the  nine  Jews  were  too  much  con- 
centrated on  themselves  to  tniun.  of  this.  Only  one,  the 
Samaritan,  showed  natural  gratitude,  and  came  back  and 
threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  in  humble  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  goodness  shown  him.  "  Were  there  not  ten 
cleansed?"  asked  Christ;  "where  are  tae  nine?  The  only 
one  who  has  returned  to  give  glory  to  God  is  this  Samaritan, 
whom  Jews  call  a  heatnen,  and  an  alien  from  Israel.  Arise, 
go  thy  way,  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole."  The  Twelve 
had  received  another  lesson  of  universal  charity. 

The  Feast  of  Tabernacles  was  one  of  the  three  great  feasts 
which  every  Jew  was  required  to  attend.  It  was  held  from 
the  fifteenth  of  Tisri  to  the  twenty-second,  the  first  and  last 
days  being  Sabbaths— -the  latter  "the  great  day  of  the 
feast."  It  commemorated,  in  part,  the  tent-fife  of  Israel  in 
the  wilderness,  but  was  also,  still  more,  a  feast  of  thanks 
for  the  harvest,  which  was  now  ended  even  in  the  orchards 


AT  THE    FEAST.  287 

the  crowd  that  soon  gathered  round  Him.  It  is  not  told  us  ch.«>.  xlix. 
when  He  had  arrived,  or  whether  He  lived  for  the  week, 
like  the  crowds,  in  a  succah  or  booth  of  His  own,  or  of  a 
friend :  or  whether  He  carried  the  lulab  and  citron,  as 
others  did,  round  the  great  altar,  or  attended  only  to  the 
graver  matters  of  His  New  Kingdom.  We  only  know  that 
He  showed  Himself  oj^enly  in  the  city  and  in  the  Temple 
courts,  under  the  very  eyes  of  His  enemies.  Loyalty  to  His 
work  had  demanded  His  delay  in  coming,  for  His  life  was 
still  needed  to  proclaim  the  New  Kingdom  in  Jerusalem  as 
well  as  in  Galilee,  if  it  were  permitted  Him.  He  had  hved 
mostly  in  the  latter,  hut  Jerusalem  was  the  religious  centre 
of  the  nation,  and  all  that  happened,  or  was  spoken  publicly 
during  one  of  the  great  feasts,  would  be  wafted,  like  seeds, 
to  every  land.  As  a  Jew,  moreover.  He  had  a  tender  love 
for  the  City  of  David,  and  of  a  still  greater.  His  Heavenly 
Father — a  spot  dear  then,  as  now,  beyond  expression,  to 
every  Israelite.  Before  it  was  for  ever  too  late,  He  would 
fain  bring  its  children  to  listen  to  the  things  of  their  peace, 
which  He  alone  could  tell  them. 

The  Jewish  authorities  were  astounded,  and  hardly  knew 
what  course  to  take.  Coming,  themselves,  to  listen  to  the 
fearless  intruder,  they  were  still  more  amazed  at  Avhat  they 
heard.  They  could  now  understand  how  it  had  been  said 
of  Him  that  He  bore  Himself  as  one  who  had  authority 
direct  from  God ;  and  not  like  the  Rabbis,  who  never  spoke 
without  quoting  an  authority ;  and  how  He  had  made  so 
great  a  popular  impression.  Art  and  study  of  effect  had  no 
place  in  His  discourses  ;  for  the  copiousness  and  finish  of  a 
mere  rhetorician  were  wanting.  His  resistless  power  lay 
as  much  in  Himself  as  in  His  words  :  His  calm  dignity,  and 
His  look  of  mingled  pui'ity  and  tenderness,  confirming  all 
He  said,  as  by  a  holy  sanction.  He  did  not  merely  treat  of 
general  religious  and  moral  truths,  but  spoke  of  quickening 
facts  and  I'eaUties.  The  advent  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  its 
nature,  and  its  glorious  future,  but  above  all.  His  own  posi- 
tion in  it ;  as  its  Head  and  King,  as  He  in  whom  the  Father 
revealed  Himself,  and  in  Avhom  men  Avere  to  find  salvation, 
were  the  substance  of  His  addresses.     They  were,  in  fact. 


288 


THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


Ullmann, 
1C3, 169. 


CE.VP.  xLix.  essentially  a  testimony  respecting  Himself,  and  a  self-revela- 
tion. There  were  no  sudden  and  violent  bursts,  no  brilliant 
flasbes,  but  an  atmosphere  of  more  than  earthly  peace  rested 
over  both  speaker  and  words,  from  first  to  last.^^  The  most 
amazing  claims  were  uttered,  not  only  without  a  trace  of 
self-consciousness,  but  with  the  lowliest  humility.  It  seemed 
as  if  all  He  said  was  only  what  became  Him. 

But  with  all  His  humility,  and  in  addition  to  His  tran- 
scendent dignity,  the  fulness  of  His  knowledge  Avas  no  less 
remarkable.  He  was  intimately  familiar  with  all  the  sacred 
books,  and  even  with  the  honoured  extra-canonical  writings. 
He  met  and  confuted  opinions  of  the  Eabbis  by  the  subtlest 
and  most  original  references  to  Scripture  ;  He  ])ierced  be- 
neath its  letter  to  the  spirit;  He  distinguished  with  the 
keenest  acuteness  between  the  Law,  as  given  by  God,  in  its 
scope  and  essence,  and  the  Pharisaic  traditions ;  and  He 
clothed  in  the  simjjlest  language,  the  profoundest  spiritual 
truths  of  both  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.^*  Such  a  pheno- 
menon was  inexplicable. 

The  authorities,  in  amazement,  could  only  ask  themselves 
how  he  could  have  such  learning,  when  he  has  never  studied 
in  the  schools.  Where  could  He  have  got  this  power  of 
handling  the  Scriptures  like  a  great  Rabbi?  He  was  a 
Gahhuan,  and  had  never  attended  any  Teachei'.  Like  the  old 
prophets  He  must  have  been  "  taught  of  God,"  and  it  was 
evident  that  the  people  did  not  hesitate  to  recognize  Him  as 
one,  though  the  official  classes  were  fain  to  decry  Him,  and 
knew  the  efiect  of  a  harsh  and  contemptuous  name.  "  How 
could  a  common  man  like  this,"  said  they,  "  who  has  never 
been  educated  as  a  Rabbi,  jjossibly  understand  the  Scrip- 
tures? "  Against  their  consciences,  they  tried  to  dejireciate 
both  Him  and  His  teaching. 

Had  they  shown  only  curious  or  friendly  wonder,  Jesus 
would,  perhaps,  have  remained  silent.  But  it  was  ditferent 
when  they  were  trying  to  excite  doubt  and  suspicion  against 
Himself  and  His  Avords,  as  it  was  clear  they  were  doing  from 
what  He  saw  and  heard.  A  deputation  from  the  authorities 
liaving  at  last  given  the  opportunity  of  reply  by  a  direct 
interrogation.  He  seized  it  at  once.     "Beyond  doubt,"  said 


JESUS   AT    THE    TEMPLE.  289 

He,  to  jjaraphrase  His  words  slightly,  ^^  "  I  have  not  learned  chap,  xux 

in  your  schools  what  I  teach.     But  my  doctrine  is  not  a'^Luttardt, 

mere  invention  of  my  own  :  it  is  not  mine  at  all,  but  His    Luckef ' 

who  has  sent  me.     I  only  repeat  what  He  instructs  me  to    « "'•  >"  '»• 

make  known  in  His  name.     You  speak  as  if  religious  truth 

were  a  mere  matter  of  tedious  study.   But  it  is  to  be  learned 

by  obedience,  rather  than  from  books,  as  your  own  Wisdom 

of  Sirach  tells  you,  '  He  that  keepeth  the  law  of  the  Lord 

getteth   the  understanding  thereof'^*'      It    needs    a  heart "  wisdom  21. 

willing  to  be  taught  of  God  to  comprehend  it ;    a  heart  at 

one  with  God,  and  eager  to  do  His  will,  however  contrary  to 

one's  own.     He  whose  soul  has  no  love  of  truth,  no  oneness 

with  God,  cannot  recognize  His  truth  even  when  he  hears  it. 

If  you  had  true  love  to  God  and  desired  to  know  His  revealed 

will,  and  to  carry  it  out  in  your  lives,  you  would  know  from 

whom  I  have  received  the  doctrine  I  teach,  by  its  jDower 

to  purify  and  calm  the  heart,  and  by  the  hopes  it  gives  for 

the  world  to  come.     That  I  do  not  advance  a  doctrine  of  my 

OATO  invention  is,  moreover,  clear  from  this,  that  if  I  did  so 

I  should  seek  my  own  honour  and  advantage.     But  if  I  seek 

no  honour  for  myself,  but  only  for  Him  by  whom  I  have 

been  sent,  it  shows  that  I  am  worthy  of  trust.     To  strive 

only  for  the  glory  of  God  is  in  itself  a  proof  of  being  His  true 

mouthpiece  and  messenger,  and  I  leave  you  to  say  whether 

this  does  not  apply  to  me.     Have  I  ever  sought  honour  from 

men  and  not  rather  the  honour  of  my  Father  alone  ?     Have 

I  not  always  professed  to  have  received  all  from  my  Father? 

I  have  had  no  personal  end,  and  it  is,  therefore,  incredible 

that  I  should  be  a  deceiver,  seeking  to  lead  men  astray." 

The  cavil  of  tbe  Rabbis  thus  answered,  Jesus  forthwith 
took  the  oiFensive.  "  You  charge  me,"  said  He,  "  ■^^dth  not 
knowing  the  Law :  you  do  not  keeji  it.  You  boast  of  your 
zeal  for  it,  and  aftect  indignation  for  my  having,  as  you  assert, 
broken  it  by  healing  a  blind  man  on  the  Sabbath ;  an  indig- 
nation so  real  that  you  would  put  me  to  death  if  you  could. 
But  this,  itself,  is  a  violation  of  the  Law,  for  the  Law  com- 
mands love  to  our  neighbour  above  even  the  Sabbath,  and 
that  should  be  my  perfect  defence."  He  knew  that  the 
authorities  had  never  forgiven  Him  His  answer,  at  His 
VOL.  II.  58 


CHAP.  XUX. 


290  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

former  visit,  to  tlieir  charge  of  having  broken  the  Sabbath 
by  the  miracle  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  and  that  they  were 
plotting  His  death,  even  now,  on  account  of  it. 

]\Ieanwhile,  the  crowd,  perhaps  knowing  less  than  He  of 
the  secret  designs  of  the  hierarchy,  or  affecting  to  deny 
them ;  believed,  or  feigned  to  believe  Him  in  no  danger,  and 
broke  out  in  angry  repudiation  of  such  a  charge.  They  had 
heard  the  Rabbis  often  ascribe  His  works  to  Beelzebub,  and 
fell  back  on  the  blasphemous  slander  as  an  explanation  of 
His  language.  He  must  have  a  devil. ^'  The  Rabbis  were 
right.  He  was  crazed.  The  evil  spirit  that  spoke  through 
Him  was  trying  to  stir  them  up  against  their  spiritual 
guides. 

Without  noticing  the  interruption,  Jesus  continued,  ad- 
dressing the  crowd  at  large,  "  Your  leaders  are  plotting  to 
kill  me  for  doing  an  act  of  mercy  on  the  Sabbath.  But  all 
of  you  are  in  a  measure  guilty  by  your  sympathy  with  them ; 
shown  in  j'our  unrighteous  anger  at  me  on  account  of  it,  on 
the  same  ground.  But  that  you  may  see  the  injustice  of 
your  charge,  let  me  remind  you  of  what  often  takes  place 
in  regard  to  circumcision.  That  rite  was  commanded  by 
Moses,  though  it  dates  from  Aln-aham,  and  you  are  so  strict 
in  performing  it  at  the  prescribed  time,  the  eighth  day,  that 
you  circumcise  a  child  even  on  the  Sabbath,  if  necessary,  that 
the  law  of  Moses  in  this  particular  be  not  broken.  Do  you 
think  the  Sabbath  was  first  given  on  Sinai,  and  hence  give 
the  older  law  of  circumcision  the  preference?  Or  have 
you,  of  your  own  accord,  decided  that  in  some  cases  the  law 
of  the  Sabbath  must  give  way  to  other  parts  of  the  law  ? 
You  accept  the  saying  of  the  Rabbis,  that  '  circumcision 
drives  away  the  Sabbath.'  But,  if  you  perform  circumcision, 
with  all  the  work  it  involves,  on  the  Sabbath,  without 
breaking  the  day,  hoAV  can  you  be  angry  at  me,  if  I  broke 
it  by  a  work  of  mercy  so  much  more  beneficial  to  its  object 
as  the  making  a  blind  man  whole  on  it?  Never  judge 
by  appearance,  but  look  beneath  the  surface  and  judge 
righteously." 

But  now  some  joined  the  crowd  who  knew  of  the  plots  of 
the  authorities  ajrainst  His  life,^^  and  could  not  understand 


JESUS   AT   THE    TEJIPLE.  291 

how  He  should  be  allowed  to  teach  thus  openly  without  chap.xlix 

interference.     His  words  and   bearing  had  softened    their 

prejudice,  and  made  it   seem  possible  that  the  authorities 

had  become  convinced  that  He  was,  in  reality,  the  Messiah, 

and  sanctioned  this  course.     But  the  mere  suggestion,  in  the 

shape  of  a  question,  was  enough   to   raise  a  hot    dispute 

among  theologians  so  keen.     "  Do  not  the  Eabbis  tell  us," 

said  some,  "  that  the  Messiah  will  be  born  at  Bethlehem, 

but  that  He  will  be  snatched  away  by  spirits  and  tempests 

soon  after  His  birth,  and  that  when  He  returns  the  second 

time  no  one  will  know  from  whence  He  has  come  ?^^     But  we  "  ijghtfoot  on 

Mate.  2. 1. 

know  that  this  man  comes  from  Xazareth.     Our  chief  men, 
if  they  choose,  may  accept  Him  as  the  Messiah  ;  we  will  not." 

Jesus  was  still  sitting  in  the  Temple  porch,  teaching,  but, 
on  hearing  what  Avas  thus  openly  said  in  disparagement  of 
His  Messiahship,  He  broke  off  His  discourse,  and  called  out 
in  a  louder  voice  than  He  had  hitherto  used,  to  the  noisy 
disputants — "  You  do  certainly,  in  your  own  sense,  know 
who  I  am,  and  whence  I  come,  but  in  a  higher  sense  you 
know  neither.  I  come  forward  as  the  Messiah,  not  of  my- 
self; I  am  sent  by  one  whom  you  cannot  truly  know,  so  long 
as  you  cling  to  your  worldly  ideas  of  the  Messiah — ^by  One 
who,  alone,  has  the  right  and  power  to  send  forth  the 
Messiah,  and  has  done  so  in  sending  me.  I  know  Him, 
though  you  do  not,  for  I  have  come  foi-th  from  Him,  and 
no  other  than  He  has  sent  me." 

His  hearers  at  once  saw  what  was  implied  in  this.  It  was 
no  less  than  a  claim  to  have  come  forth  from  God,  and  was 
equivalent  to  asserting  divine  dignity,  for  He  said  nothing 
of  being  only  an  angel,  or  embodied  heavenly  spirit,  or 
pi'ophet  raised  from  the  dead.  He  had  once  before,  after  the 
very  miracle  for  which  He  had  been  so  assailed,  justified 
Himself  by  saying — "  My  Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I 
work ;"  ^°  and  the  words  had  sounded  so  blasphemous,  that  the  ■'  ch.  s.  4s. 
authorities  had  sought  to  kill  Him,  because  He  had  not  only 
broken  the  Sabbath,  but  had  said  that  God  was  His  Father, 
making  Himself  equal  -ttith  God.  The  hostile  part  of  the 
crowd  rightly  saw  a  similar  claim  repeated  now,  and  with 
the  wild  fanaticism  of  their  race  in  that  age,  proposed  to  lay 


292  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

hold  of  Hiin,  and  hurry  Him  outside  the  city  on  the  instant, 
to  stone  Him,  as  the  Law  against  blasphemy  enjoined.  But 
His  hour  had  not  yet  come,  and  whether  from  fear  of  the 
Galila^ans  at  the  feast,  or  from  other  reasons,  their  rage  died 
away  in  words. 

The  fame  of  His  miracles  in  the  north  had  preceded  Him 
to  Jerusalem,  and  was,  now,  further  spread  by  the  reports  of 
the  Galila?an  pilgrims,  and  deepened  the  effect  of  His  cure  of 
the  blind  man  at  His  last  visit — the  very  bitterness  of  His 
enemies  having  kept  it  from  being  forgotten.  Numbers  had 
thus  been  impressed  in  His  favour,  even  before  His  appearance 
at  the  feast,  and  not  a  few  of  these  were  noAV  so  far  won 
over  by  the  still  higher  evidence  of  His  wondrous  words, 
and  Avhole  air  and  bearing,  that  many  felt  constrained  to 
admit  His  claim  to  be  the  Messiah.  IMiracles  had  always 
been  held  a  characteristic  of  the  Messiah's  advent,  and  even 
the  bitterest  enemies  of  Jesus  did  not  deny  His  supernatural 
power.  It  was  evident  that  He  was  rapidly  gaining  ground, 
and  the  hierarchy  knew  that  if  He  rose  they  must  fall.  If 
they  could  arrest  Him,  while  His  adherents  had  not  as  yet 
ventured  on  an  open  movement  in  His  support,  all  might  be 
well.  The  Pharisees,  therefore,  and  the  Sadducean  chief 
priests — mortal  enemies  at  all  other  times — hastily  issued  a 
warrant  to  apprehend  Him,  and  sent  some  of  the  Temple 
police  to  carry  it  out. 

The  sight  of  the  well-known  dress  of  these  officials,  on  the 
outskirts  of  His  audience,  told  the  whole  story  to  the  quick 
intelligence  of  Jesus,  and  with  that  readiness  which  always 
marked  Him,  He,  forthwith,  began  a  calm  and  clear  antici- 
pation of  His  near  death. 

"  I  shall  be  with  you,"  said  He,  "  only  a  short  time  longer, 
for  I  shall  soon  return  to  my  Father  in  Heaven,  who  sent 
me.  Then  the  days  vnll  come  when  sore  distress  will  fall  upon 
this  city  and  land  for  rejecting  me,  and  you  will  seek  help  and 
deliverance  from  the  Messiah,  that  is,  from  me,  but  ye  will 
not  find  me  then.  Persecuted  and  j^ut  to  death  now,  ye 
will  then  long  for  me  in  vain,  when  for  ever  gone  from  you, 
for  where  I  shall  then  be  you  cannot  go,  to  fetch  me  from 
thence  as  your  Saviour." 


THE  LAST  PAY  OF  THE  FEAST.  293 

"What  does  He  mean?"  asked  those  round;  ''will  He  go  chap,  xlix 
to  our  Greek  speaking  brethren — the  Hellenists  in  Eg}'pt, 
or  Asia  Minor,  or  some  other  of  the  lands  of  the  Gentiles?"® 

The  day  passed  without  any  attempt  to  apprehend  Him, 
nor  Avas  He  disturljed  again  during  the  week.  The  last  day  of 
the  Feast,^  known  as  "  the  Hosanna  Rabba,"  and  the  "Great 
Day,"  found  Him,  as  each  day  before,  doubtless,  had  done,  in 
the  Temple  arcades.  He  had  gone  thither  early,  to  meet 
the  crowds  assembled  for  morning  prayer.  It  Avas  a  day  of 
special  rejoicing.  A  great  procession  of  pilgrims  marched 
seven  times  round  the  city,  with  their  lulabs,  music,  and  loud- 
voiced  choirs  preceding,  and  the  air  was  rent  with  shouts  of 
Hosanna,  in  commemoration  of  the  taking  of  Jericho,  the  first 
city  in  the  Holy  Land  that  fell  into  the  hands  of  their 
Fathers.  Other  multitudes  streamed  to  the  brook  of  Siloah, 
after  the  priests  and  Levites,  bearing  the  golden  vessels, 
with  which  to  draw  some  of  the  water.  As  many  as  could 
get  near  the  stream  drank  of  it  amidst  loud  chanting  of  the 
words  of  Isaiah — "Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye 
to  the  waters,"  "  With  joy  shall  we  draw  water  from  the  wells 
of  salvation," — rising  in  jubilant  chants  on  every  side.  The 
water  drawn  by  the  jJi'iests,  was,  meanwhile,  borne  up  to  the 
Temple,  amidst  the  boundless  excitement  of  a  vast  throng. 
Such  a  crowd  was,  apparently,  passing  at  this  moment. 

Rising,  as  the  throng  w-ent  by.  His  Spirit  was  moved  at 
such  honest  enthusiasm,  yet  saddened  at  the  moral  decay 
which  mistook  a  mere  ceremony  for  religion.  It  was  burning 
autumn  weather,  when  the  sun  had  for  months  shone  in  a 
cloudless  sky,  and  the  early  rains  were  longed  for  as  the 
monsoons  in  India  after  the  summer  heat.  Water  at  all 
times  is  a  magic  word  in  a  sultry  climate  like  Palestine,  but 
at  this  moment  it  had  a  double  power.  Standing,  therefore, 
to  give  His  words  more  solemnity.  His  voice  now  sounded 
far  and  near  over  the  throng,  with  soft  clearness,  which 
arrested  all: — 

"If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink, -^  n  Ligiitfoot,u 
for  I  "will  give  him  the  living   waters  of  God's  heavenly 
grace,  of  which  the  water  you  have  now  drawn  from  Siloah 
is  only,  as  your  Rabbis  tell  you,  a  type.     He  that  believes 


294  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  sLts.  ill    ine    drinks  into   his  soul  from  my  fulness,  as   from  a 

fountain,  the  riches  of  divine  grace  and  truth.     Nor  do 

they  bring  life  to  him  alone  who  thus  drinks.    They  become 

"  iTf^^'u    ^^  ^^^  ^"^"^''^  heart,  as  the  whole  burden  of  Scripture  tells,-^  a 

iectisliV   living  spring,  which  shall  flow  forth  from  his  lips  and  life  in 

joei'3.1-23.  holy  Avords  and  deeds,  quickening  the  thirsty  around  him."s 

He  meant,  adds  St.  John,  that  this  quickening  missionary 

zeal  and  power  would  first  show  itself  after  the  descent  of 

the  Holy  Spirit,  when  He  Himself  had  entered  on  His  glory. 

Streams  of  holy  influence,  like  rivers  of  living  water,  would 

go  forth  from  His  Apostles  through  the  Spirit's  overflowing 

fulness  in  their  souls. 

The  whole  discourse  was  noAV  ended.  Tlie  impressions  it 
had  left  were  various.  IMany  who  had  listened  to  it, 
whispered  to  their  neighbours  that  they  were  sure  "This 
was  the  Prophet  to  come  before  the  Messiah."  Others  main- 
tained He  was  the  Messiah  Himself,  but  this  opinion  led  to 
hot  dispute.  "  Does  the  Messiah,  then,  come  out  of  Naza- 
reth ? "  asked  the  incredulous  Rabbinists.  "  Does  not  the 
Scripture  say  that  the  Christ  comes  of  the  seed  of  David, 
and  from  Bethlehem,  the  village  where  David  was  ?  "  But 
the  division  in  the  crowd  was  the  safety  of  Jesus,  for  those 
who  were  fiercest  to  lay  hands  on  Him  as  a  blasphemer  and 
Sabbath -breaker  were  afraid  to  do  so,  so  strong  did  the 
party  seem  which  supported  Him. 

The  Temple  police  sent  to  arrest  Him  had  remained  near, 
to  the  close,  to  watch  their  opportunity.  But  the  power 
and  majesty  of  His  discourse,  which  had  spell-bound  so 
many  others,  had  overawed  and  impressed  even  them,  so 
that  they  dAred  not  touch  him,  and  went  back  to  their 
masters  empty-handed.  To  the  angry  demand  for  an 
explanation,  they  could  only  answer,  "  Never  man  s^^ake  as 
this  man  speaks."  The  Pharisees  in  the  Council — the  special 
guardians  of  the  pubHc  orthodoxy — professed  themselves 
shocked  at  such  disloyalty  on  the  part  of  men  entrusted 
with  the  commission  of  the  high  ecclesiastical  court.  "  How 
can  you  be  so  led  away  ?  Do  you  not  see  that  only  some  of 
the  ignorant  rabble  believe  in  Him  ?  Have  any  men  of 
position — any  members  of  the  Council,  or  any  Rabbis — done 


NICODEMUS.  295 

so?     They  are  qualified  to  judge  on  such  matters;  but  as  chap.xlix. 
for  the  rabble,  who  have  accepted  such  a  transgressor  as  the 
Messiah,  it  shows  that  they  do  not  know  the  Law,  and  are 
therefore  accursed  of  God." 

One  faint  voice  only  was  heard  in  the  Council  in  hesitating 
defence  of  Jesus.  It  was  that  of  Nicodemus — His  visitor  by 
night  on  His  first  appearance.  "  I  know,  sirs,  you  are 
zealous  for  the  Law,  and  rightly  condemn  those  who  are 
ignorant  of  it.  But  does  the  Law  sanction  our  thus  con- 
demning a  man  before  it  has  heard  Him,  and  found  exactly 
what  He  has  done  ?  "  He  had  not  moral  courage  to  take  a 
side,  but  could  not  withhold  a  timid  word.  Like  all  weak 
men,  he  found  little  favour  for  his  feint-hearted  caution. 
"  Are  you,  also,  like  Jesus,  out  of  Galilee,"  they  asked,  "  that 
you  believe  in  Him ;  only  ignorant  Galilasans  do  so  ?  Search 
the  Scriptures,  and  you  will  see  that  no  Galilaean  was  ever 
inspired  as  a  proj^het  by  God :  the  race  is  despised  of  the 
Highest,  and  is  it  likely  it  should  give  Jerusalem  the 
Messiah  ?  " 

Li  their  blind  rage  they  forgot  that,  at  least,  Jonah,  and 
Hosea,  and  Nahum,  were  Galila?ans,  and  they  ignored  the 
fact  that  if  the  ■  followers  of  Jesus  were  mostly  from  the 
illiterate  north,  He  had  also  not  a  few  even  from  the  sons  of 
bisoted  Jerusalem. 


296  THE   LIFE   OF   CHKIST. 


CHAPTER  L. 

AFTER  THE  FEAST. 

CHAP.  L.  A  LL  who  attended  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  were  required 
-^  to  sleep  in  the  city  the  first  night  at  least,  but  were 
free  afterwards  to  go  any  distance  outside,  -n-ithin  the  limit 
of  a  Sabbath  day's  journey.  Jesus,  accustomed  to  the  pure 
air  of  the  hills  and  open  countiy,  and  with  little  sympathy 
for  the  noise  and  merriment,  or  for  the  crowds  and  confusion, 
of  the  great  holiday,  was  glad  to  avail  Himself  of  this  free- 
dom, and  went  out,  each  night,  after  leaving  the  Temple,  to 
seek  sleep  in  the  house  of  some  friend  on  the  Mount  of 
John  8. 1-11.  Olives  ;^  perhaps  to  that  of  the  family  of  Bethany,  of  which 
w'e  hear  so  much  soon  after  this.  The  early  morning, 
however,  saw  Him  alwaj-s  at  His  post  in  the  Temple  courts ; 
now  in  the  royal  porch ;  now  in  the  court  of  the  women, 
through  which  the  men  passed  to  their  own. 

The  vast  concourse  of  people  from  all  countries,  and  the 
general  excitement  and  relaxation  of  the  season,  had  gradu- 
ally led  to  abuses.  Pilgi-images,  in  all  ages,  have  had  an 
indifferent  name  for  their  influence  on  morals,  and  the 
yearly  feasts  at  Jerusalem  were  likely  no  exception. 

A  large  number  of  people  had  already  gathered  round 
Jesus,  when  a  commotion  was  seen  in  the  women's  court, 
where  He  had  sat  down  to  teach.  A  woman  of  the  humbler 
class  had  been  guilty  of  immorality,  and  the  Scribes, 
on  the  moment,  saw  in  her  sin  a  possible  snare  for  the 
hated  Galila^an.  It  was  not  their  business,  but  that  of  her 
husband,  to  accuse  her ;  nor  could  she  be  legally  punished, 
except  by  divoi-ce,  if  he,  himself,  were  not  a  man  of  pure 
life.  It  was  the  custom,  however,  in  cases  of  difficulty,  to 
consult  a  famous  Rabbi,  and  advantage  was  taken  of  this,  to 


THE    SINFUL   WOMAN.  297 

entrap  Jesus,  if  possible,  by  asking  Him  to  adjudicate  on  the     oh.\p.  i,. 
case.    If  He  condemned  her,  and  insisted  that  she  should  be 
stoned  to  death,'-^  it  would  injure  Him  in  the  eyes  of  the  - 1^^- so- "• 

,        P  ,        T  •  1    •  D6at.22. 24. 

people,  for  the  Law,  m  this  particular,  had  long  been  obsolete, 
from  the  very  commonness  of  the  offence.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  He  simplj^  dismissed  her,  they  could  charge  Him  with 
slighting  the  Law,  for  it  was  still  formally  binding.  To 
condemn  her  to  death,  would,  moreover,  bring  Him  under 
the  Roman  law,  as  an  invasion  of  the  right  of  the  o-overnor. 

Leading  forward  their  trembling  prisoner — unveiled,  and 
exposed  before  the  crowd  of  men — the  bitterest  degradation 
to  an  Eastern  woman — they  set  her  before  Jesus,  and  asked 
with  feigned  humility — 

"Teacher,  this  woman  has  been  guUty  of  sin.  Now 
Moses,  in  the  Law,  charged  us  that  such  should  be  stoned. 
What  is  your  opinion  ?" 

Knowing  their  smooth  dissimulation.  He  instinctively  felt 
that  this  mock  respect  was  a  mere  cloak  for  sinister  designs. 
Yet  the  incident  threw  Him  into  a  moment's  confusion. 
His  soul  shrank  from  the  spectacle  thus  brought  before  Him, 
and  in  His  stainless  purity  He  could  not  bear  to  look  on  the 
fallen  one.  Stooping  down,  therefore,  at  once  to  hide  the 
blush  He  could  not  prevent,  and  to  show  that  He  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  such  a  matter.  He  began  to  write 
on  the  dust  before  Him — most  likely  the  very  words  He 
was  presently  to  utter.  Had  they  chosen  to  read  them,  they 
might  have  spared  themselves  the  open  exposure  that 
followed.  But  they  were  too  occupied  with  their  plot  to 
read  the  warning,  and  again  and  again  repeated  the  question, 
to  force  Him  to  answer.  At  last,  raising  His  face  for  a 
moment  and  looking  straight  at  them.  He  said — 

"  Let  him,  among  you,  who  is  free  from  sin  of  a  like  kind, 
cast  the  first  stone  at  her,  as  is  required  of  the  chief  witness. 

by  Moses.  "3  'Dent.  is.  9,10: 

It  was  an  age  of  deep  immorality,  and  the  words  of  Jesus    ^'"^^■^^■ 
went  to  their  consciences.     He  had  again  stooped  and  begun 
to  write,  as  soon  as  He  had  spoken,  perhaps  to  remind  them 
how  sin,  when  followed  by  penitence,  is  effaced  for  ever,  like 
characters  written  in  dust.     MeauAvhile,  their  own  bosoms 


63. 


298  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  L.  became  their  judges.  One  after  another,  beginning  at  the 
oldest  among  them,  moved  off,  to  the  very  last,  and  Jesus 
was  left  alone,  with  the  woman,  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd. 

Rising  once  more,  and  finding  only  the  woman  left,  He 
asked  her — 

"  Woman,  where  are  thine  accusers  ?      Did  no  one  con- 
demn thee,  by  casting  a  stone  at  thee  ?" 
"  No  one,  Lord." 

"  Neither,"  said  He,  "  shall  I.     I  come  not  to  condemn, 

but  to  save.     I  am  no  criminal  judge,  either  to  sentence  or 

Paainsi.410.  ^cqult.     Go,  rcpcut  of  thy  guilt,  and  sin  no  more."'* 

ulhtfMt,  ■        His  enemies  had  often  murmured  at  the  pity  and  favour 

Eosfniiuuer,  JJc  had  sliowu  to  the  fallen  and  outcast.     They  knew  how 

Lu°St,in;of.  He  had  let  one  sinful  woman  wash  His  feet  with  her  tears, 

ISiLeiT'  and  wipe  them  with  her  loose  hair ;  how  He  had  eaten  with 

publicans  and  sinners,   and  how  He  even  had  a  publican 

among  His  disciples.     They  had  hoped  to  use  all  this  against 

Him,  but,  once  more,  their  schemes  had  only  turned  to  their 

own  shame.     He  had  given  no  opinion  for  the  obsolete  law, 

or  against  it :  their  own  consciences  had  set  the  offender 

free.'' 

This  incident  past,  He  began  His  discourse  again  to  those 
round  Him.  He  stiU  sat  in  the  court  of  the  women,  or,  as  it 
was  sometimes  called,  "the  treasury,"  from  the  thirteen 
brazen  chests  for  offerings,  with  their  trumpet-hke  mouths, 
GodwyTi,6e.  opening  through  the  wall  of  its  buildings.^  The  court  was 
the  great  thoroughfare  to  that  of  the  Israehtes,  which  was 
reached  from  it  by  the  fifteen  steps  leading  to  the  great 
gate. 

In  the  address  of  the  day  before.  He  had  spoken  of 
Himself  as  alone  ha\'ing  the  water  of  life  for  the  thirst  of  the 
soul.  "  To  give  water  to  drink,"  was  a  common  phrase  for 
teaching  and  explaining  the  Law,  and  hence  its  meaning, 
Nork,i68.  whcn  uscd  by  our  Lord,  was  familiar  to  all  His  hearers.'' 
Water,  in  such  a  chmate,  was  the  first  necessary  of  life,  and 
flowing,  or  living,  waters  pictured,  at  once,  every  image  ot 
joy  and  prosperity.  But  the  mighty  light,  filling  the 
heavens — the  first-born  creation  of  God — lifts  the  thoughts 
from  individual  benefit  to  that  of  the  whole  race,  for  light  is 


CHRIST   THE   LIGHT   OF   THE   WORLD.  299 

the  condition  andsoui'ce  of  all  else,  alike  to  nature  and  man. 
It  was  the  characteristic  of  Jesus  to  make  everything  round 
Him,  in  creation  or  common  Ufe,  His  texts  and  illustrations. 
The  shouts  of  the  multitude,  as  tliey  brought  up  the  golden 
vessel  of  water  from  Siloam,  had  introduced  the  discourse  on 
the  living  waters.  Round  the  court  in  which  He  now  sat, 
rose  the  great  candelabra,  in  whose  huge  cups  the  illumina- 
tions of  the  feasts  were  kindled,  that  banished  night  from  the 
city,  and  in  whose  brightness  the  multitudes  found  darkness 
changed  to  day,  and  these  He  now  used  as  a  text. 

Pointing  to  them,  and,  from  them,  to  the  glorious  sun,  just 
risen  over  the  J\Iount  of  Olives,  and  shining  with  dazzling 
splendour  on  the  white  houses  of  the  city  and  the  marble 
and  gold  of  the  Temple  walls  and  gates,  He  began  a  new 
discourse,  in  language,  which,  from  the  hps  of  a  Jew,  was 
a  direct  claim  to  be  the  Messiah.*^ 

"  I  am  The  Light  of  the  World,"  said  He—"  that  is,  of  the 
whole  race  of  man !  "  Such  Avords  from  One  who  was  humility 
itself — One  acknowledged  by  all  to  have  unbounded  super- 
natural poAver  at  His  command,  yet  so  self-restrained  that 
He  never  used  it  for  His  own  advantage,  and  was  so 
unassuming  and  lowly  that  even  the  weakest  and  poorest 
felt  perfectlj^  free  to  approach  Him — were  uttered  ■ndth  a 
calm  dignity  which  vouched  their  truth.  "  In  me  dwells 
divine  truth,"  He  continued,  "  and  from  me  it  shines  forth, 
like  the  light,  to  aU  mankind.  He  who  becomes  my  true 
disciple,  and  follows  me  sincerely,  will  no  longer  walk  in  the 
darkness  of  ignorance  and  sin,  which  is  the  death  of  the 
soul,  but  in  the  light  of  everlasting  hfe,  given  to  the  children 
of  the  Messiah's  kingdom." 

Some  partisans  of  the  Rabbinical  party,  who  remained  to 

watch  Him,   listened  with  eager  attention  to  every  word. 

Enraged  at  the  failure  of  the  last  attempt  to  entrap  Him,  what 

they  had  now  heard,  which  was  far  beyond  what  any  prophet 

*had  ever  claimed  for  Himself,  deepened  their  bitterness. 

"  You  make  yourself  judge  in  your  own  favour,"  said  they. 
"  You  I'equire  us  to  believe  you,  on  your  own  word.  It  is 
too  much  to  ask.  A  man's  witness  on  his  own  behalf  is 
worthless." 


300  THE  LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

"I  do  not  make  myself  witness  in  my  own  favour,  replied 
Jesus.  "Your  rule  does  not  apply  to  me,  for  I  speak  not 
for  myself  alone,  but  as  the  mouthpiece  of  Him  from  whom 
I  came,  and  to  whom  I  shall  soon  return.  If  you  knew  who 
He  was,  you  would  be  forced  to  receive  His  testimony  to  me. 
But  you  do  not  know  Him,  and  therefore  you  reject  it,  for 
you  know  neither  whence  I  came  nor  whither  I  shall  return. 
I  know,  and  must  know,  best,  whose  messenger  I  am,  and 
what  commission  He  has  given  me.  You  have  no  right  to 
accuse  me  as  a  deceiver,  for  you  are  not  in  a  position  to  judge 
of  me,  since  you  know  nothing  of  my  mission.  You  look 
at  me  with  jaundiced  eyes,  and  judge  only  by  my  lowly, 
outward  appearance,  and  are  thus  misled.  I,  by  myself, 
judge  neither  in  my  oavu  fovour,  nor  against  any  one,  for  I 
have  come  not  to  condemn,  but  to  save.  If,  indeed,  in  any 
case,  I  seem  to  judge,  as  in  this  instance  respecting  my 
commission,  it  is  not  I,  alone,  who  do  so,  but  I  and  my 
Father  who  has  sent  me  judge  together,  and  thus  the  judg- 
ment must  be  true.  I  am  not  alone ;  the  Father  who  sent 
me  is  with  me,  and  thus,  even  by  yoiw  own  Law,^  by  which 
the  testimony  of  two  men  is  received  as  true,  that  which  I 
offer  for  myself  is  more  than  sufficient,  for  I  offer  you  my 
own  word,  and  no  one  can  convict  me  of  untruthfulness,  and 
also  the  witness  of  My  Father.  He  witnesses  for  me  by 
the  very  truths  I  utter,  and  by  the  miracles  you  admit  I 
perform." 

"Where  is,  then,  this  second  witness,  Thy  Father?  "  re- 
torted His  adversai'ies.  "  We  do  not  see  Him.  He  must  be 
here,  if,  as  you  say,  He  is  a  witness  for  you  ?  "  He  had  too 
often  spoken  of  God  as  His  Father  to  permit  of  any  mistake 
as  to  His  meaning,  but  they  affected  to  misunderstand  Him. 
With  perfect  calmness,  Jesus  rephed,  "  You  ask  who  is  my 
Father,  and  do  not  know  me,  myself  I  cannot  answer  you 
till  you  have  juster  conceptions  of  me.  If  you  looked  at 
me,  my  teaching,  and  my  deeds,  in  a  right  light,  you  would* 
know  who  my  Father  is,  for  He  reveals  Himself  in  me.  But 
your  hearts  are  now  so  prejudiced,  that  you  would  not 
understand  what  I  might  tell  you,  either  of  myself  or  of 
Him,  were  I  to  attempt  it." 


DISCOUESE    OF  JESUS. 


301 


These  were  bold  words  in  sucla  a  place  ;  the  very  strong- 
hold of  His  enemies ;  but  as  He  finished  and  rose  to  depart, 
no  one  laid  hands  on  Him.     His  hour  was  not  yet  come. 

A  frao-ment  of  another  discourse  delivered  like  this  in  the 
Temple,''on  one  of  the  foUowing  days/ has  been  preserved.® «  j 
The  immediate  circumstances  preceding  are  not  recorded,  but 
there  must  have  been  another  dispute  with  His  enemies.  A 
fresh  attempt  to  win  them,  followed  ;  with  solemn  warnings 
of  the  results  of  their  finaUy  rejecting  Him. 

"The  time  approaches,"  said  He,  in  effect,  "when  I  shall 
leave  you,  and  when  I  am  gone  you  will  seek  me,  that  is, 
you  will  cry  out  for  the  Messiah,  but  in  vain,  and  will  look 
for  Him  without  success ;  you  will  fain  be  dehvered  from 
the  calamities  that  will  come  on  you  ;  but  you  will  die,  un- 
pardoned and  unsanctified,  with  your  sins  on  your  souls,— 
die  here,  and  die  for  ever;  for  your  seeking  me,  that  is,  the 
Messiah,  wiU  not  be  from  faith  and  repentance,  but  only  a 
despairing  cry  for  deliverance  from  temporal  distress.  You 
cannot  hope  to  be  able  to  go  up  to  heaven,  to  find  and  bring 
me  down  as  your  Saviour.     I  shall  be  gone  from  you  for 

ever. 

"  Will  He  kill  Himself?"  asked  one  of  the  bitterest  among 
the  bystanders,  with  blasphemous  irony.  "  In  that  case,  cer- 
tainly, we  shall  not  be  able  to  follow  Him,  or  willing  either, 
to  where  He  wiU  go !  " 

Taking  no  notice  of  the  coarse  insulting  jest,  Jesus  went 
on  to  point  out,  calmly,  and  with  surpassing  dignity,  that 
they  spake  as  they  did  only  because  they  could  not  compre- 
hend Him  or  His  sayings,  coming  as  He  did  from  above. 
"  You  spring  from  the  earth,  I  from  heaven ;  your  natures 
and  heai-ts,  in  keeping  \N-ith  your  origin,  are  without  the 
higher  wisdom  and  divine  life  of  those  who  are  born  of  God. 
You  have  the  thoughts  and  ideas  of  this  age  :  I  speak  those 
of  the  New  Kingdom  of  God.  It  was  on  this  ground  I  said 
to  you,  that  you  would  die  in  your  sins,  for  only  faith 
in  me,  as  the  IMessiah,  can  raise  those  who  are  not  born  from 
above'  gross  fleshly  soids,  born  only  of  the  flesh,  to  higher 
divine  life,  in  time  and  eternity.  If  you  do  not  beUeve  that 
I  am  He,  you  shall  certainly  die  in  your  sins." 


302  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

CHAR  L.  "  I  am  He,"  was  the  sum  of  Jehovah's  self-proclamation  in 
the  Old  Testament,  and  it  was  now  repeated,  in  its  lofty 
majesty,  by  Jesus,  of  His  own  Messianic  dignity.  He  could 
assume  that  the  question  of  the  Messiah  was  the  ever-present 
and  supreme  thought  of  all  His  hearers.  The  one  point 
was  whether  He,  or  another  yet  to  come,  were  the  Expected 
One, 

The  Rabbinists  perfectly  understood  Him,  but  would  not 
ackno\vledge  that  they  did  so,  and  asked  Him  contemptuously, 
"  Who  art  Thou,  then  ?" 

"  I  am  what  I  have  said  from  the  beginning  of  my  min- 
istiy  I  was, — how  can  you  still  ask?  I  have  much  to  say 
respecting  you,  much  especially  to  blame ;  but  I  refrain,  and 
confine  myself  to  my  immediate  mission, — to  proclaim  to 
mankind  what  I  have  received  from  Him  who  sent  me." 
Strange  as  it  might  seem,  though  He  had  used  similar  terms 
so  often  that  the  allusion  to  God  was  generally  recognized  at 
once,  His  hearers  did  not  in  this  instance  understand  Him 

Seeing  their  hesitation,  He  continued, — "Had  you  acknow- 
ledged me  as  the  Messiah,  you  would  have  understood  what 
I  have  said  of  my  Father.  But  when  you  have  crucified 
me,  you  will  know  that  I  am  He,  and  that  I  never  act  alone, 
but  speak  only  what  I  have  heard  from  my  Father,  before  I 
came  into  the  world.  ]\Iy  glory,  which  will  be  revealed  after 
I  die,  will  force  you  to  realize  this."  He  referred  to  the 
future  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  after  His  resurrection, — 
the  miracles  of  the  Apostles,  the  spread  of  His  Kingdom,  the 
judgment  of  God  on  the  nation,  and  His  final  return  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven  at  the  last  day.  "My  Father  who  sent  me,"  . 
He  continued,"  has  not  left  me  alone,  though  you  do  not  sec 
Him,  but  have  before  you  only  a  lowly  man,  in  the  midst  of 
enemies ;  He  is  ever  with  me,  for  I  do  always  the  things  that 
please  Him." 

These  lofty  words  must  have  been  wondrously  borne  out 
by  His  whole  air,  and  by  the  calm  truth  and  heavenhness  of 
His  tone  and  looks  ;  for,  instead  of  revolting  His  hearers  by 
the  contradiction  between  claims  so  awful,  and  Him  who 
made  them,  which  we  instinctively  feel  there  must  have 
been,  had  they  been  uttered  by  sinful  men  like  ourselves, 


DISCOURSE    OF   JESUS.        ,  303 

they  won  many  to  believe  in  Him,  there  and  then,  as  tlic     chap,  j 
Messiah. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  feel  that  such  words  Avere  a  distinct 
claim  of  absolute  sinlessness,  on  which  no  mere  man  could  for 
a  moment  venture.  Yet  in  His  mouth  they  seemed  only  the 
fitting  expression  of  evident  truth.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  exag- 
gerate their  importance.  When  we  remember  how  entirely 
His  whole  life  was  devoted  to  the  enforcement  of  the  purest 
morals  even  in  the  domain  of  thought  and  conscience,  they 
acquire  a  significance  that  awes  the  mind.  Such  an 
absolute  purity  implied  the  keenest  discrimination  between 
good  and  evil,  hohness  and  sin.  "To  please  God,"  was  with 
Him  no  empty  phrase,  but  implied  a  divine  holiness  in 
the  very  fountains  of  being ;  pure  as  the  light  of  a  morning 
without  clouds.  Yet  His  language  respecting  Himself  was 
always  the  same.  The  greatest  saints  are  most  ready  to 
bewail  their  unworthiness,  but  He  never  for  a  moment  hum- 
bles Himself  before  God  for  sin  ;  never  asks  pardon  for  it ; 
and  not  only  makes  no  approach  to  expressing  a  sense  of 
needing  repentance  and  forgiveness,  but  calmly  takes  on 
Himself  the  divine  prerogative  of  forgiving  the  sins  of  men. 
The  Ideal  of  humility,  and  truth,  and  holy  life.  He  must  have 
known  His  own  spiritual  state  with  exact  fidelity,  for  the 
passing  of  even  an  unworthy  thought  over  such  a  soul, 
would  have  instantly  clouded  its  peace  and  joy.  Yet,  mth 
this  perfect  self-knowledge.  He  could  calmly  claim  that  His 
Father  saw  in  Him  only  His  own  image  of  perfect  holiness, 
Avhich  alone  can  please  Hhn.''  ,  t^. 

The   overpowering  impression  produced  on  His  hearers,    ^'^'^' 
was,  however,  too  sudden  and  superficial  for  permanence. 

Resuming  His  discourse,  therefore.  He  continued, — ad- 
dressing those  who,  for  the  moment,  in  spite  of  themselves, 
believed  on  Him,— "If  your  present  professions  be  deep  and 
lasting,  and  you  continue  permanently  in  the  same  mind ; 
acknowledging  me  as  the  Messiah,  and  carrying  out  my 
teaching  in  your  hearts  and  lives,  you  will  be  my  disciples 
indeed.  You  will  then,  by  experience,  know  the  power  and  "  om'^'^vjI 
worth  of  the  divine  truths  of  my  Person  and  teaching,  for  'uty'^ 
my  words  are  the  truth,  and  the  truth  will  make  you  free."!""    semoS! 


man's  Plain 
30ns,  ii. 
Kobert- 

mons,  1,2.G5. 


304  THE  LIFE    OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP.  L.  He  spoke,  of  course,  of  spiritual  freedom :  of  emancipation 
from  a  sinful  life  by  the  elevating  and  purifying  influence 
of  their  new  faith ;  but,  like  Nicodemus  with  the  new  birth, 
or  the  Samaritan  woman  with  the  living  water,  or  the  TavcIvc 
with  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  they  understood  the  word 
only  of  political  liberty,  and  in  a  moment  showed  how 
little  they  understood  their  ncAv  Master's  spirit.  Their  fierce 
Jewish  pride  Avas  instantly  in  a  blaze. 

"  Free  !  what  do  you  mean?  "  said  they.  "  We  are  the 
descendants  of  Abraham ;  the  race  to  whom  God  gave  the 
promise  of  being  the  first  of  nations — His  chosen  people. 
We  have  never  been  in  bondage  to  any.  What  do  you 
mean  ? "  They  conveniently  forgot  the  episodes  of  Egypt 
and  Babylon,  and  thought  of  the  shadow  of  political  liberty 

Bell.  jud.  vi.  they  enjoyed  under  the  prudent  Romans,^'^  by  the  retention  of 
their  own  laws,  as  in  the  protected  States  of  India  under 
Britain.    It  was  an  offence  punishable  with  excommunica- 

Eisenmenger,  tiou  for  ouc  Jcw  to  Call  anothcr  a  slave,^^  and  part  of  their 
morning  prayer,  even  when  under  a  foreign  yoke,  ran  thus — 
"  Blessed  be  the  Lord  our  God,  King  of  the  Universe,  who 
has  made  me  a  free  man." 

But  Jesus  answered — "  With  all  earnestness,  let  me  tell 
you  that  every  one  who  commits  sin  is  under  the  power  of 
sin — a  slave  under  that  of  his  master.  I  speak  of  spiritual 
liberty,  not  of  political.  You  have  need  of  the  help  I  can 
and  will  give  you,  if  you  desire  to  free  youi'self  from 
this  moral  slavery — the  bondage  to  your  own  sinful  incli- 
nations and  habits.  You  are  slaves  in  the  great  household 
of  God,  not  sons,  and  the  slave  has  no  claim  to  remain 
always  in  the  household :  it  is  in  the  power  of  his  lord  to 
sell  him  to  another,  or  to  put  him  out,  when  he  pleases.  AU 
men,  whether  Jews  or  others,  are  sinners,  and  as  such,  slaves 
of  their  sin,  and  must  be  made  free,  before  they  can  claim,  as 
you  do,  to  belong  of  right  to  the  household  of  God.  He 
Avill  not  treat  the  slaves  of  siii  as  His  sons,  but  will  turn  them 
out  of  His  kingdom  as  a  lord  drives  out  an  unworthy 
slave.  But  I,  the  Son  of  God,  abide  in  God's  household,  as 
His  Son,  for  ever,  and,  hence,  if,  by  tlie  truth  I  proclaim, 
and  tlie  grace  I  secure  you,  I  free  you  from  slavery  to  sin. 


DISCOURSE    OF  JESUS.  305 

you  will  be  really  free ;  not  outwardly  only,  and  in  name,  as  char  l. 
now.  Were  I  not  to  be  always,  as  His  Son,  in  the  House- 
hold of  God,  my  Fatliei- — you  migbt  doubt  my  power,  or 
fear  because  of  my  absence ;  but  my  presence  there  for  ever 
gives  you  perfect  security  that  the  freedom  I  oiler  will  be 
real  and  abiding.  I  know  that  you  are  descended  from 
Abraham,  but  it  is  only  in  a  bodily  sense.  If  you  yvcre  his 
spiritual  sons,  you  would  beheve  in  me;  but,  now,  in  spite 
of  your  passing  belief,  I  see  that  you  have  turned  against 
me  already,  and  gone  back  to  those  who  would  kiU  me. 
Keed  I  say  that  you  act  thus  only  because  my  teaching  had 
no  real  hold  on  your  hearts?  I  have  told  you  what  I  have 
seen  when  I  was  still  with  my  Father ;  but  you  act  accoi'ding 
to  the  teaching  of  yow  father." 

"  Our  father,"  interrupted  some,  "  is  Abraham," — for  they 
saw  that  He  meant  something  else.  "  If  ye  were  in  the  true 
sense,"  replied  Jesus — "not  in  mere  outward  descent — the 
sons  of  Abraham,  jou  would  imitate  Abraham  ;  to  do  so  is 
the  only  descent  from  him  of  worth  before  God.  But  you 
seek  to  kill  me — a  man  who  has  spoken  to  you  the  truth, 
Avhich  I  haA'e  received  from  God  for  your  good :  because  it 
humbles  your  pride  and  self-righteousness.  Abraham  would 
never  have  acted  thus.  He  received  and  rejoiced  in  the  truth 
as  revealed  to  him,  though  it  was  far  less  clear  than  my  words 
have  made  it  to  you.  The  fact  is,  I  repeat,  with  unutterable 
sadness,  you  act  as  your  father  teaches  you." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  cried  out  a  number  at  a  time. 
"  You  say  that  Abraham  is  not  our  father — who  is  our 
father,  then  ? "  Do  you  mean  that  Sarah,  our  mother,  was 
unfaithful  to  Abraham,  and  that  he  was  only  in  name  our 
father,  not  in  fact  ?  ^Ye  have  only  07ie  father,  not  tico,  as 
they  have  who  are  born  from  adultery,  and  if  you  deny  it  is 
Abraham,  it  must  be  God." 

"  If  God  were  your  father,  you  would  love  me,"  quietly 
replied  Jesus,  "for  I  am  the  Very  Son  of  God,  pi-oceeding, 
in  my  Being,  from  Him,  and  descending  from  heaven  to 
mankind.  I  have  not  come  from  any  personal  and  private 
act  of  my  o^ra,  but  as  the  jMessiah  sent  forth  by  the  Father. 
You    cannot  understand  what  I  say,  because  your  hearts 

VOL.  u.  59 


306  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

OHAP.  L.  are  so  gross  that  you  have  no  ears  for  my  teaching :  it  is 
dark  to  you  because  you  are  morally  blind.  So  far  from 
being  the  si)iritual  children  of  Abraham,  far  less  of  God, 
you  are  children  of  the  devil;  and,  true  to  your  nature, 
ye  copy  your  father.  From  the  beginning  of  the  human 
race  he  was  a  murderer,  and  put  away  the  truth  from  him, 
because  there  is  no  truth  in  him.  The  devil  is  a  liar  by 
nature,  and  lives  in  lies,  and  knows  nothing,  in  his  heart, 
of  truth,  and  his  children  are  liars  like  their  father — that 
is,  they  thrust  away  the  truth  from  them,  as  you  are 
doing  now. 

"  Because  I  speak  the  truth,  and  do  not  seek,  like  Satan, 
to  win  you  to  evil,  by  flattering  your  self-deception  and 
sins,  you  do  not  believe  me.  Yet,  would  I  deceive  you? 
Who  of  you  can  convict  me  of  sin?  But  if  I  be  sinless,  I 
can  have  no  untruthfulness — no  lie — in  me,  and,  therefore, 
what  I  speak  must  be  truth  and  truth  onl}^  Hence  I 
am  right  in  saying  you  cannot  be  the  children  of  God,  for 
he  that  is  of  God  hears  God's  words — that  is,  hears  me,  for 
I  speak  the  words  of  God.  That  you  are  not  really  the 
children  of  God,  though  you  call  yourselves  such,  explains 
13  onmann,  ICC.  wliy  you  do  not  beUeve  in  me."  ^^ 

"  That  proves  what  we  said  of  you,"  interrupted  some  of 
the  crowd.  "  Such  language  about  your  own  nation  shows 
that  we  were  right  in  saying  that  you  were  a  Samaritan  ^ — 
an  enemy  of  the  true  people  of  God,  and  possessed  with  a 
devil." 

"  I  have  not  a  devil,"  replied  Jesus ;  "  I  honour  my 
Father  by  these  very  words,  for  they  tend  to  the  glory 
of  God.  As  He  has  taught  me,  so  I  teach  you,  Avhen 
I  say  that  the  wicked  are  servants  and  children  of  the 
devil.  Yet,  though  I  speak  not  from  my  own  authority, 
but  that  of  God,  you  do  me.  His  messenger,  the  great  dis- 
honour of  saying  I  have  a  devil.  But  I  shall  not  attempt 
to  refute  the  slander,  for  I  care  nothing  for  either  your 
approval  or  praise.  There  is  one  here — ^my  Father — 
who  cares  for  my  honour,  and  will  judge  those  who  con- 
temn me.  Would  that  none  of  you  expose  yourselves 
to  His   wrath  I      May   you   rather  receive  from  Him  life 


"before    ABRAHAM    WAS,    I    AM."  307 

eternal !  Once  more,  let  me  repeat.  He  that  believes  in  me, 
and  obeys  my  words,  shall  never  taste  death." 

As  usual,  the  hearers  ^uit  a  material  sense  on  these  words, 
and  understood  them  of  natural  death  ;  taking  it  as  a  proof 
of  their  assertion  that  He  had  a  devil — that  He  could  pro- 
mise any  one  that  he  should  never  die.  "  Even  Abraham 
died,"  they  continued,  "  and  so  did  the  prophets.  Whom  do 
you  make  yourself?  You  put  yourself  above  all  men,  even 
the  greatest.  Abraham  could  not  ward  off  death,  nor  could 
the  prophets.     Do  you  claim  to  be  greater  than  they  ?  " 

"If  I,  for  mere  desire  of  glorj',"  replied  Jesus,  "  were  to 
boast  of  being  greater  than  Abraham,  such  glory  would  be 
idle.  If  what  I  have  said  tends  to  exalt  me,  it  is  not  I  who 
honour  myself,  but  my  Father,  by  whose  authority  I  act 
and  speak  that  honours  me — My  Father,  of  whom  you  say 
He  is  your  God.  If  you  foil  to  see  how  He  constantly  does 
so,  it  is  because,  in  spite  of  your  calling  yourselves  His 
people,  you  have  not  known  Him.  But  I  know  Him,  as  only 
His  Son  can.  If  I  were  to  say  that  I  did  not  know  Him,  and 
speak  His  Words,  I  should  be  like  yourselves,  untruthful ; 
but  I  both  know  Him,  and  keep  all  His  commands,  for  my 
whole  life  is  obedience  to  Him. 

"  But  that  you  may  know  that  I  really  am  greater  than 
even  Abraham — the  Friend  of  God— let  me  tell  you  that 
Abraham,  when  he  received,  with  such  joy,  the  promise 
that  the  Messiah  should  come  from  his  race,  and  bless  all 
nations,  was  rejoicing  that  He  would,  hereafter,  from 
Heaven,  see  my  day,  and  He  has  seen  my  appeai'ing,  from 
His  abode  in  Paradise,  and  exulted  at  it." 

The  crowd,  gross  as  usual,  understood  these  words  of 
Abraham's  earthly  life,  and  fancied  that  Jesus  was  now 
claiming  to  have  been  alive  so  long  ago  as  the  time  of 
Abraham,  and  to  have  kno^\ai  him. 

"  It  is  two  thousand  years  ago  since  Abraham's  day," 
broke  in  a  voice,  "  and  you  are  not  fifty  years  old  yet ;  do 
you  mean  to  say  you  have  seen  Abraham  ?  " 

"  I  mean  to  say,"  replied  Jesus,  "far  more  than  even  that. 
Let  me  teU  you,  with  the  utmost  solemnity,— before  Abraham 
was  born,  I  Am." 


CttiP.  L. 


308  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

CHAPEL.  This  -n-as  the  very  phrase  in  which  Jehovah  had  announced 
"Eioa.3.11  Himself  to  Israel  in  Egypt.^*  It  implied  a  continuous  ex- 
'»  Luckeand     istcuce  froui  the  beginnino;^^  as  if  the  sneaker  had  claimed 

Meyer  in  loc.  o  OJ  1 

uiiSi^°i79  **^  "^'  Himself,  the  Uncreated  Eternal.  Abraham  had  come 
into  being,  but  He  had  existence  in  Himself,  without  a 
beginning. 

His  hearers  instantly  took  it  in  this  august  meaning,  and 
Jesus,  the  Truth,  made  no  attempt,  then  or  afterwards,  to 
undeceive  them.  Utterly  turned  against  Him,  they  rushed 
hither  and  thither,  in  wild  fanaticism,  for  stones,  with  which 
to  put  Him  to  death  as  a  blasphemer.  Many  of  those  used  in 
the  building  of  parts  of  the  Temple,  still  incomplete,  lay 
I.  Ant  srti.  9. 3.  in  piles  at  different  parts.^*^  But  Jesus  hid  Himself  among 
the  crowd,  some  of  whom  were  less  hostile,  and,  in  the  con- 
fusion, passed  out  of  the  sacred  precincts,  to  safety. 


TEE  LAST  MONTH  OF  THE  YEAR.  309 


CHAPTER  LI. 

THE  LAST  MONTH  OF  THE  TEAR, 

PRUDENCE  demanded  that  Jesus  should  for  a  time  mth-  ™^" 
draw  from  Jerusalem  after  the  outbreak  of  murderous 
fanaticism  in  the  Temple  courts,  and  He  would  be  the  more 
inclined  to  this  because  Judea  had,  as  yet,  had  so  small  a 
share  in  His  ministry.  The  unmeasured  religious  pride 
which  had  resisted  any  impression  in  His  first  lengthened 
visit,  might  possibly  yield,  in  some  cases,  after  the  incidents 
of  His  work  in  Galilee  and  Jerusalem,  and  doubtless  did  so ; 
perhaps,  in  more  instances  than  we  suspect.  But  whatever 
the  success.  He  could  not  leave  the  special  home-land  of 
Israel  A\-ithout  one  more  attempt  to  win  it  to  the  Kew  King- 
dom of  God.  Hence  the  next  months,  tiU  after  the  Feast  of 
Dedication,  in  December,  were  spent  either  in  Jerusalem  or 
Judea. 

In  these  last  weeks  of  His  life  Jesus  found  a  home,  from 
time  to  time,  in  the  bosom  of  a  \'illage  family  in  Bethany, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Mount  of  Olives.  When  He  first 
came  to  know  them  is  not  told :  perhaps  they  were  among 
the  few  fruits  of  his  former  sojourn  in  Judea;  possibly  the 
family  of  him  who  is  known  in  the  Gospels  as  Simon  the 
Leper ;  ^  one  of  the  converts  of  the  early  Judean  labours,  ■  Mark  14. 3. 

.  ^  .  .  .  .  *•»"■  26. 2. 

in  gratitude  for  his  mii-aculovis  cure.  Bethany  is  easily  Jofmia.!. 
reached  from  Jerusalem.  The  flight  of  steps  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Temple,  before  the  Golden  Gate,  led  to  the 
quiet  valley  of  the  Kedron.  A  bridge  over  the  sometimes 
dry  channel  of  the  stream  opened  into  a  camel  path,  rising, 
past  Gethsemane,  in  a  slow  and  gentle  ascent  over  the  brow 
of  the  hill  which  lies  between  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  that 
which  Pompey  had  defiled  by  his  camp ;  called,  from  this,  the 


310  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

Hill  of  Offence.  To  save  distance,  however,  a  footway  ran 
from  Getlisemane  over  the  top  of  Olivet,  and  this,  travellers 
a-foot,  like  Jesus,  for  the  most  part  preferred  to  the  other 
easier  but  more  circuitous  road.  Descending  the  eastern 
slope,  a  few  steps  led  from  the  bare  hill-side,  with  its  scattered, 
prickly  shrubs,  to  a  sweet  dell,  rich  in  iig,  almond,  and  olive 
trees,  thi'ough  which  wound  a  road,  here  and  there  cut  out 
in  the  side  of  the  hill.  Ascending  the  east  end  of  the  dell, 
Bethany  lay  close  in  sight,  only  three-quarters  of  an  hour's 
distance  from  Jerusalem,  but  hidden  from  it  by  a  spur  of 
the  Mount  of  Ohves.  The  ruins  of  a  tower  rise,  now,  over 
the  highest  point  of  the  village,  but  they  are  of  later  date 
than  the  days  of  our  Lord.  Tlie  houses,  whitewashed  and 
flat-roofed,  lie  hidden  among  the  surrounding  heights, 
amidst  green  fields  and  trees  of  many  kinds  ;  all  the  more 
charming,  as  the  eastern  side  of  ]\Iount  Olivet,  the  back- 
ground to  the  picture,  is  much  more  barren  and  dreary 
than  the  western. 

In  this  sequestered  spot,  on  the  edge  of  the  great  Avilder- 
ness  of  Judea,  Jesus  found  a  delightful  retreat  in  the  vine- 
covered  cottage  of  ]\Iartha  and  Mary  and  their  brother 
Lazarus.  Loving  and  beloved,  it  always  offered  a  peaceful 
retirement  from  the  confusion  and  danger  of  the  Temple 
courts,  or  the  still  more  exhausting  circuits  of  His  wider 
southern  journeys.  It  was  the  one  spot,  so  far  as  we  know, 
that  lie  could  call  home  in  these  last  months,  but  it  was 
apparently  the  sweetest,  and  most  like  home.  He  had  ever  had. 

The  household  consisted  of  two  sisters,  and  a  brother — 
Martha,  iMary,  and  Lazarus — names  Avhich  mark  the  trans- 
ition-character of  the  times  ;  for,  while  "Martha"  was  the 
unchanged  native  equivalent  of  "lady,"  "Mary"  and 
"  Lazarus"  were  Greek  forms  of  the  old  Hebrew  "  Miriam  " 
and  "Eleazer."  May  we  trace,  in  this  superiority  to  narrow 
conservatism,  a  liberality  in  their  parents,  which  led  both 
them  and  their  children  to  receive  the  Galila?an  teacher  so 
readily  and  so  fondly  ?  They  had  evidently  been  •discii)les 
before  this  last  stay  in  Judea ;  likely  from  the  time  of  their 
now  dead  father,  who  had,  doubtless,  often  talked  over  his 
doubts  or  reasons  for  loving  trust,  in  their  company. 


MARTHA  AND   MARY.  311 

Martha  appears  to  have  been  the  head  of  the  little  house-     chap.  li. 
hold,  and  may  have  been,  as  many  have  believed,  a  widow.^  "^  Ewaid  thinks 

'•''•'  '  that  Mary  wa: 

The  family  seems  to  have  had  a  good  social  position,  and  to    a^cMchte 
have  been  above  the  average  in  circumstances.^     The  char-  3  jj^^'jj  ^ 
acter  of  the  two  sisters  shows  itself  vividly  in  the  first  notice.*    S'  12.'  2, 3. 
Martha  shares  the  piety  of  her  sister,  but  fails,  at  first,  to,  Luueio.as- 
rise  to  such  a  high  conception  of  the  nature  and  dignity  of  *^" 
their  wondrous  Friend  as  her  sister,  and  is  busied  with  the 
practical  cares  of  life  to  an  extent  that  seems  to  Him  exces- 
sive.   Amiably  anxious  for  the  comfort  of  her  guest,  she  is 
absorbed    in    every  detail  of  hospitality  which  she  thinks 
likely  to  please  Him,  while  IMary  sits  at  His  feet,  to  listen  to 
His  words  and  watch  His  every  look.     The  busy,  motherly 
Martha,  seeing  Mary  thus  seemingly  idle,  feels  a  passing 
jealousy  and  annoyance,  unworthy  of  her  calmer  self — for  a 
word  to  her  sister  wov;ld  doubtless  have  been  enough — and 
comes  impatiently   with    a    complaint  to    Jesus,  not    free 
from  irreverence.     "  Lord,"  says  she,  "  do  you  not  care  that 
my  sister  has  left  me  to  do  all  the  work  alone?     If  you 
speak  to  her,  she  will  help  me."     As  if  to  imply  that  she 
would  pay  no  attention  to  Jlartha's  words. 

The  gentle  calmness  of  Jesus,  too  grateful  to  both  for 
their  loving  tenderness  to  overlook  the  good  in  each,  had 
only  the  tenderest  reply.  "Martha,  Martha,  said  He,  "my 
wants  are  easily  satisfied,  and  it  is,  besides,  better,  like  ^lary, 
to  choose  the  one  thing  needful  above  all — supreme  concern 
for  the  things  of  God — for  they  alone  can  never  be  taken 
from  us."  Of  Lazarus,  before  his  death,  we  only  know  that 
his  spirit  and  temper  were  such  that  Jesus  made  him,  in 
an  especial  mannei*.  His  friend.* 

An  incident  of  this  period  is  preserved  by  St.  Luke.  In 
one  of  our  Lord's  journeys  in  the  neighboiu'hood  of  Jeru- 
salem, a  Rabbi,^  skilled  in  the  Mosaic  Law;  and,  as  such,  a'Lnkeio.25- 
public  teacher  and  interpreter  of  the  Rabbinical  rules,  rising 
from  his  seat  among  his  students,  as  Jesus  passed,  resolved 
to  show  his  wisdom  at  the  expense  of  the  hated  Galihran  ; 
and  trap  Him,  if  possible,  into  some  doubtful  utterance. 
"  Teacher,"  asked  he,  "  what  shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life  ? 
We  know  what  the  Rabbis  enjoin,  but  what  sayest  Thou?" 


312  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP. LI.  "What  is  written  in  the  Law?"  replied  Jesus,  "how 
readest  thou  ?  For  the  law  of  God  alone  can  determine 
such  a  matter." 

Quoting  a  passage  which  every  Jew  repeated  in  each 
morning  and  evening's  prayer,  and  wore  in  the  little  text- 
boxes  of  his  phylactery,  he  answered  glibly,  "Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and 
Dent. 6. s.      thy  ncighbour  as  thyself."^ 

"You  are  quite  right,"  said  Jesus.  "Do  this,  and  you 
shall  live." 

The  answer  hardly  left  room  for  anything  further ;  but 
the  questioner  would  not  be  balked  of  an  opportunity  of 
showing  his  acuteness,  and,  perhaps,  of  drawing  Jesus  into  a 
difficulty.  No  command  was  so  plain  as  not  to  furnish 
subjects  for  dispute  to  hair-splitting  theologians  of  his  class  ; 
and,  in  this  case,  there  had  been  endless  "\vrangling  in  the 
Rabbinical  schools  on  the  definition  of  the  word  "neigh- 
bour." Jesus,  moreover,  as  was  well  known,  held  very 
broad  views  on  the  subject ;  \'iews  utterly  heterodox  in  the 
eyes  of  the  schools.  Determined  not  to  let  conversation 
drop,  the  questioner,  therefore,  opened  it  afresh. 

"  But  you  have  not  told  me,"  said  he,  "  who  is  my  neigh- 
bour.    Pray  do  so,  else  I  may  fail  in  my  duty." 

Listcad  of  answering  him  directly,  Jesus  replied,  in  the 
fashion  of  the  Rabbis  themselves,  by  a  parable,  Avhich  I 
amplify,  for  its  clearer  vmderstanding. 

"  A  certain  man,"  said  He,  "  went  down  from  Jerusalem 
to  Jericho.  You  know  the  way,  so  steep,  wild,  and  danger- 
ous :  well  called  the  Bloody  Road,  for  who  can  teU  how 
many  robberies  and  murders  have  happened  on  it  in  these 
unsettled  times,  when  the  country  is  full  of  men  driven  from 
Beii.jna.iv.  their  homes  by  oppression  and  misery?  ''  As  he  went  on,  a 
adjer.3.2.  '  baud  of  robbcrs  from  the  wild  gorges  through  Avhich  the 
road  sinks,  rushed  out  upon  him ;  stripped  him,  for  he  was 
a  poor  man,  with  only  his  clothes  to  take  from  him ;  beat 
him  when  he  resisted ;  and  then  made  oflf,  leaving  him  half 
dead. 

"  As  he  lay,  bleeding,  insensible,  and  naked,  on  the  rough 


THE  GOOD   SAMARITAN. 


313 


stones,  a  priest,  Avho  lived  at  Jericlio,  like  so  many  more, 
and  had  finished  his  course  at  the  Temple,  went  past.  He 
was  busy-reading  the  copy  of  the  Law,  Avhich  all  priests 
carry  with  them ;  but  as  he  came  near  and  saw  the  wounded 
and  seemingly  dying  man,  he  hastily  crossed  over,  and 
passed,  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  afraid  of  defiUng 
himself  by  blood,  or  by  the  touch  of  one  perhaps  unclean. 

"Soon  after,  aLevite,  also  from  the  Temple,  came  by,  and 
he,  when  he  saw  the  injured  man,  stepped  over  to  him,  and 
stood  for  a  time  looking  at  him,^  but  presently  crossed  the  » 
road  again,  as  if  he  had  been  polluted,  and  went  on  in  all 
haste,  lest  the  like  should  happen  to  himself. 

"  But  a  Samaritan,  travelling  that  way,  came  where  the 
poor  man  lay,  and,  when  he  saw  him,  was  moved  with  com- 
passion at  his  misery ;  and  went  to  him,  and,  lighting  from 
his  ass,  bound  up  his  wounds,  after  pouring  oil  mixed  with 
wine  ®  on  them,  to  assuage  the  pain,  and  soften  the  injured  9 
parts ;  and  set  him  on  his  own  beast,  never  thinking  who 
he  might  be  he  was  helping ;  whether  Jew,  heathen,  or 
fellow-countryman;  or  of  his  own  danger  in  such  a  spot;  and 
brought  him  to  the  khan,  which,  you  know,  stands  at  the 
road-side,  amidst  the  bare  walls  of  rocks,  three  hours  from 
Jerusalem.^^  There  he  had  every  care  taken  of  him,  and  >» 
stayed  mth  him,  tending  him  through  the  night.  His  own 
business  forced  him  to  leave  him  next  day ;  but  before  doing 
so,  he  went  to  the  keeper  of  the  khan,  and  gave  him  two 
denarii,^^  telling  him  to  take  care  of  him,  and  adding,  that  if  n 
more  were  needed,  he  would  give  it  when  he  came  back. 

"  Which  of  these  three,  do  you  think,  was  neighbour  to 
him  that  fell  among  the  robbers  ?  " 

The  Rabbi,  true  to  his  national  hatred,  would  not  utter 
the  hated  word,  "  the  Samaritan."  "  He  that  had  mercy  on 
him,  no  doubt,"  said  he. 

"  Go  and  do  thou  in  like  manner,"  replied  Jesus,  and  left 
him ;  if  humbled  and  mortified ;  it  is  to  be  hoped,  a  Aviser 
and  better  man. 

A  fragment  of  the  familiar  instructions  of  these  months, 
by  which  Jesus  daily  trained  His  disciples,  is  preserved  to  us 
by  St.  Luke.^'-    He  had,  at  an  earlier  period,  given  the  Twelve  " 


See  a  fine  Ser- 
mon of 
Sterne's; 
SermoQs,  i.  57. 


Equal,  in  pur- 
chasing value, 
to  from  six  to 
seven  of  our 
shillings. 
Dr.  S.  David- 
sun's  New 
Tesu,  Table. 


314  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

and  His  other  hearers,  a  model  of  prayer  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  but  now,  one,  perhaps  of  the  later  disciples, 
asked  for  a  form  of  prayer  such  as  other  Rabbis,  and  as 
John,  gave  their  followers.  With  the  gentle  repetition  we 
so  often  find  in  the  Gospels,  Jesus,  forthwith,  once  more 
recited  the  model  He  had  already  given,  and  took  advantage 
of  the  request,  to  enfoi'ce  the  value  of  praj'er  by  similar 
assurances  of  answer  from  God  as  He  had  given  before.  In 
one  detail,  however.  He  varied  His  language,  by  adding  a 
brief  and  pointed  parable. 

"You  know,"  said  He,  "how  it  is  with  men.  If  any  of 
you  have  a  friend,  and  go  to  him  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
and  call  through  the  door,  '  Friend,  lend  me  three  loaves, 
for  a  friend  of  mine  has  just  come  to  my  house  from  a 
journey ;  the  weather  was  so  hot,  he  could  not  start  tiU  the 
cool  of  the  day ;  this  has  made  him  so  late  ;  and  I  have 
nothing  to  set  before  him ;'  most  likely  he  whom  you  thus 
distui'b  will  say  to  you  from  within,  '  Trouble  me  not ;  the 
door  is  locked  for  the  night,  and  my  children  arc  with  me 
in  bed,  and  I  cannot  wake  them.  I  cannot  get  up  and  give 
you  what  you  ask.'  Yet,  if  j-ou  refuse  to  leave  and  keep 
renewing  your  request,  he  will,  in  the  end,  I'ise  and  give 
you  as  many  loaves  as  you  need,  yielding  to  your  importu- 
nity, Avhat  he  would  not  do  for  you  as  his  fi-iend. 

"  If,  now,  selfish  men  listen  to  those  who  thus  will  not  take 
a  denial,  how  much  more  surely  will  the  God  of  love  listen 
to  humble  and  persistent  prayer?  Be  sure,  therefore,  that 
they  who,  with  earnest,  believing,  souls,  seek  the  supply 
of  spiritual  wants  for  themselves,  or  others,  will  assuredly 
have  their  petitions  heard." 

While  He  was  stiU  in  Jerusalem  and  its  neighbourhood, 
the  Seventy,  having  fulfilled  their  mission,  made  their 
way  back  to  Him.^^  Like  the  Twelve,  they  returned  in  great 
joy  at  their  success,  and  reported  that  even  the  devils  had 
been  subject  to  them,  through  their  Master's  name,  though 
they  had  received  no  special  power  over  them,  such  as  He 
had  given  to  the  Twelve.  It  was  a  moment  of  calm  triumph 
to  Jesus,  as  the  sure  anticipation  of  infinitely  greater  results 
hereafter.    His  spirit  caught  the  contagion  of  their  gladness 


SATAN   CAST   OUT.  315 

and  gloom  and  despondency  were  forgotten  in  the  vision  of  chap,  ll 
the  future  triumph  of  the  New  Kingdom — His  one  all- 
absorbing  thought.  But  there  was  a  danger  lest  their  very 
success  might  injure  them.  The  consideration  it  had  won 
them  might  tend  to  unworthy  pride.  It  was  needful  to 
warn  them,  and  moderate  their  self-confidence. 

"  You  need  not  wonder,"  said  He,  "  that  Satan  is  not  able 
to  withstand  you.  Long  ere  now,  I  foresaw,  in  spirit,  that 
he  would  fall  Uke  a  lightning-flash  from  the  height  of  his 
power,  at  my  coming,  and  the  putting  forth  of  my  might. 
He  has  fallen,  now,  to  the  earth,  where  his  craft  and  designs 
can  be  seen  and  met.  His  sway  is  already  broken  by  the 
new-begun  Kingdom  of  God.  It  has  struck  him  down,  as  it 
were,  from  the  sky,  with  its  secrecy  and  sudden  surprises ; 
and  he  is,  now,  as  if  seen,  and  easy  to  shun.  I  have  broken 
his  sceptre,  and  made  it  possible  for  you  to  do  what  you 
have  done.  Take  heed,  therefore,  not  to  think  too  much  of 
yourselves,  as  if  the  success  were  your  own.  I  now  give 
you  far  greater  power  than  any  you  have  yet  enjoyed.  You 
will,  hereafter,  tread  all  satanic  powers — the  serpents  and 
scorpions  of  helU* — under  your  feet,  as  victors  tread  under  ..  AEabbmicai 
foot  their  conquered  foes,  and  nothing  \d\\  be  suffered  to  ^'^'' 
hinder  your  triumph  as  my  servants.  You  need  not, 
therefore,  fear  Satan. 

"  Yet  success  over  the  enemy  of  souls  is  not  that  in  which 
you  should  rejoice  most.  It  may  raise  pride,  and  make  you 
too  secure.  Rather  rejoice  that  your  names,  as  my  disciples, 
are  in  the  roll  of  citizens  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  It  is 
an  infinitely  greater  honour  than  any  outward  respect  these 
wonders  could  bring  you."  ^^  „  ^^^^  ^  ^^^^ 

The  murderous  outburst,  from  which  Jesus  had  fled,  was  FoS^.V-l^i 
now  a  thing  of  the  past,  so  that  He  could  once  more  venture 
into  Jerusalem,  and  even  into  the  Temple.  The  spacious 
porches  were  a  favourite  haunt  of  the  afflicted  poor,  and 
among  these,  of  a  poor  man,  blind  from  his  birth.  Sur- 
rounded and  followed,  as  usual,  by  a  number  of  disciples, 
Jesus  was,  one  day,  passing,  when  this  man  attracted  His 
notice.  It  is  not  said  that  He  spoke  to  him,  but  the  mere 
fact  of  His  paying  any  heed  to  him,  suggested  a  question  to 


316 


THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 


some  of  those  round  Him.  "  Rabbi,"  tlicy  asked,  "  we  have 
been  taught  that  children  are  born  lame,  crooked,  maimed, 
blind,  or  otherwise  defective — for  some  sin  of  their  parents, 
or  for  some  sin  committed  by  themselves  before  birth.  "\Mio 
sinned,  in  this  case — this  man  or  his  j^arents — that  he  was 
born  blind  ?  " 

That  there  was  a  strict  system  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments during  the  present  life,  according  to  the  merits  or 
sins  of  individuals,  had  been  the  original  doctrine  of  Jewish 
theology.  It  had  gradually,  however,  been  modified,  though 
still  held  by  the  multitude ;  and  it  was  superseded  in  the 
New  Kingdom  by  the  transfer  of  final  retribution  to  the 
future  world.  The  Rabbinical  theology,  scxlulously  taught 
in  every  spiagogue,  sought  to  reconcile  the  contradiction 
between  the  hereditary  belief  and  the  facts  of  life,  by  laboured 
and  unsatisfactory  theories.  The  words  were  put  into  the 
mouth  of  God  Himself,  in  one  of  the  current  apologues  so 
much  in  vogue,  that  "  the  good  man,  if  prosperous,  was  so, 
as  the  son  of  a  righteous  man  ;  while  the  unfortunate  good 
man  suftered  as  the  son  of  a  sinful  parent.  So,  also,  the 
wicked  man  might  be  prosperous,  if  the  son  of  a  godly 
pai'ent ;  but  if  unfortunate,  it  showed  that  his  parents  had 
been  sinners."  ^^  It  was  further  believed  that  a  child  might 
sin  before  its  birth,  though  it  is  a  question  whether  there 
was  any  general  idea  of  the  transmigration  of  souls,  to 
account  for  suffering  as  the  punishment  of  sin  in  some 
earlier  existence.^" 

"  The  afiliction  of  this  man,"  replied  Jesus,  "  has  been 
caused  neither  by  his  own  sin,  nor  by  that  of  his  parents ; 
but  his  being  born  blind  offers  an  opportunity  for  the  dis- 
play of  the  divine  power  and  goodness  in  his  person.  It  is 
on  such  sufferers  as  he  that  I  must  show  the  mighty  works 
which  God  has  given  me,  as  the  Messiah,  to  do.  In  His 
service  I  must  work  unweariedly,  as  He,  my  Father,  Himself 
works.  Like  Him  with  His  work,  I  cannot  intermit  mine  even 
on  this  day,  though  it  be  a  Sabbath.  I  am  like  one  who 
cannot  leave  his  task  tiU  the  night  comes,  when  no  one  can 
AYork.  The  night  is  coming  erelong  to  me,  when  I  shall 
cease  from  all  such  labours,  as  the  workman  does  at  the 


THE   MAN   BORN  BLIND.  317 

close  of  day.  As  long  as  I  am  in  the  world,  I  must  be  the 
light  of  men :  when  I  depart,  the  light  will  be  withdrawn." 

He  might  have  opened  the  eyes  of  the  poor  man  by  a 
word,  but  a  great  lesson  was  to  be  taught  His  enemies.  He 
wished  to  protest  once  more  against  the  hj^jocritical  strict- 
ness of  the  Rabbinical  observance  of  Sabbath,  which  so  entirely 
destroyed  the  true  significance  of  the  holy  day.  He  would 
show  that  it  was  in  full  accordance  with  the  office  of  the 
Messiah,  not  only  Himself,  to  do  what  the  dominant  party 
denounced  as  Work,  on  the  Sabbath,  but  to  require  it  also 
from  him  whom  He  cured. 

It  was  the  belief,  in  antiquity,  that  the  saliva  of  one  who 
was  fasting  was  of  benefit  to  weak  eyes,  and  that  clay 
relieved  those  who  suffered  from  tumours  on  the  eyelids. 
It  may  be  that  Jesus  thought  of  this :  at  any  rate,  stooping 
to  the  ground,  and  mixing  saliva  with  some  of  the  dust.  He 
touched  the  eyes  of  the  blind  man  with  it,  and  then  sent 
him  to  wash  it  off,  in  the  pool  of  Siloam.  It  was  impossible 
that  the  clay  or  the  water  could  restore  the  eyesight ;  but 
Jesus  had  once  more  asserted  His  right  to  do  works  of  mercy 
on  the  Sabbath;  in  opposition  to  the  narrow  pretences  of  the 
Pharisees;  and  the  faith  of  the  man  himself  was  put  to  the 
test.  He,  forthwith,  did  as  commanded,  and  his  sight  was 
at  once  made  perfect. 

Full  of  childish  delight  at  the  possession  of  the  new 
amazing  sense,  the  man  must  have  attracted  attention,  even 
where  the  change  wrought  in  his  appearance  prevented  his 
being  recognized.  He  was  well  known  in  the  city  as  a 
beggar,  blind  from  his  birth.  Presently,  some  asked,  doubt- 
ing their  senses,  "  if  this  were  not  he  who  sat  every  day 
begging  ?  "  "  It  is  he,"  said  one.  "  It  is  some  one  like  him," 
said  others.  "  I  am  he,"  said  the  man.  "  How  did  you  get 
your  sight,  then  ?"  asked  a  number  at  once.  The  man  told 
them.  "Where  is  this  Jesus?"  they  asked  again;  but  he 
could  not  tell. 

It  was  clear  that  another  great  miracle  had  been  performed 
by  the  Teacher  whom  the  authorities  denounced ;  and,  hence, 
from  whatever  motive,  the  man  was  taken  before  them.  The 
sight  of  him  might  change  their  feehngs  towards  Jesus,  for 


318  THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LL  even  they  did  not  jiretend  to  deny  the  supernatural  po-n^er 
of  their  hated  opponent,  though  they  tried  to  attribute  it 
to  the  help  of  the  Prince  of  devils. 

Brought  before  the  dignitaries  of  the  Law  and  Temple, 

the  man  had  to  repeat  the  story  of  his  cure.     The  miracle 

could  not  be  denied ;  but  the  character  of  Jesus  might,  at 

least,  be  discredited,  for  it  a2:)peared  that  he  had  dared  to 

break  the  Sabbath  both  in  act  and  word.     "  This  man  is  not 

of  God,"  said  some  of  the  Council,  "  for  does  not  the  Law 

expressly  forbid  the  anointing  of  the  eyes  with  saliva  on  the 

Maimon.       Sabbath,  asivoi'k?^^    And,  besides,  no  healing  is  permitted 

B^^'orfjsj-n.  on  thc  Sabbath  except  when  life  is  in  danger."^^ 

schoettg.ad        "  How  could  a  man  that  does  wron<r,  work  such  miracles?" 

Matt.  12. 9.  .  .  ^ 

replied  some  of  the  more  liberal-minded.  God  would  never 
give  such  power  to  such  a  person.  There  is  something 
special  that  needs  looking  into,  in  this  case  of  what  you  call 
Sabbath-breaking — before  you  decide  so  confidently." 

They  Avere  hopelessly  divided,  and  at  last,  like  Orientals, 
resolved  to  get  the  opinion  of  the  man  himself  They  asked 
him,  therefore,  what  he  thought  of  Him  who  had  cured  him. 
"I  think  Him  a  pi'ophet,"  answered  the  sturdy  confessor. 
But  it  would  never  do  to  admit  this,  for  even  the  Rabbis 
owned  that  a  prophet  might  dispense  with  the  laws  of  the 
Sabbath. 

The  hostile  party  in  the  Council  were  in  a  strait,  and 
would  fain  deny  the  fact  of  the  miracle  altogether.  They 
would,  at  least,  require  more  evidence  than  the  man's  own 
word.  Sending  the  officers  for  his  parents,  therefore,  they 
had  them  brought  before  them,  and  asked  them : — 

"  Is  this  your  son,  who,  as  you  say,  was  born  blind  ?  How 
comes  he  to  see,  if  that  were  so  ?  "  But  the  question  brought 
no  relief,  for  the  parents  shrewdly  refused  to  commit  them- 
selves beyond  the  bare  acknowledgment  that  he  Avas  their 
son,  and  that  he  had  been  born  blind.  "  He  is  of  age — ask 
himself,"  added  they.  Nor  was  their  caution  unjustified, 
for  they  had  heard  that  if  any  one  acknowledged  Jesus  as 
the  Messiah  he  would  be  "put  out  of  the  synagogue;"  a 
punishment  involving  the  direst  consequences  socially  and 
religiously.     It  was,  in  fact,  the  lesser  excommunication ; 


THE   FIRST   CONFKSSOR.  319 

which  lasted  thirty  days,  but  might  be  lengthened  for  con- 
tinued impenitence,  or  cui'tailed  by  contrition.  It  shut  a 
person  uttei-ly  from  the  synagogue,  for  even  if  he  entered  it, 
he  was  reckoned  as  not  jsresent ;  no  mourning  for  the  dead, 
and  no  rite  of  circumcision,  could  take  place  in  his  house  ; 
and  no  one  but  his  wife  or  child  could  come  within  four 
cubits  of  him.^°  ■ 

The  discomfited  Council  could  only  fall  back  on  the  man 
himself  "He  must,"  they  told  him,  "take  care  of  himself, 
else  they  would  have  to  deal  with  him.  He  had  better  tell 
the  whole  truth,  and  confess  what  he  knew  about  this  Jesus, 
and  thus  show  that  he  feared  God,  by  giving  Him  the  glory ; 
for  we  know  very  well,"  said  they,  "that  this  man  is  a  sinner." 
But  he  was  neither  to  be  brow-beaten  nor  dragooned,  and 
would  not  yield  an  inch  to  either  threats  or  persuasions. 
"  It  is  a  very  strange  thing,"  said  he,  "  that  you  talk  about 
Him  so.  I  can  say  nothing  about  His  being  a  sinner ;  I  only 
know  that  whereas  I  was  blind,  now  I  see." 

Foiled  once  more,  they  fell  back  on  their  first  question. 
"  "Wliat  is  it,  you  say.  He  did  to  you  ?  How  was  it  He  opened 
your  eyes  ?  "  But  they  had  to  do  with  one  of  sterner  •  and 
manlier  stuft"  than  most.  "  I  told  you  all  that  already, " 
rephed  he,  "  and  you  did  not  listen  ;  why  do  you  wish  to 
hear  it  again  ?  Are  you,  also,  like  me,  inclined  to  become 
His  disciples  ?  " 

The  court  was  not  accustomed  to  be  treated  with  so  little 
deference  and  awe  ;  their  pride  and  dignity  were  sadly  flus- 
tered, and  they  forgot  both  in  their  excitement.  "With  the 
passionate  heat  of  Orientals,  they  stooped  to  insult  and 
wrangle  with  the  humble  creature  at  their  bar.  As  they 
could  get  nothing  against  Jesus  from  him,  they  branded  him 
as  His  disciple — "  You  are  a  disciple  of  this  Galila^an :  ice 
are  the  disciples  of  Closes,  the  man  of  God :  we  know  that 
God  spoke  to  Moses,  but  as  for  this  fellow,  we  know  not  who 
has  sent  Him— it  must  have  been  Beelzebub,  at  best." 

Unabashed,  and  true-hearted,  the  man  was  not  to  be 
put  down  by  either  priest  or  Rabbi.  "  Well,  this  is  very 
strange,"  retorted  he.  "You  say  you  don't  know  who  has 
sent  Him,  and  yet  He  has  oj)ened  my  eyes  !  A  man  who  has 


320  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LI.  done  that,  must,  as  you  know,  have  come  from  God,  and  be 
no  sinner ;  for  every  one  knows  that  God  alone  can  give 
power  to  work  such  a  mii'acle,  and  He  does  not  hear  sinners, 
but  only  those  who  worship  Him  truly,  and  do  His  will.  So 
wonderful  an  instance  of  the  power  of  God  being  granted  to 
any  man  has  never  been  heard  of,  as  that  which  has  been 
granted  to  this  Jesus ;  for,  from  the  beginning  of  the  Avorld, 
such  a  thing  was  never  known,  as  the  opening  of  the  eyes  of 
a  man  born  bhnd,  even  by  the  greatest  of  the  prophets. 
There  is  no  such  thing  in  any  part  of  the  Law  or  the 
Proj^hets.  If  tliis  man  were  not  from  God,  He  could  do 
nothing." 

"  What !  "screamed  several  voices  at  once.  "You,  a  creature 
tainted  in  your  very  core  with  sin,  before  your  birth,  and 
born  with  its  miserable  punishment  on  you, — you,  an  out- 
and-out  worthless  wretch, — do  you  venture  to  teach  us? 
You  are  excommunicated."  And  so  they  cast  him  out  of  the 
s}Tiagogue,  there  and  then. 

The  report  of  this  incident  soon  reached  Jesus.  The 
blind  beggar  was  the  first  confessor  in  the  New  Kingdom, 
and  its  Lord  lost  no  time  in  acknowledging  and  strengthen- 
ing one  who  had  owned  Him  fearlessly  before  the  very 
Council  itself  Seeking  him  out,  and  telling  him  He  had 
heard  of  His  grateful  fidelity.  He  added — "  You  believe  on 
the  Son  of  God,  do  you  not  ?  "  The  name,  as  that  of  Jesus, 
Himself,  had  not  reached  him,  but  he  knew  it  as  one  of  the 
titles  of  the  expected  Messiah.  "Who  is  He,  Lord,"  asked 
he,  instantly,  "that  I  may  believe  on  Him?"  "Thou  hast 
seen  Him,  even  now,"  answered  Jesus,  "and  it  is  He  who 
talks  with  thee."  It  was  enough.  The  healed  one  had  before 
him  the  mysterious  Being  whose  power  towards  himself  had 
shown  Him  to  be  "  the  messenger  sent  of  God," — Him  whom 
he  had  only  now  confessed.  "Lord,"  said  he,  "I  believe," 
and  rendered  Him,  forthwith,  the  worship  due  to  the 
Messiah — God's  anointed.'^ 

Meanwhile,  a  crowd  had  gathered,  as  the  beggar,  now 
seeing  not  only  with  bodily  but  spiritual  eyes,  threw  him- 
self at  His  feet.  It  was  a  moment  of  deep  emotion.  Ad- 
dressing Himself  to  those  around,  among  whom,  as  usual, 


EASTERX   SHEPHERDS.  321 

were  some  of  the  ever-watchful  Rabbis,   Jesus  seized  the    chap,  u. 
opportunity  for  a  few  more  words  of  warning. 

"I  am  come  into  the  workl,"  said  He,  "fan  in  hand,  to 
separate  the  wheat  from  the  chaff,  and  to  bring  a  judgment- 
like  di^dsion  among  men.  The  poor  in  spirit  who  feel  their 
need  of  divine  truth,  and  mourn  their  spiritual  bhndness, 
are  enlightened  by  me,  but  those  who  think  they  see,  and 
fancy  they  know  the  truth,  are  shown  to  be  blind,  and  are 
shut  out  from  my  kingdom,  to  the  blindness  they  have 
chosen." 

"  Are  we  blind,  then  ?  "  asked  some  of  the  Rabbis  in  the 
crowd.  He  had  classed  them  as  those  who  fancied  they 
alone  saw,  and  their  pride  was  roused  by  His  venturing  to 
speak  of  them,  the  teachers  of  the  nation,  as  blind — language 
so  opposed  to  the  servility  shown  them  as  a  rule. 

"  Blind?"  replied  Jesus — "  it  would  be  well  if  you  were 
so,  for,  in  that  case,  your  disbelief  in  me  would  not  be 
sinful.  It  would  not  show  a  wilful  resistance  to  divine  truth, 
but  only  that  you  had  not  yet  attained  the  knowledge  of  it. 
But  since  you  claim  to  see,  it  makes  your  unbelief  criminal, 
and  deepens  your  guilt,  for  it  is  your  spiritual  pride  which 
leads  you  to  reject  me,  and  thus  keeps  you  from  believing, 
and  so  receiving  pardon." 

In  the  East,  as  in  lonely  mountainous  districts  of  our  own 
country,  the  relation  of  a  shepherd  to  his  flock  is  very 
different  from  the  mechanical  and  indifferent  one  of  some 
other  parts.  The  loneUness  of  shepherd  life  in  these 
countries  throws  man  and  the  creatures  he  tends  so  much 
together — binds  them  so  to  each  other  by  a  sense  of  com- 
panionship, of  dangers  shared,  and  pleasures  mutually 
enjoyed — that  the  Eastern  shepherd,  hke  the  shepherd  of 
our  own  mountains,  forgets  the  distance  between  himself 
and  his  flock,  and  becomes  their  friend.  Xor  is  the  sense  of 
dependence  only  on  his  side.  The  sheep  are  dra^vn  to  their 
shepherd  as  much  as  he  to  them.  They  are  all  to  each 
other.  They  share  in  common  the  silence  and  lonely  mag- 
nificence of  the  mountains,  or  the  desert.  We  learn  to  love 
that  for  which  Ave  brave  peril ;  and  the  dangers  of  torrents, 
of  robbers,  of  wolves,  of  thirst,  or  of  straying  endear  the 

VOL.  II.  60 


322  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

oHAP^Li.  flock  for  Yv^hich  they  are  borne,  to  the  Oriental ;  as  the 
dangers  of  whiter  storms,  or  mountain  mists,  and  the  thou- 
sand incidents  of  pastoral  life  in  wild  districts,  do  with  our 
Highland  shepherds. 

Nothing,  therefore,  could  be  more  touching,  in  a  pastoral 
country  like  Palestine,  than  images  of  care  or  tenderness 
drawn  from  shepherd  life,  and  such  Jesus  now  introduced 
"  See  Sermon   witli  surnassinff  beaulv.^^ 

by  F.  W.  '■  O  -^ 

s^™oX'2nd  "  ■'■  ^^^^  come  into  the  world,"  said  He,  in  effect,  "  to  gather 
jo^io^i-2i.  together  into  a  great  fold  the  new  Israel  of  God.  He  who 
enters  by  the  door  is  a  true  and  authorized  under-shepherd, 
but  any  who  enter  otherwise  are  not  true  leaders  and  shep- 
herds, but  are  like  thieves  and  robbers  who  climb  over  the 
wall  for  evil  ends. 

"  When  the  true  shepherd  thus  enters  by  the  door,  the  sheep 
he  tends  hear  his  voice,  and  he  calls  them  by  name,  and 
leads  them  out.  And  when  he  has  led  forth  all  his  own,  he 
goes  before  them,  as  the  shepherds  before  their  sheep,  and 
K  Land  and  his  flock  follow  him,  because  they  know  his  voice.'^'  And, 
as  a  stranger,  who  is  not  the  shepherd  known  by  a  flock, 
140,141.  j^g  gQQjj  jjg  |}jg  sheep  hear  his  voice,  scatters  it  in  alarm, 
so,  while  true  shepherds  ai'e  recognized  as  such  by  the 
spiritual  Israel,  pretenders  are  known  by  their  words,  and 
shunned."  The  drift  of  this  parable,  or  allegory,  was  suffi- 
ciently transparent,  but  those  at  whom  it  was  pointed  were 
too  self-satisfied  to  recognize  it.  They  declared  it  unintel- 
hgible. 

Jesus,  therefore,  felt  Himself  necessitated  to  repeat  the 
main  thought,  and  thus  enforce  it  on  their  attention. 

"  I  see,"  said  He,  "  that  you  do  not  understand  the  parable 
I  have  just  delivered :  let  me  explain  it.  I  tell  you  with 
the  utmost  solemnity ;  I  am  the  one  only  Door  of  the  fold  of 
the  flock  of  God.  Other  teachers  have  sought  to  lead  you 
in  your  day,  but  all  who  have  done  so,  before  my  coming, 
are  like  the  thieves  and  robbers  who  enter  a  fold  over  the 
wall.  I  frankly  tell  you  I  mean  the  priests  and  Rabbis,  my 
enemies.  Thej'  have  refused  to  enter,  through  Me,  the  Door, 
and  have  rejected  me.  But  the  true  sheep  of  God — the 
spiritual  Israel — have  not  listened  to  them.     Note  well,  as  I 


Tristram, 
140,  141. 
Bibel.  Lei. 


THE   GOOD    SHEPHERD. 


323 


rcjjeat  it,  I,  alone,  am  the  door  of  the  true  fold  of  the  flock  chap,  ll 
of  God.  If  any  one  enter  by  me  into  the  fold,  as  a  shepherd 
or  teacher  and  leader  of  the  flock,  he,  himself,  mil  be  saved 
in  the  world  to  come,  and  preserved  to  life  eternal,  and  wUl 
have  free  entrance  to  the  sheep  here,  to  lead  them  out  to 
pasture.  He  Avho  does  not  thus  enter  through  me,  seeks 
the  sheep  only  for  selfish  and  evil  ends  ;  like  the  thief,  who, 
avoiding  the  door,  climbs  over  into  the  fold,  to  steal,  kill, 
and  destroy.  I  may  call  mj'self,  in  opposition  to  such  false 
shepherds,  not  only  the  door,  but  the  Good  Shepherd,  for  I 
have  come,  not  to  destroy  the  flock  of  God,  but  to  give  them 
true  abiding  life  in  my  kingdom,  and  that  with  all  fulness 
and  delight  of  spiritual  joys. 

"  I  am,  indeed,  the  Good  Shejiherd,  for  I  come  to  lay 
down  my  life  for  the  sheep.  But  he  who  is  a  hireling  and 
not  a  true  shepherd — he  who  seeks  to  lead  and  teach  the 
flock  of  God,  not  from  love  and  self-sacrifice,  but  for  gain — 
the  hypocrite  who  pretends  to  be  a  shepherd — sees  the 
powers  of  evil  coming  like  a  ravening  wolf,  to  tear  the  flock 
by  persecutions ;  and  flees,  and  leaves  it  to  its  fate,  so  that 
they  snatch  off"  many,  and  scatter  all.  He  thus  flees  because 
he  is  only  a  hireling,  thinking  of  himself  and  caring  nothing 
for  the  sheep. 

"  I,  once  more,  am  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  no  hireling,  for 
I  know  my  sheep,  and  they  know  me  with  such  deep  com- 
munion of  love  and  spiritual  life,  as  there  is  between  my 
heavenly  Father  and  myself;  and  I  shall  presently  lay  down 
my  life  for  them.  Yet,  not  for  those  of  Israel  alone.  I 
have  other  sheep,  of  other  lands,  and  them  also  I  must  lead 
into  the  one  fold,  that  there  may  be  but  one  flock,-^  under  ^  Not/oid.  The 
me,  the  one  shepherd. 

"  But  this  triumphal  issue  can  be  reached  only  by  my 
death  and  resurrection  ;  yet  I  rejoice  to  die  thus  for  the 
sheep,  since  the  love  of  my  heavenly  Father  rests  on  me, 
because  I  give  myself  for  them.  I  die  freely,  of  my  own 
choice,  a  willing  self-sacrifice.  No  one  takes  my  life  from 
me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself.-^  I  am  sent  forth  by  my  2, 
Father,  as  the  Messiah,  and,  as  such,  lay  down  my  life  and 
take  it  again;  not  to  carry  out  any  purpose  of  my  own,  but 


'nolfxtrr)t  a 
flock— not 
aihii,  a  fold, 
as  in  the 
earlier  part  of 
the  verse. 


Schleier- 
Diacher's 
Predigtan, 


324  THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP^Li.  to  complete  the  great  plan  of  salvation  God  has  designed.  It 
is  in  obedience  to  His  divine  command  I  thus  freely  give 
myself  u-p  to  death,  and  it  is  to  complete  the  gracious  plan  of 
mercy  towards  the  flock  which  my  death  will  redeem,  that  I 
shall  rise  again  from  the  grave  as  their  Great  Shepherd,  to 
guide  them  to  heaven." 

Had  the  bigoted  crowd  kno^\^l  the  fidl  significance  of 
some  of  these  words,  they  would  have  risen  against  Jesus 
once  more;  for  the  future  admission  of  the  heathen  into  the 
New  Kingdom  of  God  was  more  distinctly  intimated  than 
ever  before.  As  the  end  of  His  work  drew  nearer,  the 
narroAv  prejudices  even  of  the  Twelve  were  ever  more 
constantly  kept  in  view,  and  the  thought  that  the  kingdom 
He  was  founding  must  embrace  all  nations,  daily  enforced. 

But  neither  this  wide  catholicity,  which  a  Jew  would 
have  held  as  treason  to  his  nation,  nor  the  mysterious 
allusions  to  His  own  future,  were  rightly  understood.  The 
•  old  slander  that  "  He  had  a  devil,  and  was  mad  in  con- 
sequence, and  not  worthy  to  be  listened  to,"  rose  from  the 
lips  of  some,  and  the  best  that  even  the  most  liberal  among 
the  crowd  could  say,  was  the  negative  praise — "These  are 
not  the  words  of  one  who  is  possessed."  Besides,  though  a 
devil  might,  doubtless,  work  some  miracles  through  man  as 
its  instrument,  it  was  impossible  to  believe  that  it  either 
would  or  could  ■work  one  so  beneficent  and  stupendous  as 
the  opening  of  the  eyes  of  the  born  blind. 


A   WANDERING   LIFE.  325 


CHAPTER  LII. 

A  WANDERING  LIFE. 

IT  was  now  near  the  end  of  Khislev — the  cold  month —    chap,  lii. 
equivalent  to  part  of   our  November   and  December. 
The    twenty-fifth    of    the    month,     which,    according    to 
Wieseler,  fell,  this  year,  on  the  20th  December,  was,  with 
the  next  seven  days,  a  time  of  universal  reioicing  •}  for  the '  Ligh'foot,  on 

•'     '  JO  John  10. 22. 

Dedication  Festival,  in  commemoration  ^  of  the  renewal  of  „ '^™'_^"-'" 
the  Temple  worship,  after  its  suspensdon  under  Antiochus  "  ''''"' "'" 
Epiphanes,^  was  held  throudi  the  week.''  '  S.^-  I'-s-ifi-'. 

Jesus,  ever  pleased  to  mingle  in  innocent  joys,  and  glad  TempLwls 
to  seize  the  opportunity  for  proclaiming  the  New  Kingdom, 
which  the  gatherings  of  the  season  afibrded,  once  more  re- 
turned to  Jerusalem  to  attend  it.  He  had  been  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood since  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  nearly  three 
months  before,  and  this  visit  would  be  the  last,  till  His  final 
entry,  to  die.*  .  johnio.22-4: 

The  weather  had  been  wet  and  rough,^  so  that  He  was '  Anpnsti  und 

„  .  °     '  De  Wette's 

lam  to  avail  Himself,  like  the  crowds,  of  the  shelter  of  the   ^'''^'• 
arcade  running  along  the  east  side  of  the  Temple  enclosure; 
known  as   Solomon's    porch,  from  a  fragment  of  the  first 
Temple,  left  standing  by  Nebuchadnezzar.*^  e  Am.xi.9.7. 

The  rain  drove  the  people  from  the  open  courts,  and 
Jesus,  like  others,  Avas  in  the  Porch  it,  apparently  without  His 
disciples.  The  time  was  fitted  to  wake  the  old  temptation 
of  ambition,  had  it  had  any  charms.  How  easily  might 
He  eclipse  the  hero  of  all  this  rejoicing,  and  by  His  super- 
natural power  achieve  victories,  compared  with  which  those 
of  Judas  MaccabaBus  would  be  nothing !  But  He  had  far 
nobler  aims. 

The  Pharisaic  party,  themselves,  may  have  had  such  secret 


326  THE   LITE    OF   CHRIST. 

thoughts  in  connection  with  Him.  Be  this  as  it  may,  they 
now  suddenly  came  and  began  to  ask  Him  if  He  would  not, 
at  last,  relieve  their  minds  by  some  direct  and  express  de- 
claration whether  He  were  the  Messiah  or  not.  It  may  be. 
He  could  read  in  their  looks  that  He  needed  only  to  speak  a 
word  to  have  their  support,  and  He  knew  that  both  they 
and  the  nation,  at  such  a  time,  were  ready  to  flame  into 
universal  enthusiasm  for  any  leader  who  would  undertake 
to  lead  them  against  Rome.  But  earthly  ambition  had  no 
attractions  for  His  pure  spirit. 

"We  have  waited  long  and  anxiously,"  said  they,  "for 
some  decisive  word.  If  Thou  art  the  Messiah,  tell  us 
openlj^" 

"  I  have  already  told  you,"  answered  Jesus,  "  both  by  the 
witness  of  the  miracles  I  have  done  in  my  Father's  name, 
and  in  words ;  but  you  have  not  believed  me,  because,  as  I 
said  not  long  ago,  you  are  not  my  disciples,  or,  as  I  love  to 
call  them,  my  sheep.  If  you  had  been,  you  would  have  be- 
I.  lieved  in  me.''  You  may,  yourselves,  see  that  you  are  not 
of  my  flock,  for  those  who  are  so  listen  to  my  voice,  and  I 
know  them,  and  they  follow  me,  as  sheep  know  and  hsten 
to  the  voice  of  their  shepherd,  and  are  known  by  him,  and 
follow  him.  Nothing,  indeed,  can  be  more  close  and  abiding 
than  my  relations  to  them,  for  I  lead  them  not  to  mere  earthly 
good,  but  give  them  eternal  life,  and  am  their  shepherd 
hereafter  as  well  as  here ;  taking  care  that  they  shall  never 
perish,  and  that  no  one,  even  beyond  death,  shall  snatch 
them  out  of  my  hand.  Moreover,  being  in  my  hand,  they 
are,  in  effbct,  in  that  of  my  Father,  for  He  is  ever  with  me, 
and  works  by  me.  He  gave  them  to  me  at  first,  and  He 
still  guards  them,  nor  can  any  one  snatch  them  from 
His  hands,  for  He  is  greater  than  all  the  powers  of  earth 
and  hell.  Wonder  not  that  I  speak  of  their  being  both  in 
my  Father  s  hands  and  in  mine,  for  I  and  the  Father  are 
One." 

The  excitable,  fanatical  crowd  had  listened  patiently  till 
the  last  words,  which  seemed  the  most  audacious  blasphemy 
— a  claim  of  essential  oneness  Avith  the  Almighty.  In  a 
moment  they  were  once  more  scattered  in  search  of  stones, 


THREATS   OF    STONING. 


327 


with  whicli  to  kill  Him,  for  what  they  deemed  His  crime,  ch.^p_lil 
and  presently  gathered  round  Him  again  with  them,  to  fell 
Him  to  the  earth.  But  Jesus  remained  undismayed.  "I 
have  done  many  great  works  of  mercy,"  said  He,  calmly, 
"  which  show  that  the  Father  is  with  me,  because  they  could 
only  come  from  the  presence  of  His  power.  They  are 
enough  to  show  you  that  He  thinks  me  no  blasphemer. 
For  which  of  these  mighty  works  will  you  stone  me  ?  " 

"  We  would  not  think  of  stoning  Thee  for  a  good  work," 
answered  the  crowd  ;  "  it  is  for  your  blasphemy— that  you, 
a  man,  should  make  youi'self  God." 

"  Is  it  not  written  in  your  Law,"  replied  Jesus,^  "  of  the  '  pb-82.6. 
rulers  of  Israel,  the  representatives  and  earthly  embodiments 
of  the  majesty  of  Jehovah,  your  invisible  King,  ^  I  said,  Ye 
are  gods?  '  If  God  Himself  called  them  gods,  to  whom  this 
utterance  of  His  came,^— and  you  cannot  deny  the  authority  •  Meyer,  De 
of  Scripture,— how  can  you  say  of  me,— whom  the  Father  ^°s"^«- 
has  consecrated  to  a  far  higher  office  than  ruler,  or  even 
prophet — to  that  of  Messiah ;  and  whom  He  has  not  only 
thus  set  apart  to  this  great  office,  but  sent  into  the  world 
clothed  wdth  the  mighty  powers  I  have  shown,  and  the  ful- 
ness of  grace  and  truth  you  now  see  in  me, — that  I  blaspheme, 
because  I  have  said  I  am  God's  Son  ?  Your  unbelief  in  me, 
w-hich  is  the  ground  of  the  charge,  would  have  some  excuse 
if  I  did  not  perform  such  works  as  prove  me  to  have  been 
sent  by  my  Father.  But  if  I  do  such  works,  then  beheve 
them,  if  you  will  not  believe  me;  that  you  may  thus  learn 
and  know  ^  that  what  I  have  said  is  true— that  the  Father 
is  in  me,  and  I  in  the  Father." 

They  had  waited  for  a  retractation,  but  had  heard  a  defence. 
Instantly,  hands  were  thrust  out  on  every  side,  to  lay  hold  on 
Him,i"  and  lead  Him  outside  the  Temple  to  stone  Him  ;  but  "  '^«"«'9- 
He  shrank  back  into   the   croAvd,   and  passing  through  it, 
escaped. 

Jerusalem  and  Judea  were  evidently  closed  against  Him, 
as  Galilee  had  been  for  some  time  past.  There  seemed  only 
one  district  in  any  measure  safe, — the  half-heathen  territory 
of  Perea,  across  the  Jordan.  The  ecclesiastical  authorities 
and  the  people  at  large,  instead  of  accepting  Him,  and  the 


328  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lii.  spiritual  salvation'  He  offered,  had  become  steadily  more 
obdurate  and  hostile.  It  was  necessary  at  last  to  give  up  all 
attempts  to  win  thein,  and  to  retire,  for  the  short  time  that 
yet  remained  to  Him,  to  this  safer  district.  He  chose  the 
part  of  it  in  which  John  had  begun  his  ministrations ;  per- 
haps in  hopes  of  a  more  hopeful  soil,  from  the  cherished 
remembrance  of  His  predecessor;  perhaps  as  a  spot  sacred 
to  holy  associations  of  His  own. 

Here,  with  His  wonted  earnestness.  He  once  more  pro- 
claimed the  New  Kingdom,  and  was  cheered  by  a  last  flicker 
of  success ;  for  crowds  once  more  resorted  to  Him,  many  of 

1  johnio.  whom  became  His  disciples.^'^  "John,"  said  they,  "did  no 
miracles,  great  though  he  was,  but  his  testimony  to  this 
Man,  who  was  to  come  after  him, — that  He  was  greater  than 
himself, — is  true  ;  for  not  only  does  He  teach  us  the  words  of 
truth ;  He  confirms  them  by  mighty  wonders,  which  show 
Him  to  be  the  Messiah."  Jesus  was  reaping,  as  Bengel  says, 
the  posthumous  fruit  of  the  Baptist's  work. 

The  quiet  retreat  of  Pcrea  was,  however,  soon  to  be  broken. 
The  family  of  Bethany,  to  whom  Jesus  owed  so  many  happy 
hours,  had  been  in  health  when  He  left,  but  a  message  sud- 
denly reached  Him  from  the  two  sisters,  Mary  and  JNIartha, 
the  very  simplicity  of  which  still  touches  the  heart ;  "  Lord, 
he  whom  Thou  lovest, — our  brother  Lazarus, — is  sick."    His 

r.  johnu.  love  they  felt  would  need  nothing  more.^^  The  messengers 
doubtless  expected  that  He  would  have  returned  with  them  at 
once,  but  He  saw  things  in  a  higher  light,  and  moved  on  a 
different  spiritual  plane.  Instead  of  going  Avith  them  there- 
fore, He  dismissed  them  A^'ith  the  intimation  that  the  sickness 
would  not  really  end  in  death  ;  but  would  be  overruled  by 
God  to  His  own  glory,  by  disclosing  that  of  His  Son — Jesus 
Himself  It  was  from  no  indifference  that  He  thus  delayed, 
though  it  left  His  friends  to  bitter  disappointment,  and 
Himself  to  the  suspicion  of  neglect.  "  He  loved  Martha  and 
her  sister,  and  Lazarus,"  says  John.  But  still  He  delayed,  in 
obedience  to  a  higher  counsel  than  man's. 

The  messengers  had  taken  a  day  to  come,  and  it  would 
take  another  for  Jesus  to  go  to  Bethany,  but  though  He 
knew  this,  He  remained  two  days  more  in  the  place  where 


m 


OXCE   MORE    TO   BETHANY.  329 

the  sad  news  had  reached  Him.    On  the  third  day,  however,    chap^lh. 
He  surprised  His  disciples,  -who  had  fancied  that  He  hesitated 
from  fear  of  His  enemies,  by  telling  them  that  He  was  about 
to  return  to  Judea. 

"  The  Rabbis  and  priests  were  seeking  only  the  other  day 
to  stone  Thee,  Rabbi,"  said  they  in  amazement — "  and  art 
Thou  really  going  back  into  the  very  jaws  of  danger  ?" 

"  The  time  allotted  me  by  God  for  my  work,"  rephed 
Jesus,  "  is  not  yet  done,  and  so  long  as  it  lasts  no  one  can 
harm  me.  The  time  appointed  for  a  man,  is  like  the  hours 
of  light  given  to  a  traveller  for  his  journey.  There  is  no  fear 
of  his  stumbling  in  the  day,  because  he  sees  the  sun  ;  but  as 
He  stumbles  when  it  has  set,  so  man,  though  he  walk  safely 
till  the  appointed  time  ends,  can  do  so  no  longer  when  it  is 
over.     TiU  mine  is  over,  I  am  safe." 

Pausing  a  few  minutes.  He  Avent  on  to  tell  them  why  He 
was  going  to  Bethany,  in  spite  of  all  danger.  "  Our  friend 
Lazarus,"  said  He,  "  has  fallen  asleep,  but  I  go  that  I  may 
awake  him  out  of  sleep."  Unwilhng  to  expose  themselves 
or  their  Master  to  unnecessary  peril,  their  wishes  read  in 
these  words  a  cause  for  remaining  where  they  were.  "  To 
sleep  is  good  for  the  sick,"  said  they,  thinking  He  spoke  of 
natural  sleep.  But  their  hopes  were  speedily  dashed. 
"  Lazarus,"  said  He,  now  openly,  "  is  dead,  and  I  am  glad 
for  your  sakes,  that  I  was  not  there  to  heal  him  from  mere 
sickness.  The  far  greater  proof  of  my  divine  glory,  which 
you  will  see  in  my  raising  him  from  the  grave,  would  not 
have  been  given,  and  thus  you  would  have  lost  the  aid  to 
stiU  firmer  trust  in  me,  which  is  so  necessary  now  I  am 
so  soon  to  leave  you." 

Such  words  might  have  at  once  quieted  their  fears  and 
kindled  their  zeal,  but  they  still  saw  in  His  return  to  Judea, 
only  a  journey  to  His  own  death.  Thomas  the  Twin,  at  last 
broke  silence — "  It  becomes  us  to  do  all  that  our  Master 
commands,  even  when  He  asks  us  to  risk  our  lives.  Let  us 
go  with  Him,  that  we  may  show  our  love  and  fidehty  by 
dying  Avith  Him."     A  true-hearted  but  sad  man  ! 

It  is  clear  that  Jesus  feared  violence,  for  as  He  approached 
Bethany,  He  hngered  outside  the  village,  as  if  to  learn  how 


330 


THE   LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 


(renerally 
about  three 
hours  after. 


'  Sepp,  T. 
349—351. 

Lightfoot, 


matters  stood,  before  venturing  farther.  Nor  was  it  Avitliout 
cause,  for  notwithstanding  their  friendship  with  Jesus,  the 
family  of  Lazarus,  moving  in  good  society  as  they  did,  had 
many  friends  and  connections  amongst  those  hostile  to  Him, 
and  a  number  of  these  had  come  to  pay  the  customary  visit 
of  condolence  to  the  two  sisters. 

The  four  days  since  the  death  had  been  sad  ones  in  the 
little  household.  They  had  fasted  all  the  day  after  it,  and 
had  since  eaten  nothing  but  an  occasional  egg,  or  some 
lentiles ;  for  that  was  the  only  food  allowed  mourners,  for  the 
first  seven  days.  The  corpse,  which  had  had  a  lamp  burning 
beside  it  from  the  moment  of  death,  as  a  symbol  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  had  been  borne  to  the  grave  after  a 
few  hours  ;^^  an  egg  had  been  broken  as  a  symbol  of  mor- 
tahty:  and  the  cottage  left  to  the  two  survivors.  The  funeral 
procession  had  been  sad  enough,  with  its  dirge  flutes,  and 
wailing  hired  women  ;  the  two  sisters  and  their  relations 
following,  and  then  the  neighbours  and  friends ;  for  it  was 
held  a  religious  duty  in  all  who  could,  to  attend  a  corpse  to 
the  gi'avo.  At  the  grave's  mouth,  the  men  had  chanted  the 
sublime  ninetieth  Psalm  in  a  slow  circuit  of  seven  times 
round  the  bier,  on  which  lay  the  dead  wrapped  in  white 
linen.  The  long  procession,  headed  by  the  veiled  women, 
had  stopped  thrice  on  the  way  to  the  grave,  while  the  leader 
spoke  words  of  comfort  to  the  bereaved  ones,  and  tender  ex- 
hortations to  passers  by, — "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye,  ye  dear 
ones  !  Lift  up  your  souls,  lift  up  your  souls !  Come  to  me, 
all  ye  Avho  are  of  sad  and  troubled  heart,  and  take  part  in 
the  sorrow  of  your  neighbours."^* 

Once  more  in  their  desolate  home,  the  sisters,  with  veiled 
heads,  even  in  their  own  chamber,  and  with  unsandaled  feet, 
sat  down  on  the  earth,  in  the  midst  of  a  circle  of  at  least 
ten  friends  or  professional  mourners ;  with  rent  clothes  and 
dust  on  their  heads.  None  spoke  till  the  bereaved  ones  had 
done  so,  but  every  sentence  of  theirs  was  followed  by 
some  word  of  sympathy  and  comfort,  and  by  the  wails  of  the 
mourners.^*  And  thus  it  would  be  for  seven  days,  and  had 
been  for  four,  before  Jesus  arrived,  for  many  friends  had 
come  from  Jerusalem  to  comfort  the  two  sisters. 


AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZARUS.  331 

Word  was  presently  brought  to  the  house,  that  Jesus  had  chap,  m. 
come,  and,  forthwith,  IMartha,  true  to  her  chai-acter  as  the 
more  active  of  the  two  sisters,  rose  from  the  ground,  where 
she  and  Mary  had  been  sitting,  and  went  out,  wrapped  in 
her  mourning  dress  and  deeply  veiled,  to  go  to  Him ;  but 
]\Iary  remained  where  she  was,  for  she  had  not  heard  the 
good  news. 

"  Lord,"  said  Martha,  when  she  saw  Him,  "  if  Thou  liadst 
been  here,  my  brother  would  not  have  died," — as  if  she 
thought,  "  Why  did  He  then  delay  ?  "  But  as  she  looked 
at  Him  her  faith  revived,  and  she  added,  "  Yet  though 
he  be  dead,  I  know  that  God  will  grant  you  your  utmost 
prayer,  even  if  it  be  to  receive  back  Lazarus  from  the 
dead." 

"Your  brother  will  rise  again,"  replied  Jesus,  in  design- 
edly ambiguous  words,  to  lead  Martha's  faith  from  mere 
personal  interest  to  higher  thoughts.  Martha  understood 
Him  only  of  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day,  in  which  she 
felt  assured  Lazarus  would  have  part,  and  had  hoped  for 
something  so  much  nearer  and  greater,  that  so  vague  an 
answer  disappointed  her.  She  could  only  find  words  to  say, 
with  sad  resignation,  that  "  she  knew  that  he  would  rise," 
as  Jesus  had  seemed  to  say,  "  at  the  last  day." 

It  was  well  she  answered  thus,  for  Jesus  presently  used 
her  words  to  turn  her  from  mere  personal  interests,  to  Him- 
self,  and,  in  doing  so,  uttered  that  wondrous  sentence  w^hich 
has  carried  hope  and  triumph  to  millions  of  the  dying  and 
the  bereaved,  and  will  do  so  while  time  and  mortality 
endure.  "  I," — and  no  other  but  I — "  am  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Life.  He  that  believeth  on  me,  though  he  were 
dead,  yet  shall  he  live,  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth 
on  me  shall  never  die  " — words  which  we  may  paraphrase 
thus: — "  I  am  He  whose  is  the  power  to  raise  from  the 
dead,  and  make  alive  for  evermore.  He  that  believeth  in 
me,  though  his  body  die,  will  yet  continue  to  live  without 
break  or  interruption — for,  till  the  resurrection,  he  -n-ill  be 
in  paradise,  and  after  it,  and  by  its  means,  he  will  enter  on 
the  fulness  of  life  eternal.  And  every  one  who  is  still  alive, 
and  believes   in   me,  will   never   die,  in  any  true  sense; 


332  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lii.  for  the  death  of  the  body  is  not  really  death,  but  the  open 
gate  into  life  eternal.     Believest  thou  this?  " 

"  Yea,  Lord,"  sobbed  out  the  stricken  heart.  "  I  believe 
that  Thou  art  the  King-]\Iessiah,  the  Son  of  God,  who  was 
to  come  into  the  world  ;"  and  having  made  this  great  con- 
fession, she  went  away  to  call  her  sister  secretly,  for  fear  of 
those  hostile  to  Him  among  her  own  friends.  "  Mary," 
whispered  she,  "the  Teacher  is  here,  and  calls  for  thee." 
She  would  not  mention  the  name  for  caution. 

It  was  enough.  The  next  instant  Mary  was  on  the  road 
to  Jesus,  who  was  still  outside  the  village,  in  the  place 
where  JMartha  had  met  Him.  The  way  to  the  grave  was  in 
that  direction,  and  the  friends,  concluding  she  had  gone 
thither  to  weep,  kindly  rose  and  followed  her,  that  she 
might  not  be  left  to  her  lonely  grief  Jesus  could  no  longer 
remain  hidden,  but  the  presence  of  hostile  witnesses  confirmed 
the  more  strikingly  the  great  miracle  that  was  to  follow. 

Falling  in  tears  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  embracing  them, 
Mary's  full  heart  overflowed  in  the  same  lament  as  her 
sister's,  for  they  had  often  spoken  the  same  words  to  each 
other;  "Lord,  if  Thou  hadst  been  here,  my  brother  had 
not  died."  The  presence  of  her  friends,  who  she  knew  were 
no  friends  of  His,  hindered  more.  It  was  a  moment  fitted 
to  move  even  a  strong  heart,  for  those  around,  with  true 
Oriental  demonstrativeness,  wept  and  lamented  aloud,  along 
with  Mary.  But  the  sight  of  men  who  were  filled  with  the 
bitterest  enmity  to  Himself,  joining  in  lamentations  with 
]\Iary,  His  true-hearted  friend — men  with  no  sj-mpathy  for 
the  highest  goodness,  but  ready  to  chase  it,  in  His  person, 
from  the  earth,  because  it  condemned  their  cold  religious 
hypocrisy — showing  natural  tenderness  while  such  malignity 
was  in  their  hearts — roused  His  indignation,  so  that  He 
-8  Dewetteand  visil)ly  shuddercd  with  emotion,^''  and  had  to  restrain  Him- 
Meyer.  ^^-^  |^y  ^^  eamcst  effort.  Yet  the  cloud  of  righteous  anger 
passed  off  in  a  moment,  and  sorrow  for  His  friend,  and  for 
the  grief  of  the  loved  one  at  His  feet,  asserted  itself  Silent 
tears  trickled  down  His  cheeks,  for,  though  He  was  the  Son 
of  God,  He  was  no  less  truly  than  ourselves  a  man,  moved 
by  the  sight  of  human  sorrow. 


"LAZARUS,    COME   FORTH  !  "  333 

The  group  of  mourners  were  variously  affected  ;  the  most  chap^ih. 
kindly  remarking  how  dearly  He  must  have  loved  the  dead 
man,  that  He  should  now  weep  so  at  His  death.  But  the 
more  malicious  and  hardened  only  saw  in  His  tears  a  wel- 
come proof  of  His  helplessness,  for  had  it  been  otherwise, 
could  He  not  as  well  have  cured  Lazarus  of  His  illness  as 
give  sight  to  the  blind  ?  The  healing  of  the  blind  man  must 
surely  have  been  a  cheat,  for  certainly  He  would  have  come 
to  Bethany  sooner,  had  He  been  able  to  do  anything  for 
His  sick  friend.  The  muttered  words  reached  the  ears  of 
Jesus,  and  roused  anew  His  indignation ;  and  thus,  with 
mingled  anger  and  sorrow.  He  reached  the  grave. 

Like  most  graves  in  the  limestone  districts  of  Palestine, 
it  was  a  recess  cut  in  the  side  of  a  natural  cave,  and  closed 
by  a  huge  stone  fitted  into  a  groove.^'^  ^  capt.  wuson, 

In  this  gloomy  niche  lay  Lazarus,  swathed  from  head  to    Eepts.  isto, 
foot  in  loose  linen  wTappings,  and  now  four  days  dead. 

"  Take  away  the  stone,"  said  Jesus. 

But  Martha,  with  her  wonted  matter-of-fact  nature,  shrank 
at  the  words,  for  she  thought  of  the  awful  spectacle  of  her 
brother,  now  hastening  to  corruption.  Christ's  words  about 
the  resurrection  had  taken  away  any  hope  of  seeing  Lazarus 
alive  again  till  the  great  day,  and  she  would  rather  the 
sacred  remains  wei-e  left  undisturbed.  A  gentle  reproof 
from  Jesus  was,  however,  enough  to  let  her  leave  Him  to 
His  will.  "  Did  not  I  send  word  to  thee  by  thy  messenger 
that  if  thou  wouldst  only  believe  thou  shouldst  see  the  glory 
of  God?"     So  they  took  away  the  stone. 

Jesus  had  already,  in  the  stillness  of  His  own  breast, 
communed  with  the  Father,  and  knew,  in  Himself  that  His 
prayer  that  Lazarus  might  be  restored  to  life  had  been  heard. 
Lifting  up  His  eyes  to  heaven.  He  now  uttered  His  thanks 
that  it  had  been  so.  "  Father,  I  thank  thee  that  Thou  hast 
heard  me — yet  I  knew  that  Thou  hearest  me  always,  for 
Thy  will  is  ever  mine,  and  mine  is  ever  Thine.  But  I  thank 
Thee  thus,  for  the  sake  of  those  who  stand  around,  that  they 
may  be  convinced  that  what  I  do  is  done  in  Thy  power,  and 
that  I  am  assuredly  sent  forth  from  Thee." 

"What  followed  is  best  given  in  the  words  of  St.  John.   "And 


334  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lii.  when  He  had  thus  spoken,  He  cried  -with  a  loud  voice, 
•«  John  n.43,44.  Lazarus,  come  forth. ^*  And  he  that  was  dead  came  forth, 
bound  handand  footwith  grave-clothes;  and  his  face  had  been 
bound  about  with  a  napkin — (that  had  tied  up  his  jaw  four 
days  before,  when  it  fell,  in  death).  Jesus  saith  unto  them, 
*  Loose  him,  and  let  him  go  (home) :'  "  and  he  who  had  been 
dead,  now  freed  from  his  grave-clothes,  himself  returned  in 
the  fulness  of  youthfid  strength  and  health  to  the  cottage 
from  which  he  had  been  carried  forth  on  a  bier  four  days 
before. 

Of  the  after-history  of  Lazarus,  with  one  momentary  ex- 
ception, we  know  nothing,  for  none  of  the  numerous  tradi- 
tions and  legends  respecting  him  are  reliable.  He  is  said 
to  have  been  thirty  years  old  when  he  was  raised  from  the 
dead,  and  to  liave  lived  for  thirty  years  after ;  to  have  been 
of  royal  descent ;  to  have  owned  a  whole  quarter  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  to  have  been,  by  profession,  a  soldier.  His  bones 
were  said  to  have  been  found  in  the  year  a.d.  890,  with 
those  of  ]\Iary  ]\Iagdalene,  in  the  island  of  Cyprus !  and  the 
I'cmains  thus  honoured  were  carried  to  Constantinople. 
Other  traditions  take  him  to  Marseilles,  and  speak  of  him 
"  Mz'sss"'^  ^^  ^^^*^  fi^"'^*  Christian  Bishop  of  that  city.^'*  But  the  very 
extravagance  of  these  legends  shows  their  w^orthlessness  as 
history. 

The  results  of  the  miracle  Avere  momentous  to  Jesus  Himself. 
Many  of  the  party  of  the  Rabbis  who  had  come  to  comfort  the 
sisters,  found  themselves  constrained  to  believe  in  one  whose 
claims  Avere  attested  by  an  act  so  transcendent,  and  so  in- 
disputable. But  some  justified  all  that  Jesus  had  said  of 
their  malignity  by  not  only  shutting  their  eyes  to  what  they 
were  determined  not  to  admit,  but  by  playing  the  infoi'mer 
to  the  ecclesiastical  authorities. 

The  great  ecclesiastical  court  of  the  nation,  known  in  the 
Talmud  as  the  "  Sanhedrim,"  had  been  in  abeyance  for  many 
years,  for  there  is  no  trace  of  it  during  the  whole  period  of 
»  jost,L278.  the  Herods,  or  of  the  Romans.-"  The  name,  indeed,  occurs 
in  the  New  Testament,  but  it  is  simply  as  the  Greek  word  for 
"an  assembly," "^  Avhich  was  adopted  by  the  Rabbis,  at  a 
later  period.      Herod  had  broken  up  the  great  Rabbinical 


THE   AUTHORITIES   ROUSED.  335 

council,  and,  henceforth,  the  only  authorities  recognized  as 
the  fountains  of  Jewish  Law  were  the  schools  of  such  Rabbis 
as  Hillel  and  Schammai.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  a  legal 
Jewish  court,  which  had  power  to  enforce  its  decisions.  The 
authority  granted  to  the  leading  schools  was  only  a  tribute 
of  confidence  in  their  soundness  and  wisdom.  Hence,  in  the 
days  of  Christ,  there  was  no  legal  Jewish  coux't  in  existence, 
and  the  criminal  processes  mentioned  in  connection  with  Him, 
were  only  acts  of  assemblies  which  the  high  priest  for  the 
time,  the  only  representative  of  the  old  Theocracy  recognized 
by  the  supreme  Roman  authority,  called  together  in  angry 
haste,  informally,  and  which  acted  by  no  judicial  rules  of 
procedure.^^  ' 

Such  an  illegal  gathering  was  summoned  by  the  Sad- 
ducean  chief  j^riests  and  the  leading  Pharisaic  Rabbis,  to 
discuss  Avhat  should  be  done  respecting  Jesus,  now  that  the 
incontestable  fact  of  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus  had  crowned 
all  His  preceding  miracles.  Having  no  idea  of  a  Messiah 
apart  from  political  revolution,  to  be  inaugurated  by  Him,  it 
seemed  likely  that,  if  something  were  not  done  to  jjut  Him 
out  of  the  way,  the  excitement  of  the  people,  through  His 
miracles,  would  become  irresistible,  and  lead  to  a  national 
rising,  fiercer  even  than  that  of  Judas  the  Galilasan.  To 
the  popular  party,  represented  by  the  Pharisees  present, 
this  would  be  no  undesirable  issue ;  but  the  courtly  Sad- 
ducees  shrank  from  any  disturbance,  fearing  that,  in  the 
end,  the  Romans  would  crush  it  wath  their  legions,  and,  as 
a  punishment,  abolish  the  hierarchical  constitution,  which 
gave  them  their  wealth  and  position ;  and,  with  it,  the  eccle- 
siastical and  ci^dl  laws  which  flattered  the  nation  with  an 
illusory  independence. 

The  Temple,  and  all  the  far-reaching  vested  interests 
bound  up  with  it,  had  long  existed  only  on  sufixirance,  and 
would  at  once  perisli  in  the  storm  of  a  national  insurrec- 
tion;  and  the  nation,  stripped  of  its  local  laws,  so  vital  to  a 
theocracy,  would  be  secularized  into  a  part  of  Rome,  with 
the  hated  imperial  heathen  law,  instead  of  the  laws  of  God 
and  the  Rabbis. 

The  acting  high  priest  at  this  time  was  Joseph  Caiaphas. 


336  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

He  had  been  appointed  by  the  procurator  Valerius  Gratus, 
shortly  before  that  governor  left  the  province,  in  a.d.  25 — 
when  Jesus  was  about  twenty  years  of  age ;  and  he  con- 
tinued to  hold  his  great  office  till  the  year  a.d.  36,  when  he 
Avas  removed  by  the  proconsul  Vitellius,  shortly  after  the 
recall  of  Pilate.  He  was,  in  every  way,  a  creature  of  the 
Romans,  and,  as  such,  received  little  respect  from  the 
nation,  though  his  dignity  secured  him  official  authority. 

Eising  in  the  meeting,  which  had  been  hithei'to  very 
divided  and  irresolute  as  to  the  wisest  course  to  be  taken, 
Caiaphas  begged  to  give  his  opinion — 

"  You  know  nothing  at  all,"  said  he,  "else  you  Avould  not 
have  so  much  questioning  and  discussing.  You  have  not 
considei'ed  that  it  is  expedient  for  you,  in  vicAv  of  your  in- 
terests as  priests  and  Rabbis,  that  this  one  man  should  die, 
to  save  Israel,  as  such,  from  the  destruction  that  threatens 
it,  if  you  let  Him  stir  up  a  Messianic  revolt ;  for,  in  that 
case,  the  whole  nation  must  perish.  The  Romans  will  come 
with  their  legions  and  close  our  Temple,  annul  our  inde- 
pendence by  abolishing  our  laws,  and  waste  us  with  fire  and 
sword."  ' 

There  could  be  no  misconception  of  words  so  plain.  They 
were  a  distinct  advice  to  those  present  to  put  Jesus  to  death, 
as  the  one  way  to  save  themselves,  and  maintain  things  as 
they  were  in  Church  and  State.^'^  Words  so  momentous,  for 
they  decided  the  fate  of  Jesus,  might  well  seem  to  St.  John 
no  mere  human  utterance,  but  the  involuntary  expression 
through  unworthy  lips,  of  the  near  approach  of  the  suj^reme 
act  in  the  divine  plan  of  mercy  to  mankind. 

From  that  day  the  death  of  Jesus  was  only  a  question 
of  time  and  opportunity.  Henceforth,  the  Jewish  primate 
and  his  suffragans  kept  steadily  in  view — in  concert  Avith 
their  hereditary  and  deadly  enemies,  the  Rabbis — the  arrest 
of  Jesus,  and  His  subsequent  death.  Their  officers,  or  any 
one  hostile  to  Him,  might  apprehend  Him  at  any  moment. 
It  was  clearly  no  longer  possible  for  Him  to  show  Himself 
openly,  and  He,  therefore,  retired  Avith  His  disciples  to  a 
city  called  Ephraim,  now  difficult  of  identification.  It  seems 
to  have  been  in  the  wild  uncultivated  hill-country,  north- 


JESUS    CROSSES   THE   JORD^VM   AGAIN.  ^-^7 

east  of  Jerusalem,  between  the  central  towns  and  the  Jordan  chap,  lil 
valley.  A  village  now  known  as  El  Taiyibeh,  on  a  conical 
hill,  commanding  a  view  of  the  whole  eastern  slope  of  the 
country,  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  and  the  Dead  Sea,  though 
only  sixteen  miles  from  Jerusalem,  has  been  thought  by  Dr. 
Robinson  the  site.^^      It  answers  at  least  in  its  secluded »  Diet,  of  Biwe, 

Art. 

privacy,  and  the  ready  access  it  offers  to  the  still  wilder    -Ephraim.- 
regions  beyond. 

Only  a  few  weeks  remained  of  our  Saviour's  life,  and 
these  He  had  to  spend  as  a  fugitive,  to  whom  no  place  was 
safe.  He  had,  however,  the  joy  of  seeing  the  old  enthusiasm 
of  the  multitudes  revived,  for  Matthew  and  Mark  both 
speak  of  the  vast  numbers  who  followed  Him  in  this  closing 
period,-*  attracted,  doubtless,  more  by  the  fame  of  His  past «  siatt.  lo.  i,  2. 
miracles,  and  by  continuous  displays  of  the  same  super- 
natural power  towards  the  diseased  of  every  kind,  than  by 
His  teaching.  Yet  there  must  have  been  not  a  few  "  sheep  " 
in  such  vast  gatherings.  The  clouds  were  parting  as  the  day 
closed,  and  wei'e  being  lighted  with  sunset  colours,  before 
the  night  darkened  all. 

From  Ephi'aim  He  soon  passed  over  the  Jordan,  to  what, 
for  the  moment,  seemed  a  safer  retreat.  The  lesser  excom- 
munication, which  had  driven  Him  from  the  synagogues  of 
Galilee  and  Judea,  had  perhaps  expired,  or  the  bann  may 
not  have  been  effective  in  Perea;  for  He  once  more  had 
access  to  these  assemblies  on  the  Sabbaths,  and  was  allowed, 
as  before,  to  teach  the  people,  who  were  thus  most  easily 
reached.  It  was  impossible,  however,  that  He  could  long 
avoid  colUsion  with  some  or  other  of  the  countless  Rabbinical 
laws,  which  fettered  every  movement  of  free  spiritual  Ufe, 
and,  as  in  the  past,  the  fanatical  Sabbath  laws  offered  the 
first  occasions  of  trouble.     Two  instances  are  recorded  by 

St.    Luke.-''  «I,nkel3. 

As  He  was  teaching  on  a  Sabbath  in  the  synagogue  of  one  i-e.'  ' 
of  the  outlying  towns  of  Perea — half  Jewish,  half  heathen 
— He  noticed  in  the  audience,  behind  the  lattice  which  sepa- 
rated the  women  from  the  men,  a  poor  creature  dra^vn 
together  by  a  rheumatic  affection,  which  had  bowed  her 
frame  so  terribly  that  she  could  not  raise  herself  erect.     As 

VOL.  II.  61 


338  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  m.  she  painfully  struggled  into  her  place,  Jesus  saw  her,  and 
doubtless  read,  in  her  supplicating  looks,  and  in  the  very 
fact  that  she  had  come  to  the  House  of  God  in  spite  of  such 
physical  infirraity,  an  evidence  that  she  was  a  fit  subject  for 
His  pitying  help.  Rising,  and  calling  across  the  congrega- 
tion to  her,  the  welcome  words  fell  on  her  ears — "Woman, 
thou  art  loosed  from  thine  infirmity."  The  cure  was  instan- 
taneous. In  a  moment  she  was  once  more  straight  and 
whole,  after  eighteen  years  of  deformity,  and  her  irrepres- 
sible thanks  to  God  for  the  mercy  vouchsafed  her,  rang 
through  the  synagogue,  and  made  a  great  commotion. 

The  head  of  the  congregation,  however,  was  a  cold 
Rabbinical  pedant.  Intensely  professional,  he  could  see 
nothing  but  an  irregularity.  It  was  the  Sabbath  day,  and 
the  Rabbis  had  decided  that  no  cure  was  laA^^ul  on  the 
Sabbath  except  where  death  was  imminent.  "  Silence," 
cried  he,  indignantly,  "  there  are  six  days  in  which  men 
ought  to  work ;  it  would  be  much  more  becoming  if  this 
person  were  to  remember  that :  and  if  you,  for  your  part, 
want  to  be  healed  by  Him,  see  that  you  come  on  a  week-day, 
so  that  He  have  no  excuse  for  breaking  the  holy  Sabbath, 
by  doing  the  work  of  curing  you  on  it."  ^ 

Indignation  flashed  from  the  eyes  of  Jesus,  and  turning 
to  the  speaker.  He  denounced  his  heartless  formalism,  so 
utterly  opposed  to  the  true  religion  of  which  He  was  the 
official  representative.  "  You,  and  the  whole  class  who  think 
wdth  you,  are  hypocritical  actors,"  said  He;  "your  words 
prove  it,  for  they  are  contradicted  by  your  daily  conduct. 
Do  you  not  loose  your  asses,  or  your  oxen,  from  the  manger, 
Avhere  they  are  tied,  on  the  Sabbath,  and  lead  them  away  to 
water  them  ?  And  if  so,  ought  not  this  woman,  a  daughter 
of  Abraham,  and,  as  such,  one  of  God's  own  people — who 
is  of  unspeakably  greater  worth  than  any  ox  or  ass,  to  be 
loosed  to-day,  though  it  be  the  Sabbath,  from  this  bond,  with 
which- Satan  has  chained  her,  for  now,  eighteen  years?  " 

There  could  be  no  reply  to  such  a  vindication.  The  ruler 
and  his  party  were  silenced,  and  put  to  shame  before  the 
quick-witted  audience.  The  worship  of  the  letter  had 
received  another  deadly  blow. 


CURE    OF   THE    DROPSY.  339 

A  second  incident,  very  similar,  occurred  soon  after.   One    chap,  lh. 
of  the  leading  Pharisees  had  invited  Jesus  to  dine  with  him 
on  the  Sabbath,  as  the  day  specially  devoted  to  social  enter- 
tainments   by  the   Rabbis,^" — with  the   sinister  design  of  2«  LigMtoot, 
■watching  Him   and   reporting  to  those  in  authority.'^''     A » Lukei4.i-!;4. 
number  of  Rabbis  and  Pharisees  had  been  invited  to  meet 
Him,  but  they  had  not  yet  lain  down  to  their  meal,^^  when  ^  verse?. 
a  man,  ill  with  dropsy,  entered  the  open  door  of  the  house, 
with  others  who  di'opped  in,  with  Oriental  freedom,-"  to  look  ==  Stephen's 

\  ,  Incidents  of 

on,  and  stand  about.  In  his  case,  no  doubt,  the  motive  of  i^^t,&c, 
his  coming  was  that  he  might  attract  the  notice  of  Jesus.  ''  ^^' 
He  was  afraid,  however,  to  speak,  for  fear  of  those  present, 
and  patiently  waited  to  see  if  Jesus  would,  of  his  own  accord, 
cure  Him.  He  had  not  long  to  wait.  Looking  at  him, 
Jesus  turned  to  the  guests  with  the  question  He  had  asked 
before,  in  similar  circumstances — "  Is  it  lawful  to  heal  on 
the  Sabbath,  or  is  it  not  ?  "  In  their  consciences  they  could 
not  say  it  was  not,  but  few  men  have  the  courage  of  their 
opinions,  when  current  sentiment  runs  the  other  way,  so 
they  were  silent.  But  silence  was  a  virtual  affirmative,  for, 
if  it  were  wrong,  it  was  their  bounden  duty,  as  the  public 
guardians  of  religion,  to  say  so.  Passing  over,  therefore,  to 
the  swollen  and  wretched  being,  He  put  His  hand  on  him; 
cured  him  at  once,  and  sent  him  away.  Then,  turning  to  the 
confused  and  baffled  company.  He  completed  their  discom- 
fiture by  an  appeal  similar  to  that  which  He  had  made  in 
the  case  of  the  woman  healed  shortly  before.  "Which  of 
you,  let  me  ask,  if  his  son,®  or  even  only  his  ox,  had  fallen 
into  a  pit,  would  not  immediately  draw  him  out,  on  dis- 
covering it — even  on  the  Sabbath  ?  "  No  wonder  that  nothing 
further  was  said  on  the  subject. 

The  couches  on  which  the  guests  reclined  at  meals  were 
arranged  so  as  to  form  three  sides  of  a  square,  the  fourth 
being  left  open  to  allow  the  servants  to  bring  in  the  dishes. 
The  right-hand  couch  was  reckoned  the  highest,  and  the 
others,  the  middle,  and  the  lowest,  respectively,  and  the 
places  on  each  couch  were  distinguished  in  the  same  way, 
from  the  fact  that  the  guest  who  reclined  with  his  head,  as  it 
were,  in  the  bosom  of  him  behind,  seemed  to  be  the  lower  of 


340  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

cgAP.  m.  the  two.  The  highest  place  on  the  highest  couch,  was,  thus, 
the  "chief  place;"  and  human  nature,  the  same  in  all  ages, 
inevitably  made  it  be  eagerly  coveted,  and  as  precedence 
was  marked  by  distance  from  it,  there  was  an  almost  equal 
anxiety  to  get  as  near  it  as  possible.  "With  the  vanity  and 
self-righteousness  of  a  moribund  caste,  there  was  no  httle 
scheming  among  the  Rabbis  for  the  best  place,  and  much 
anxiety  on  the  part  of  the  host  not  to  give  offence;  for  to 
.  place  a  Kabbi  below  any  one  not  a  Rabbi,  or  below  a  fellow 
Rabbi  of  lower  standing,  or  younger,  was  an  unpardonable 
affront,  and  a  discredit  to  religion  itself.  The  intolerable 
pride  that  had  made  one  of  their  order,  in  the  days  of  Alex- 
ander JaniuT-'us,  seat  himself  between  Alexander  and  his 
queen,  on  the  ground  that  "  wisdom"  made  its  scholars  sit 
among  princes,  remained  unchanged.  Such  petty  ambition, 
so  unworthy  in  public  teachers  of  morals  and  religion,  and  so 
entirely  in  contrast  with  His  own  instructions  to  His  disciples, 
to  seek  no  distinction  but  that  of  the  deepest  humility,  did 
not  f;iil  to  strike  the  Great  Guest,  who  had  calmly  taken  the 
place  assigned  Him.  Addressing  the  company — "You  are 
wrong,"  said  He,  "  in  revealing  your  wishes,  and  obtruding 
your  self-assertion  in  such  a  way.  Let  me  counsel  you  how 
to  act.  If  invited  to  a  marriage  feast,  never  take  the  chief 
place  on  the  couches,  lest  some  one  of  higher  standing  for 
learning  or  piety  come,  and  your  host  ask  you  to  go  down 
to  a  lower  place,  to  make  room  for  the  more  honoured  guest. 
Take,  rather,  the  lowest  place,  when  you  enter,  that  your 
host,  when  he  comes  in,  may  invite  you  to  take  a  higher, 
and  thus  honour  you  before  all.  Pride  is  its  own  punish- 
ment, in  this,  as  in  far  graver  matters,  for,  whether  before 
God  or  man,  he  who  exalts  himself  will  be  humbled,  and  he 
who  humbles  himself  will  be  exalted." 

It  was  an  old  custom  in  Israel  to  invite  the  poorer  neigh- 
bours to  the  special  meals  on  the  consecrated  flesh  of  offer- 
ings not  used  at  the  altar,  and  on  similar  half-religious 
occasions,  to  brighten  their  poverty  for  the  moment,  by  kindly 
hospitality.  This  beautiful  usage  was,  in  the  time  of  Jesus, 
among  the  things  of  the  past,  for  the  priest  or  Rabbi  of  His 
day  would  have  trembled  at  the  thought  of  being  defiled  by 


TRUE    HOSPITALITY.  341 

contact  with  people  whose  position  made  it  impossible  to  be    chap,  lh. 
as  scrupulous  in  the  observance  of  the  endless  legal  injunc- 
tions demanded,  as  themselves. 

The  meal  at  which  Jesus  was  now  present  was  very 
possibly  one  to  which,  in  old  times,  such  very  different  guests 
would  have  been  asked.  Or,  it  may  be,  the  luxury  dis- 
played drew  the  attention  of  one  so  simple  in  His  habits. 
Not  a  few  neighbours,  in  very  diflferent  circumstances  from 
the  guests,  had  likely  entered,  to  look  on  and  listen,  but 
caste  looked  at  them  askance,  as  if  they  were  an  inferior 
race.  Noticing  this,  our  Lord  addressed  Himself  to  the  host 
in  a  friendly  way  : — 

"  Have  you  ever  thought  what  hospitality  would  yield  you 
most  pleasure?  When  you  wish  on  special  occasions  to  give 
a  dinner  or  supper,  let  me  tell  you  what  you  would  ahvays 
look  back  upon  vdth  the  purest  joy.  Do  not  invite  your 
rich  friends  to  it,  or  your  family  or  kinsmen,  or  well-to-do 
neighbours.  They  mil  invite  you  in  return,  and  this  will 
destroy  the  worth  of  your  act,  for  which  you  expect  a  re- 
compense from  God  at  the  resurrection.  Instead  of  such 
guests,  in\'ite  the  poor,  the  hungry,  the  lame,  the  maimed, 
and  the  blind.  If  you  entertain  such,  they  wiU  rewai'd  you 
richly  by  their  gi'atitude,  and  if  you  have  invited  them  from 
an  honest  heart,  as  a  duty,  God  Himself  '\\ill  remember  it  at 
the  resurrection  of  the  righteous." 

One  of  the  guests  had  listened  attentively.  The  mention 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  righteous,  naturally,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, raised  the  thought  of  the  heavenly  banquet 
which  the  Rabbis  expected  to  follow  that  event.  "  Blessed 
are  those,"  said  he,  "  who  shall  eat  bread  at  the  great  feast 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  after  the  resurrection.  It  would, 
indeed,  be  well  to  give  such  entertainments  as  Thou  hast 
named,  which  would  be  thus  so  richly  repaid  in  the  Avorld 
to  come." 

This  remark  gave  Jesus  an  opportunity  of  delivering  a 
parable  which  must  have  run  terribly  counter  to  the  pre- 
judices of  the  company.  The  spirit  of  caste  that  prevailed 
in  the  hierarchical  party,  and  their  utter  want  of  sympathy 
for  the  down-trodden  masses,  were  abhorrent  to  His  whole 


342 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


CHAP.  HI.  nature.  It  was  daily  cleai'er  that  tlie  religious  and  moral 
impulse  by  which  He  was  to  revolutionize  the  world,  would 
never  come  from  Israel  as  a  nation.  The  opportunity  had 
been  offered  and  even  pressed,  but  it  had  been  rejected,  and 
hence  He  was  free  to  proclaim  the  great  truth,  which,  for  a 
time,  He  had  held  back,  that  the  Heathen,  as  well  as  the 
Jew,  was  invited,  on  equal  terms,  to  the  privileges  of  the 
New  Kingdom  of  God.  It  was  specially  necessary  in  these 
last  months  of  His  life  to  make  this  prominent,  that  the 
minds  of  the  disciples,  above  all,  might  be  prepared  for  a 
revolution  of  thought  so  momentous  and  signal.  He,  there- 
fore, now,  took  every  opportunity  of  showing  that  the  invi- 
tations of  the  New  Kingdom,  in  fulfilment  of  the  eternal 
purpo.se  of  God,  were  to  be  addressed  as  freely  to  heathen  as 
to  Israel,  and  that  the  religion  He  was  founding  was  one  of 
spirit,  and  truth,  and  liberty,  for  the  whole  world.  This 
revelation,  so  transcendent  in  the  history  of  the  race.  He 
once  more  disclosed,  had  they  been  able  to  understand  Him, 
at  the  Pharisee's  table. 

"A  certain  man,"  said  He,  as  if  in  answer  to  the  la.st 
"Luke  14.  speaker,  "  made  a  great  supper,  and  invited  many  guests ;  ^'^ 
doing  so  earl}',  that  they  might  have  ample  time  to  prepare, 
and  keep  themselves  free  from  other  engagements.  When 
the  hour  fixed  for  the  banquet  came,  he  sent  his  servant — 
as  is  usual — once  more  to  those  invited,  to  say  that  all  was 
ready,  and  to  pray  them  to  come.  But  though  they  had 
had  ample  time  to  make  all  arrangements,  they  were  still 
alike  busy  and  unconcerned  about  the  in\'itation,  and,  as 
if  by  common  agreement,  each  in  turn  excused  himself  from 
accepting  it.  '  I  have  just  bought  a  field,'  said  one,  '  and 
must  go  and  see  it — I  beg  your  master  will  hold  me  excused' 
— and  went  off  to  his  land.  '  It  is  impossible  for  me  to 
come,'  said  another,  '  for  I  have  just  bought  five  yoke  of 
oxen,  and  am  on  the  point  of  starting  to  try  them.'  A  third 
begged  to  be  excused  because  he  had  only  just  married, 
and  therefore  could  not  come,  as  he  had  a  feast  of  his  own. 

"The  servant  had,  therefore,  to  return  to  his  master  with 
this  sorry  list  of  excuses,  each  of  Avhich  was  a  marked  affront. 
'I  shall  see  that  my  feast  has  not  been  prepared  for  nothing,' 


CASTE   rROSCRIBED.  343 

said  he  to  the  servant — '  go  out,  at  once,  to  the  streets  and    chap,  m. 
lanes  of  the  city,  and  bring  in  all  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the 
blind,  and  the  lame  you  can  find,  that  my  table  may  be  filled.' 

"  There  was  still  room,  however,  after  this  had  been  done. 
'  Go  outside  the  city  to  the  country  roads  and  hedgeways,' 
said  the  householder,  '  and  gather  any  waifs  and  beggars 
you  find,  and  compel  them  to  come  in,  for  my  house  must 
be  filled,  and  none  of  the  men  I  invited  to  my  supper  will 
taste  it.'" 

Had  the  hearers  but  known  it,  this  parable  was  a  deadly 
thrust  at  their  most  cherished  prejudices.  The  priests  and 
Rabbis,  leaders  of  the  nation,  had  been  invited  again  and 
again  by  Jesus  and  His  disciples,  to  the  spiritual  banquet  of 
the  New  Kingdom,  but  they  had  despised  the  invitation,  on 
any  excuse,  or  on  none.  The  poor  and  outcast  peoj^le,  the 
sinners  and  publicans,  and  the  hated  multitude,  who  ne- 
glected the  Rabbinical  rules,  had  then  been  summoned,  and 
had  gladly  come,  and,  now,  the  in\dtation  was  to  go  forth  to 
those  outside  Israel — the  abhorred  heathen — and  they,  too, 
were  to  come  freely,  and  sit  doAvn  at  the  great  table  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  with  no  conditions  or  disabilities ; 
while  they  who,  in  their  pride,  had  refused  to  come,  were 
finally  rejected. 

It  was  the  proclamation,  once  more,  of  the  mighty  truth 
which  might  well  be  too  hard  for  those  who  first  heard  it, 
to  understand,  since  it  is  imperfectly  realized  after  nineteen 
centuries — that  external  rites  and  formal  acts  are  of  no  value 
with  God,  in  themselves :  that  He  looks  at  the  conscience 
alone :  that  neither  circumcision  nor  sacrifices,  nor  leo-al 
purifications,  nor  rigid  observance  of  Sabbath  laws,  nor 
fasts,  but  the  state  of  the  heart,  determines  the  relation  of 
man  to  God. 

Before  leaving  the  world,  our  Lord  would  put  it  beyond 
question  that  His  religion  knew  no  caste,  or  national  privi- 
lege :  that  it  was  independent  of  the  cumbrous  machinery 
of  rite  and  ceremony  which  had  crushed  the  life  out  of  the 
religion  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  that  it  could  reign,  in 
its  divine  perfection,  in  any  human  heart  that  oj^ened  itself 
to  the  Spirit  of  God. 


344  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

IN  PEREA. 

CHAP.  Lin.  fT^HE  incident  of  the  Sabbath  meal,  in  the  house  of 
Luke  H.  26-35.  X  the  Pharisee,  had  occurred  as  Jesus  was  journey- 
ing by  slow  stages  towards  Jerusalem.  He  had  long  ago 
felt  that  to  go  thither  would  be  to  die  ;  but  His  death,  in 
whatever  part  of  the  country  He  might  be  apprehended, 
was  already  determined  by  His  enemies,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary for  the  future  of  His  Kingdom  that  He  should  not 
perish  obscurely,  like  John,  in  some  lonely  fortress,  but 
with  such  publicity,  and  so  directly  by  the  hands  of  the 
upholdere  of  the  Old  Theocracy,  as  to  leave  their  deliberate 
rejection  of  His  teaching  in  no  doubt,  and  to  bring  home  to 
them  the  guilt  of  His  death. 

Yet  He  was  in  no  hurry.  It  was  still  some  time  till  the 
Passover,  and  He  advanced  leisurely  on  His  sad  journey, 
through  the  different  villages  and  to^vns,  teaching  in  the 
synagogues  on  the  Sal^baths,  and  anywhere,  day  by  day, 
through  the  week.  Meanwhile,  the  miracles  which  He 
wrought  before  continually  increasing  multitudes  excited  in 
Herod,  the  local  ruler,  the  same  fear  of  a  political  rising  as 
had  led  him  to  imprison  tlie  Baptist. 

In  spite  of  our  Lord's  earnest  effort  to  discourage  excite- 
ment, by  damping  every  worldly  hope  or  ambition  in  the 
crowds  that  followed  Him,  and  leaving  no  question  of  His 
utter  refusal  to  carry  out  the  national  programme  of  a 
political  Messiah,  Herod  was  so  alarmed  that  he  made  efforts 
to  apprehend  Him.  Had  the  throngs  increased  with  His 
advance  from  place  to  place,  as  they  well  might,  so  shortly 
Ijefore  the  Passover,  He  would  have  entered  Jerusalem  i^'ith 


INTENDING   DISCIPLES   ■WARNED.  345 

a  Avhole  army  of  partisans,  and  compromised  Himself  at  once    chap.  Lm 
with  the  Roman  authorities. 

He,  therefore,  spared  no  efforts  to  discourage  and  turn  back 
to  their  homes  those  whom  He  saw  attracted  to  Him  from 
other  than  spiritual  motives.  He  wished  none  to  follow 
Him  who  had  not  counted  the  cost  of  doing  so,  and  had  not 
reaUzed  His  unpi'ecedented  demands  from  His  disciples. 
Instead  of  courting  popular  support,  now  that  His  Ufe  was 
in  such  danger,  He  raised  these  demands,  and  refused  to 
receive  followers  on  any  terms  short  of  absolute  self- 
surrender  and  self-sacrifice  to  His  cause,  though  He  had 
nothing  whatever  to  offer  in  return  beyond  the  inward 
satisfaction  of  conscience,  and  a  reward  in  the  future  world, 
if  the  surrender  had  been  the  absolutely  sincere  and  disinter- 
ested expression  of  personal  devotion  to  Himself 

"  Consider  well,"  said  He,  "  before  you  follow  me  farther. 
I  desire  no  one  to  do  so  who  does  not  without  reserve 
devote  himself  to  me  and  my  cause.  He  must  tear  himself 
from  all  his  former  connections  and  associations,  and  offer 
up,  as  a  willing  sacrifice,  the  claims  of  father,  mother,  wife, 
children,  brother,  or  sister — and  even  his  o-\vn  life,  if  neces- 
sary, that  he  may  be  in  no  way  hindered  from  entire 
devotion  to  me  and  my  commands.  Short  of  this,  no  one 
can  be  my  disciple.  Nor  can  he  who  is  not  willing  to  bear 
shame  and  suffering  for  my  sake.  You  cannot  be  my 
disciples  unless  you  arc  ready  to  be  virtually  condemned  to 
die  for  being  so ;  unless,  as  it  were,  you  already  put  on  your 
shoulders  the  weight  of  the  cross  on  which  you  are  to  be 
nailed  for  confessing  my  name. 

"  It  is,  indeed,  no  light  matter,  but  needs  the  gravest  con- 
sideration. You  know  ho'w  men  weigh  everything  before- 
hand in  affairs  of  cost  or  danger :  much  more  is  it  needful 
to  do  so  in  this  case.  No  man  would  be  so  foolish  as  to 
begin  building  a  house  without  first  finding  out  the  cost, 
and  seeing  if  he  can  meet  it.  He  will  not  lay  the  foundation, 
and  run  the  risk  of  not  being  able  to  do  more,  for  he  knows 
that  to  do  so  would  make  him  the  scoff  of  his  neighbours. 
Nor  would  any  king  or  prince,  at  war  with  another,  marcli 
out  against  him,  without  thinking  whether  he  could  likely, 


346  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

with  ten  thousand  men,  overcome  an  enemy  coming  with 
twice  as  many.  If  he  feel  that  the  chances  are  against  him, 
he  will  seek  to  make  peace  before  his  enemy  come  near,  and 
AviU  send  an  embassy  to  him  to  propose  conditions.  No  less, 
but  rather  much  more,  careful  consideration  of  the  dangers 
you  run  ;  of  the  greatness  of  my  demands ;  of  the  losses  you 
must  endure ;  of  the  shame  and  suffering  certain  to  foUow — 
are  needed  before  casting  in  your  lot  with  me. 

"  Yet,  as  I  have  said  elsewhere,  before ;  it  is  the  noblest  of 
all  callings  to  be  my  disciple,  if  you  really  can  accept  my 
conditions.  For  to  him  who  is  truly  my  follower,  it  is  given 
of  God  to  keep  alive  and  spread  the  spiritual  life  of  men,  as 
salt  keeps  sound  and  fresh  that  which  is  seasoned  by  it.  My 
disciples  are  designed  by  God  to  be  the  Spiritual  Salt  of  the 
Earth.  But  if  the  honour  be  greater,  so  much  the  greater 
is  the  responsibility;  for  if  a  follower  of  mine,  through 
hankering  after  worldly  interests,  lose  his  spii'itual  life  and 
thus  lose  his  power  to  further  my  cause,  how  can  he  hope  to 
regain  it  ?  He  is  hke  salt  that  has  lost  its  strength,  and,  as 
such  w^orthless  salt  is  cast  out  of  men,  so  he  will  be  cast  out 
of  God,  from  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  at  the  great 
day.     He  who  is  thoughtful,  let  him  think  of  all  this !  " 

A  great  English  writer  has  pictured  an  imaginary  cha- 
racter as  having  a  sweet  look  of  goodness,  which  drew  out 
all  that  was  good  in  others.  There  must  have  been  some 
such  divine  attraction  to  the  poor  and  outcast  in  the  looks 
and  W'hole  person  of  our  Lord.  India  is  not  more  caste- . 
ridden  than  the  Judea  in  which  He  lived.  The  aristocracy 
of  religion  looked  with  hatred  and  disdain  on  the  masses  of 
their  own  nation,  and  with  bitterness  still  deeper  on  all  men 
of  foreign  birth.  The  ruin  of  long,  disastrous  years  of  civil 
war  and  foreign  domination,  had  covered  the  land  with 
misery.  The  reign  of  the  Herods  had  been  a  continued 
effort  to  rebuild  burned  towns,  and  restore  exhausted 
finances  ;  but  the  Roman  tax-gatherer  had  foUow^ed,  vam- 
pire-like, and  had  drained  the  nation  of  its  life-blood,  till  it 
■was  sinking,  as  all  Roman  provinces  sank,  sooner  or  later, 
into  general  deca}'.  In  a  land  thus  doubly  afflicted  by  social 
proscription,  and  by  ever-increasing  social  distress — a  land 


A  FRIEND   OF   SINNERS. 


347 


of  mutual  hatreds  and  wrongs — the  suffering  multitudes    chap^iil 

hailed  with   instinctive    enthusiasm   one   who,    like   Jesus, 

ignored  baleful  prejudices  ;  taught  the  sunken  and  hopeless 

to  respect  themselves  still,  by  showing  that  He,  at  least,  stiU 

spoke  kindly  and  hopefully  to  them,  in  all  their  sinfulness 

and  misery ;   and  by  His  looks  and  words,  no  less  than  by 

His  acts,  seemed  to  beckon  the  unfortunate  to  gather  round 

Him  as  their  friend.     It  must  have  spread  far  and  wide, 

from  His  first  entrance  on  His  ministry,  that  He  had  chosen 

a   publican  as  one   of  His  inmost  circle  of  disciples,  and 

that  He  had  not  disdained  to  mingle  with  the  most  forlorn 

and  sunken  of  the  nation,  even  in  the  friendliness  of  the 

table  or  the  cottage.    From  many  a  windowless  hovel,  where 

the  smoke  of  the  household  fire  made  its  way  out  only  by 

the  door,  and  the  one  earth-floored  apartment  was  shared 

by  the  wretched  family,   with  the  fowls,   or   even   beasts 

they  chanced  to  own  ^—  a  hovel  Avhich  the  priest  or  Rabbi  >  Furrer,  221 

would  have  died  rather  than  defile  himself  by  entering — the 

story  spread  how  the  great  Galila?an  teacher  had  not  only 

entered,  but  had  done  so  to  raise  the  dying,  and  to  bless  the 

living.     All  over  the  land  it  ran  from  mouth  to  mouth  that, 

for  the  first  time,  a  great  Rabbi  had  appeared  who  was  no 

respecter  of  persons,  but  let  Himself  be  anointed  by  a  poor 

penitent  sinner,  and  sat  in  the  booth  with  a  hated  publican, 

and   mingled  freely  in   the  market-place   with  the  crowds 

whose  very  neighbourhood  others  counted  pollution.     Still 

more,   it  was  felt  by  the  proscribed  millions,  the  Cagots 

and   Pariahs  of  a  merciless   theocracy,  that  He  was  their 

champion,  by  the  very  fact  that  He  was  deemed  an  enemy 

by  the  dominant  caste ;  for  opposition  to  it  was  loyalty  to 

them. 

Hence,  the  multitudes  who,  on  this  last  journey,  especially, 
gathered  round  Jesus  with  friendly  sympathy  and  readiness 
to  receive  His  instructions,  Avere  largely  composed  of  the 
degraded  and  despised — the  "publicans  and  sinners"  from 
far  and  near.  The  Rabbis  enjoined  ^  that  a  teacher  should '  ^ediuta.f 
keep  vitterly  aloof  from  such  people,  "  even  if  one  had  the 
worthy  design  of  exhorting  them  to  read  the  Law" — that  is, 
even  with  the  view  of  reclaimins:  them.     It  was  a  sign  that 


348  THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Liii.  wisdom  did  not  dwell  ■with  one  if  he  went  near  the  thief  or 
the    usurer,  even    when   they  had  turned  from  their  evil 

Tanohuma.  ways.^  The  superstitious  reverence  demanded  for  those 
who  kept  the  Rabbinical  laws  strictly,  was  only  equalled 
by  the  intense  loathing  of  the  ignorant  commonalty.  No 
Rabbi,  or  Rabbi's  scholar,  might  on  any  account  marry  a 
daughter  of  the  Am-ha-aretz — or  unlearned — for  the  gross 
multitude  were  an  abomination,  and  their  wives  loathsome 
'  Dcut.27.21.    vermin  ;  and  the  most  repulsive  crime  known  to  the*  Law 

pesachim, foi.  was  HO  worsc  than  to  marry  amono;  them.^     No  one  might 

49. 2.  J  O  O 

Avalk  on  a  journey  with  a  "  common  man."  It  was  sternly 
forbidden  to  pollute  the  Law  by  being  seen  to  read  it  before 
one.  Their  witness  was  refused  in  the  Jewish  courts,  and  it 
was  prohibited  to  give  testimony  in  their  favour :  no  secret 
was  to  be  told  them :  they  could  not  be  guardians  of 
orphans,  nor  allowed  to  have  charge  of  the  alms-box  of  the 
synagogue ;  and  if  they  lost  anything,  no  notice  of  its 
having  been  found  was  to  be  given  them. 

No  wonder  that  the  Rabbis,  and  the  hiei'archical  party 

at  large,  owned  that  "the  hatred  of  the  common  people 

towards  the  'wise' was  greater  than  that  of  the  heathen 

towards  Israel,  and  that  the  wives  hated  the  dominant  caste 

>  Eisenmcnger,  cvcn  more  fiercely  than  their  husbands."® 

i.  340,  341.  '' 

That  Jesus  should  outrage  the  established  laws  of  privi- 
lege and  exclusiveness,  by  allowing  those  to  follow  Him 
whom  Rabbis  would  not  allow  to  approach  them,  and,  still 
worse,  by  receiving  them  kindlj',  and  eating  with  them,  Avas 
a  bitter  offence  to  the  Pharisees  and  scribes.  In  their  eyes, 
He  was  degrading  Himself  by  consorting  with  the  "  unclean 
and  despicable."  Nor  could  they  say  anything  more  fitted 
to  excite  the  mortal  hatred  of  their  class  against  Him. 

The  storm  of  bitter  murmurings  erelong  reached  the  ears 
of  our  Lord,  and  He  at  once  seized  the  opportunity  to 
define  His  position  unmistakably,  and  show  that  the  course 
He  took  was  in  keeping  with  His  whole  aim. 

"Let  me  ask  you,"  said  He,  to  some  irritated  Rabbis,  who 

murmured  at  seeing  Him,  on  one  occasion,  surrounded  by 

'Lvike  15.1-32.  "publicans  and  sinners,"^  "  who  of  you,  if  he  had  a  flock  of 

a  hundred  sheep,  and  one  of  them  were  to  go  astray,  would 


NOT  THE  RIGHTEOUS  BUT  SINNERS.         349 

not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine  on  the  pastures,  and  go  off  chap.  lhi. 

after  the  one  that  was  lost,  till  he  found  it  ?    And  when  he 

had  done  so,  would  he  not  lay  it  on  his  shoulders  gladly, 

and  carry  it  back  to  the  flock?  and,  when  he  liad  come 

home,  would  he  not  call  together  his  friends  and  neighbours, 

to  rejoice  Avith  him  at  his  having  found  the  sheep  that  was 

lost? 

"You  scribes  and  Pharisees, — Rabbis, — lawyers, — think 
you  are  so  righteous,  that  you  need  no  repentance.  You 
speak  of  some  of  your  number,  as  having  never  committed  a 
sin  in  their  lives ;  of  some  whose  only  sin  has  been  such  a 
thing  as  having  once  put  the  phylacteries  on  his  forehead  be- 
fore those  on  his  ann;  and  call  some  the  '  perfectly  righteous.'* '  Hor.Heb. 
Let  me  teU  you,  that  all  men  as  such  are  the  great  flock  of  faS"™^"^" 
God, — for  all  are  His  sons, — and  that  when  one  who  has  gone 
astray,  and  has  lived  in  sin,  comes  to  himself  and  repents, 
there  is  greater  joy  in  heaven  over  his  return,  than  over 
ninety  and  nine,  who,  like  you,  think  they  have  no  need  of 
repentance.  And  if  this  be  the  case  in  heaven,  how  much 
more  ought  I,  here  on  earth,  to  rejoice  that  many  such  peni- 
tent ones  come  to  me,  than  at  your  coming  in  proud  self- 
sufficiency  to  boast  that  you  need  nothing  at  my  hand." 

"  Or,"  continued  He,  "  I  ask  you, — suppose  a  poor  woman 
who  had  only  ten  drachma},"  were  to  lose  one  in  one  of  the 
dark  windowless  hovels,  in  which  so  many  of  our  people  in 
these  evil  days  live,  would  she  not  light  a  lamp  and  sweep 
the  floor  over,  and  spare  no  pains  in  seeking  till  she  found 
it  ?  And  when  she  had  found  it,  would  she  not  call  together 
her  friends  and  neighbours,  and  ask  them  to  rejoice  with  her 
for  ha^ing  found  the  drachma  that  was  lost?  In  the  same 
way,  I  tell  you,  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of 
God,  in  the  highest  heaven,  over  one  such  sinner  as  those 
you  so  bitterly  despise,  who  turns  and  repents.  Well,  there- 
fore, may  I  gladly  receive  them,  and  mingle  with  them,  when 
they  come  to  me  to  learn  the  way  back  to  God. 

"  Let  me  teU  you  a  parable. 

"  A  certain  man  had  two  sons.  And  the  younger  of  these 
said  to  his  father, — '  Father,  give  me  I  pray  you,  the  portion 
of  the  property  that  falls  to  me.    I  am  the  younger  son,  and 


350  THE  LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CH.\p.  Lin,    inherit  only  half  as  much  as  my  elder  brother,^  but  I  pray 

De°wette"'    7^^  let  me  have  it.'    The  father,  on  this,  divided  between  the 

ArchaologiB,    two  all  liis  llviug,  retaining,  however,  the  larger  share  of  the 

elder  son    in    his   hands  till  his  own  death,  as   he  might 

have  done  with  that  of  the  younger  son  also.     His  share, 

however,  he  gave  into  the  young  man's  ovm  hands. 

"  But  before  long,  the  j'ounger  son  began  to  dislike  the 
restraint  of  his  father's  house,  and  gathering  all  together, 
set  off  for  a  distant  country,  and  there  gave  his  passions 
the  reins,  and  lived  in  such  riot,  that  erelong  his  whole 
means  were  scattered.  But,  now,  when  he  had  spent  his  all, 
a  great  famine  arose  in  the  country,  and  he  began  to  be  in 
distress.  At  last  it  went  so  hard  with  him,  that  he  was  glad 
to  ask  one  of  the  citizens  to  give  him  anything  at  all  to  do, 
whatever  it  was,  to  get  bread.  He  was,  thereupon,  sent  into 
the  man's  fields,  to  be  his  swineherd,  a  sadly  shameful  occu- 
pation for  a  Jew !  Yet,  after  all,  he  did  not  get  even  his 
food  for  which  he  had  bargained,  for  neither  his  master  nor 
any  one  else  thought  of  him,  and  he  was  left  to  starve.  He 
even  longed  to  fill  himself  with  the  pods  of  the  carob-tree, 
which  are  fed  out  to  swine,  and  are  sometimes  eaten  by  the 
»  Tristram,  SCO.  vcry  poor,^^  but  no  man  gave  him  any  even  of  them. 
Book, 21.  "In  his  loneliness  and  sore  trouble,  he  began  to  reflect. 

'  How  many  labourers  and  household  servants  of  my 
father,'  said  he  to  himself,  '  have  more  bread  than  they  can 
eat,  while  I,  his  son,  am  dying  here  of  want.  I  will  arise, 
and  go  back  to  m}^  father,  and  will  confess  my  guilt  and 
unworthiness,  and  tell  him  how  deeply  1  feel  that  I  have 
sinned  against  heaven  and  done  great  wrong  towards  him. 
I  will  say  that  I  feel  I  am  no  longer  Avorthy  to  be  called  his 
son,  and  will  ask  him  to  treat  me  like  one  of  his  hired 
labourers,  and  will  tell  him  that  I  Avill  gladly  wox'k  with  them 
for  my  daily  bread,  so  that  he  receive  me  again.' 

"  He  had  no  sooner  resolved  to  do  this,  than  he  rose  to 
return  to  his  father's  house.  But  when  he  was  yet  a  great 
way  off,  his  father  saAv  him  and  knew  him,  and  ran  out  to 
meet  him,  full  of  tender  compassion,  and  fell  on  his  neck 
and  kissed  him  tenderly.  And  the  son  said  to  him,  'I  have 
sinned  against  God  and  against  thee,  and  am  not  worthy  that 


THE   TEODIGAL   SON.  351 

thou  shouldest  any  longer  call  me  thy  son.'     He  could  not   chap. liil 

say  what  he  had  intended  besides,  when  he  saw  how  fondly 

his  father  bent  ovei'  him,  notwithstanding  his  sins  and  folly. 

Nor  was  more  needed ;  for  his  father  called  out  to  his  servants, 

'  Bring,  me  a  robe,  the  best  there  is,  that  he  may  have  my 

finest  ;  and  put  it  on  him ;  and  put  a  ring  on  his  finger, 

and  sandals  on  his  feet ;   he  shall  no  longer,  like  a  slave,  be 

without  either ;  and  bring  the  fatted  calf  and  kill  it.     We 

shall  have  a  feast  to-day  and  he  merry,  for  my  son  ;  lost  and 

dead,  as  I  thouirht,  in  a  stranire  land,  is  once   more  home  :  "  Thenngodiy 

'  O       7  O  7  are  called 

dead  by  his  sins,  he  is  alive  again  by  repentance  :  a  lost    Mtut* 
■wanderer,  he  has  returned  to  the  fold.'  fTT^^s.'""' 

"The  elder  son,  meanwhile,  had  been  in  the  field  with  the 
labourei's,  but  now  came  towards  home.  And  as  he  drew 
near,  he  heard  music  and  dancing.  Calling  one  of  the  ser- 
vants, he  thereupon  asked  what  had  happened,  and  was  told 
that  his  brother  had  come  home,  and  that  his  father  Avas  so 
glad  to  have  him  once  more  safe  and  sound,  that  he  had  had 
the  best  calf  killed,  and  given  for  a  feast  to  the  household. 

"  But  now,  instead  of  rejoicing  over  his  brother's  return, 
the  elder  son  took  amiss  such  gladness  of  his  father,  at 
having  him  safely  back  again,  and  would  not  go  into  the 
house  at  all,  or  take  any  part  in  the  rejoicings.  The  father, 
therefore,  ever  kind  and  gentle,  .went  out  to  him  to  soothe 
him,  and  to  beg  him  to  come  in.  All  he  could  say,  however, 
failed  to  soften  his  heart,  and  he  vented  his  discontent  in 
angry  reproaches :  '  I  have  served  you  for  many  a  year,  more 
like  a  slave  than  a  son,  and  have  obeyed  you  in  every  parti- 
cular, and  yet  you  nevep  gave  me  a  kid,  far  less  a  fatted  calf, 
that  I  might  have  a  little  enjo}Tnent  with  my  friends.  But 
when  this  fellow,  who  is  indeed  your  son,  though  I  will  not 
call  him  my  brother, — this  fellow  who  has  spent  your  money 
on  harlots, — has  come  back,  you  have  killed  the  fatted  calf 
for  him.' 

" '  My  son,'  replied  the  father,  mildly,  '  have  you  for- 
gotten that  you  have  been  always  by  my  side,  while  your 
brother  has  been  far  away  from  me,  or  that  all  that  I  have 
belongs  to  you  as  my  heir  ?  Surely  all  this  should  raise  you 
above  such  hard  judgments  and  jealous  thoughts.     What 


IS.  I; 
1—13. 


352  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

could  we  do  but  rejoice  "when  a  long-lost  son  has  come  back 
again  to  his  father's  house  ?  ' " 

The  parables  of  the  Lost  Sheep  and  of  the  Lost  Piece  of 
Silver  had  been  enforced  by  the  noblest  of  all  the  parables. 
Henceforth,  for  all  ages,  it  was  proclaimed  beyond  the  possi- 
bility of  misconception,  that,  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  God 
looks  with  unspeakably  greater  fovour  on  the  penitent 
humility  of  "the  sinner,"  with  its  earnest  of  gratitude  and 
love,  than  on  cold  correctness  in  which  the  heart  has  no  place. 

We  are  indebted  to  St.  Luke  for  some  other  fragments  of 
the  teaching  of  these  last  weeks. 

Among  the  gi-eat  multitudes  who  had  thronged  after  Him, 
«Lnkei4.2.5;  thc  publicaus  of  the  district  were  especially  noticeable.^- 
Many  of  them  were,  doubtless,  in  a  good  position  in  life, 
and  some  even  rich,  but  all  were  exposed  to  j^eculiar  tempta- 
tions in  their  hated  calling.  Not  a  few  seem  to  have  listened 
earnestly  to  the  first  Teacher  who  had  ever  treated  them  as 
men  with  souls  to  save,  and  it  was  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  them  that  they  should  have  wise  and  true  principles  for 
their  future  guidance.  The  following  parable  seems  to  have 
been  delivered  specially  to  them,  as  part  of  an  address 
when  they  had  gathered  in  more  than  usual  numbers. 

"A  certain  rich  man  had  a  steward,  to  whom  he  left  the 
entire  charge  of  his  affairs.  He  learned,  however,  from  some 
sources,  that  this  man  was  acting  dishonestly  by  him,  and 
scattering  his  goods;  so  he  called  him  and  let  him  know 
what  he  had  heard,  telling  him,  at  the  same  time,  to  make 
out  and  settle  all  his  accounts,  as  he  could  no  longer  hold  his 
office. 

"The  steward,  knowing  that  he  was  guilty,  was  at  a  loss 
what  to  do.  '  I  cannot  dig,'  said  he,  to  himself,  '  for  I  have 
not  been  accustomed  to  it,  and  I  am  ashamed  to  beg.'  At 
last  he  hit  on  a  plan  which  he  thought  would  serve  his  end, 
and  at  once  set  himself  to  carry  it  out.  Going  to  all  his  master's 
tenants,  one  by  one,  he  asked  each  how  much  rent  or  dues 
he  had  to  pay,  though,  in  fact,  he  knew  all  this  beforehand. 
When  told,  he  pretended  to  have  been  commissioned,  in 
compliance  with  his  own  suggestion,  to  lower  the  amount 
in  each  case ;  and  he  thus  seciu'ed  the  favour  of  all.     For 


THE   RIGHT   USE   OF  WEALTH.  353 

example,  lie  went  to  one  and  asked  him  '  How  much  owest  thou  chap.  un. 
to  my  lord  ?  '  and  when  told  '  A  hundred  pipes  of  oil,'  bade 
him  take  back  his  bill,  and  Avi-ite  another,  instead,  for  fifty. 
A  second,  who  owed  a  hundred  quarters  of  wheat,  he  told  to 
make  out  a  fresh  writing  with  only  eighty.  In  this  way,  by 
leading  them  to  think  him  their  benefactor,  he  made  sure  of 
friends,  who  would  open  their  houses  to  him  when  he  had 
been  dismissed. 

"  Some  time  after,  when  his  master  heard  how  cleverly  he 
had  secured  his  oa\ti  ends,  he  could  not  help  admiring  his 
shrewdness.  And,  in  truth,  it  is  a  fact,  that  bad  men  like 
this  steward — the  sons  of  this  world — not  of  the  next — 
are  wiser  in  their  dealings  with  their  fellows,  than  the  sons 
of  light — my  disciples — are  in  theirs  with  their  brethren, 
sons  of  my  heavenly  Kingdom,  like  themselves. 

"  As  the  master  of  that  steward  commended  him  for  his 
prudence,  though  it  was  so  Avorldly  and  selfish,  I,  also,  must 
commend  to  you  a  prudence  of  a  higher  kind  in  your  rela- 
tions to  the  things  of  this  life.  By  becoming  my  disciples, 
you  have  identified  yourselves  with  the  interest  of  another 
Master  than  Mammon,  the  god  of  this  world — whom  you 
have  hitherto  served — and  have  before  you  another  course 
and  aim  in  life.  You  will  be  represented  to  your  former 
master  as  no  longer  faithful  to  him,  for  my  service  is 
so  utterly  opposed  to  that  of  Mammon  that,  if  faithful  to 
me  you  cannot  be  faithful  to  him,  and  he  will,  in  conse- 
quence, assuredly  take  your  stewardship  of  this  world's 
goods  from  you — that  is,  sink  you  in  j^overty,  as  I  have 
often  said.  I  counsel  you,  therefore,  so  to  use  the  goods  of 
Mammon — the  worldly  means  still  at  your  command — 
that,  by  a  truly  worthy  distribution  of  them  to  your  needy 
brethren — and  my  disciples  are  mostly  poor — you  may  make 
friends  for  yourselves,  who,  if  they  die  before  you,  will  wel- 
come you  to  everlasting  habitations  in  heaven,  when  you 
pass  thither,  at  death.  Fit  yourselves,  by  labours  of  love 
and  deeds  of  true  charity,  as  my  followers,  to  become  fellow- 
citizens  of  the  heavenly  mansions  with  those  wliose  wants 
you  have  relieved  while  they  were  still  in  life. 

"  If  you  be  faithful,  thus,  in  the  use  of  your  possessions 

VOL.  II.  62 


354 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


'  Trench  on 

Parablcs,423f. 
Meyer,  in  loc. 
Neander's 
Life  at  Christ, 
301. 

RosenmiiUcr'fl 
Scholia,  in  loc. 
Hess,  Leben 
Jesu,  380  fl. 
Presael, 
Leben  Jeso, 
274  ff. 
Luke  16.  li- 


on earth,  you  will  be  deemed  worthy  by  God  to  be  entrusted 
with  infinitely  greater  riches  hereafter,  in  heaven,  for  he 
that  is  faithful  in  this  lesser  stewardship,  has  shown  that  he 
will  be  so  in  a  higher,  but  he  who  has  misused  the  lesser 
cannot  hope  to  be  entrusted  Avith  a  greater.  If  you  show 
in  your  life,  that  you  have  not  been  faithful  to  God  in  the  use 
of  this  world's  goods,  entrusted  to  you  by  Him  to  administer 
for  His  glory,  hoAV  can  you  hope  that  He  will  commit  to 
your  keeping  the  unspeakably  grander  trust  of  heavenly 
riches  ?  If  you  have  proved  unfaithful  in  the  stewardship 
of  what  was  not  yours — the  worldly  means  lent  you  for  a 
time  by  God — how  can  you  hope  to  be  honoui-ed  with  the 
great  trust  of  eternal  salvation,  which  would  have  been 
yours  had  you  proved  yourself  fit  for  it  ? 

"  Be  assured  that  if  you  do  not  use  your  earthly  riches 
faithfully  for  God,  by  dispensing  them  as  I  have  told  you,  • 
you  will  never  enter  my  heavenly  Kingdom  at  all.  You 
will  have  shown  that  you  are  servants  of  Mammon,  and  not 
the  servants  of  God ;  for  it  is  impo.ssible  for  any  man  to 
serve  two  masters."  ^^ 

Such  unworldly  counsels,  so  contrary  to  their  own  spirit, 
were  received  with  contemptuous  ridicule  ^  by  the  Phari- 
sees standing  round,  as  the  mere  dreams  of  a  crazed  enthu- 
siast. The  love  of  money  had  become  a  characteristic  of 
their  decaying  religiousness,  and  it  seemed  to  them  the 
wildest  folly  to  advise  the  rich,  as  their  truest  wisdom,  to 
use  their  Avealth  to  make  friends  for  the  future  world, 
instead  of  enjoying  it  here.  It  is  quite  possible,  indeed, 
that  some  of  them  felt  the  words  of  Christ  as  a  personal 
reproof,  and  were  all  the  more  embittered. 

Patient  as  He  Avas  in  the  endurance  of  personal  wrongs  and 
insults,  the  indignation  of  Jesus  Avas  roused  at  such  sneers 
at  the  first  principles  of  genuine  religion,  and  He,  at  once, 
Avith  the  calm  fearlessness  habitual  to  Him,  exposed  their 
hypocrisy  and  unsafeness  as  spiritual  guides. 

"You  hold  your  heads  high,"  said  He,  "  and  affect  to  be 
saints,  before  men — such  perfect  patterns  of  piety,  indeed, 
that  you  may  judge  all  men  by  yourselves. 

"But  God,  Avho  knoAA's  all  things,  and  judges,  not  by  the 


THE   LAW   OF   DIVORCE.  355 

outward  appearance,  but  by  the  heart,  knows  how  different  chap.  Lra. 
you  are  in  reality  from  what  you  make  men  believe.  Your 
pretended  holiness,  which  is  so  highly  thought  of  by  men, 
is  an  abomination  before  God.  You  ignore,  or  explain 
away  the  commands  of  His  law,  when  they  do  not  suit  you, 
and  thus  are  mere  actors,  for  true  godliness  honours  the 
whole  Law.  I  condemn  you  on  the  one  ground  on  which 
you  claim  to  be  most  secure.  You  demand  honour  for  your 
strict  obedience  to  the  Law ;  I  charge  you  with  hypocrisy, 
for  your  designed  and  deliberate  corruption  of  that  Law,  to 
suit  yourselves. 

"Sincerity  is  demanded  from  those  who  wish  to  serve  God. 
That  which  ]\Ioses  and  the  Prophets  so  long  announced, — 
that  to  which  all  the  Scriptures  point,  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Messiah — has  come.  .From  the  time  when  the  Baptist 
preached,  that  kingdom  is  no  longer  future,  but  is  set  up 
in  your  midst,  and  with  what  success !  Every  one  presses 
with  eagerness  into  it.  But,  as  you  know,  I,  its  Head  and 
King,  make  the  most  searching  demands  from  those  who 
would  enter  it,  and  open  its  citizenship  only  to  those  who 
are  willing  to  overcome  all  difficulties  to  obtain  it.  You 
charge  me  with  breaking  the  Law,  but,  so  far  from  doing  so,  I 
require  that  the  whole  Law,  in  its  truest  sense,  be  obeyed  by 
every  one  who  seeks  to  enter  the  New  Kingdom.  It  is  easier 
for  heaven  and  earth,  I  tell  men,  to  pass  away,  than  for  one 
tittle  of  the  Law  to  lose  its  force.  But  how  different  is  it 
with  you !  Take  the  one  single  case  of  divorce.  What 
loose  examples  does  not  the  conduct  of  some  of  your  own 
class  supply  ?  what  conflicting  opinions  do  you  not  give  on 
the  question  ?  I  claim  that  the  words  of  the  Law  be  ob- 
served to  the  letter,  and  maintain,  in  opposition  to  your 
hollow  morality,  that  any  one  who  puts  away  his  wife,  ex- 
cept for  adultery,  and  marries  another,  himself  commits 
adultery,  and  that  he  who  marries  the  woman  thus  divorced 
is  also  guilty  of  the  same  crime.  Judge  by  this  whether 
you  or  I  most  honour  the  Law — whether  you  or  I  are  the 
safer  guides  of  the  people.  How  God  must  despise  your 
boasts  of  special  zeal  for  His  glory  ! 

"  But  that,  notwithstanding  your  sneers,  you  may  feel  the 


356  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  mi.  truth  of  what   I   have  just  said  as  to  the  results  of  the 

"  Luke  16.19 £f.  possession    of   riches,"    when   they   are   not   employed  as 

I   have   counselled — to   make   friends   for  yourselves,  who 

will  welcome  }'0u  to  heaven  hereafter,  let  me  tell  you  a 

parable. 

"There  was  a  certain  rich  man  who  dressed  in  robes  of 
fine  purple — the  raiment  of  jjrinces — over  garments  of  the 
costhest  Egyptian  cotton,  which  only  the  most  luxurious 
can  buy. 

"There  Avas  also,  in  the  same  place,  a  poor  diseased  beggar 
uGoacumy)    named  Lazarus,^^  who  had  been  brought  and  set  down,  as 

help.  .  '      .  '^  ' 

an  object  of  charity,  before  the  gates  of  the  great  man's 
mansion,  where  he  lay  helpless,  day  after  day ;  so  abject, 
that  he  longed  to  be  fed  with  what  fell  from  the  rich  man's 
table.  But  the  rich  man,  though  he  often  saw  him,  and 
knew  his  case,  showed  him  no  kindness,  and  instead  of 
helping  the  sufferei",  and  thus  making  a  friend  with  his 
money,  who  should  help  him  hereafter,  as  I  advise ;  had  no 
thought  except  of  himself,  and  of  his  own  pleasure.  The  poor 
man's  case  was  indeed  pitiful ;  he  could  not  even  drive  away 
the  unclean  dogs,  which,  day  by  day,  came  and  increased  his 
pain  by  licking  his  sores. 

"  It  came  to  pass,  after  a  time,  that  Lazarus  died,  and 
was  carried  by  the  angels  to  Paradise,  and  there  set  down 
next  to  Abraham  on  the  banqueting  couches,  at  the  feast  in 
the  kingdom  of  God,  Avith  his  head  in  the  great  patri- 
arch's bosom — the  highest  place  of  honour  that  Paradise 
could  give. 

"Erelong,  the  rich  man  also  died,  and,  unlike  Lazarus, 
whom  men  had  left  uncared  for,  even  in  his  death,  he  was 
honoured  with  a  sumptuous  funeral. 

"He,  also,  passed  to  Hades;  not,  however,  to  that  part  of 
it  where  Paradise  is,  but  to  Gehenna,  the  place  of  pain  and 
torment  in  the  world  of  shades.  And  in  Hades  he  lifted 
up  his  eyes,  and  saw  Abraham  in  the  far  distance,  in  the 
banqueting  hall  of  bliss,  with  Lazarus  reclining  next  him, 
in  his  bosom,  as  his  most  honoured  friend.  And  he  knew 
them  both,  and  remembered  how  Lazarus  had  lain  at  his 
gate,  and  thought  of  this  as  a  bond  between  them.     '  0 


DIVES   AND   LAZARUS.  357 

Father  Al^raham,'  cried  he,  in  his  torments,  '  have  mercy  on  cnAP.Lnt 
my  agony,  I  beseech  thee,  and  send  Lazarus,  that  he  may 
dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in  water,  and  cool  my  tongue,  for 
I  am  tormented  in  this  flame.'  So  great  had  been  the 
change  in  their  positions,  that  now  the  despised  beggar  was 
entreated  to  do  even  so  small  a  favour  to  him  from  whom 
he  himself  had  once  looked  for  any  favour  in  vain !  Dives 
would  fiiin  make  friends  with  Lazarus  now,  but  could  not 
bethink  him  of  any  good  deed  he  had  ever  done  him  to 
help  him  to  do  so. 

"  Abraham  now  called  this  to  his  mind.  'Son,' said  he, 
'  wonder  not  that  you  and  Lazarus  are  in  such  opposite  con- 
ditions here,  from  those  you  had  when  in  life.  You,  then, 
had  as  much  earthly  happiness  as  you  could  enjoy :  yoa 
had  it,  and  set  your  heart  on  it,  and  lived  only  for  yourself. 
Had  you  used  your  wealth  as  a  godly  man,  in  doing  good 
to  those,  like  Lazarus,  Avho  needed  pity,  instead  of  lavishing 
it  on  splendour  and  self-indulgence,  you  Avould  have  had 
good  laid  up  for  you  now.  But  you  lived  only  for  earth,  and 
the  good  you  chose  has  been  left  behind  you.  You  made 
your  portion  in  your  lifetime,  and  have  none  here.  But 
Lazarus  endured,  while  still  alive,  the  sufferings  allotted 
him,  and  he  has  none  in  this  state.  Penitent  and  lowly, 
he  bore  them  patiently,  as  a  child  of  God,  and  is  now  re- 
ceiving the  reward  of  the  poor  in  spirit.  His  position  and 
yours  are  revei'sed,  for  he  now  finds  consolation  and  joy,  in 
exchange  for  his  earthly  miser}',  but  you,  pain  and  sorroAV, 
instead  of  your  self-indulgence.' 

"  '  Besides  all  this,'  added  he,  '  between  this  happy  abode 
and  yours,  there  is  a  gi'eat  space,  across  which  no  one  can 
pass,  either  from  us  to  you,  or  from  you  to  us,  so  that  it  is 
impossible  that  you  should  have  any  share  in  our  joy,  or 
that  we  can  in  any  way  lessen  your  pain.' 

"Xow,  for  the  first  time,  the  rich  man  saw  the  full  extent 
of  his  misery,  and  its  cause.  '  Would  that  I  had  acted  dif- 
ferently,' cried  he,  '  when  in  life.  Would  that,  instead  of 
living  for  myself — hard,  impenitent,  selfish — I  had  been 
lowly  and  penitent,  using  my  wealth  as  God  enjoined,  in 
hlessine:  the  wretched.     I  should  then  have  been  welcomed 


358  THE  LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

OHAP.  Liii.  by  Lazarus,  and  such  as  he,  into  the  everlasting  habitations 
of  Paradise  !  ' 

"  '  But,  oh !  Father  Abraham,'  he  continued,  '  let  me  be 
the  only  one  of  my  father's  house  to  come  into  this  doleful 
place.  Send  Lazarus,  I  beseech  thee,  back  to  earth,  to  my 
father's  house,  for  I  have  five  brethren,  who  live  as  I  lived." 
It  would  add  unspeakably  to  my  pain  if  they  also  came  to 
this  abode  of  woe.  Oh !  let  Lazarus  go  and  warn  them  of 
what  has  bcMlen  me,  their  brother.' 

"'To  escape  your  sad  doom,'  replied  Abraham,  'they 
must  needs  repent,  and  live  the  life  of  the  godly.  But  for 
this  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  are  the  appointed  means  ; 
let  them  listen  to  them.' 

"  'Nay,  Father  Abraham,'  answered  the  lost  one,  '  that  is 
not  enough.  It  did  not  move  me  to  repentance.  But  if  a 
dead  man  returned  again  from  the  grave,  and  came  to  them, 
and  told  them  hoAV  it  was  with  me  here,  they  would  be 
alarmed,  and  reform.' 

" '  You  err,  my  unhappy  son,'  said  Abraham,  closing  the 
scene.  '  It  would  not  move  them  in  the  least,  for  so  amply 
are  the  Scriptures  fitted  to  persuade  men  to  repentance,  that 
those  whom  they  do  not  Avin  to  it  would  not  be  persuaded 
even  if  one  rose  from  the  dead.' " 

The  Rabbis  had  hstened  to  the  parable,  but  it.  touched 
their  own  failing  too  pointedly  to  make  them  care  for  any 
longer  conference  with  Jesus.  When  they  were  gone — it 
may  be  while  He  was  resting  with  the  Twelve  in  the  cool  of 
the  evening — the  incidents  of  the  whole  day  were  passed  in 
review,  and  Jesus  noticed  that  the  words  and  bearing  of  His 
opponents,  respect  for  whom,  as  the  teachers  of  the  nation, 
was  instinctive  with  every  Jew — had  not  been  without 
their  efifect  even  on  His  disciples.  It  was  evident  that  the 
very  nature  of  His  demands — the  trials  and  persecutions  to 
come,  and  the  weakness  of  human  nature — would  raise  moral 
hindrances  to  the  full  and  abiding  loyalty  of  not  a  feAv. 

By  Avay  of  cavition,  therefore,  He  now  warned  them  on 

16  Luke  17.1-4.  this   point.^®      "It    is   impossible,"    said  He,    "to   prevent 

divisions,  disputes,  and  even  desertion  and  apostasy,  on  the 

part  of  some  of  you,  in  the  evil  times  to  come.     Misrepre- 


HUMILITY   AND    LOVE    DEMANDED.  359 

sentation,  prejudice,  the  bent  of  diiFerent  minds ;  the  weak-  cu.\p. liu. 
iiess  of  some,  and  the  unworthiness  of  othei-s,  will  inevitably 
produce  their  natural  results.  The  progress  of  my  kingdom 
will,  I  foresee,  be  hindered  more  or  less  from  this  cause, 
but  it  cannot  be  avoided.  Yet,  woe  to  him  who  thus 
hinders  the  sj^read  and  glory  of  the  Truth.  It  were  better 
for  him,  if,  like  the  worst  criminal,  he  were  bound  to  a 
heavy  millstone,  and  cast  into  the  sea,  than  that  he  should 
cause  a  single  simple  child-like  soul,  who  believes  in  me,  to 
fall.  Take  heed  that  you  neither  mislead  nor  are  misled ! 
Remember  that  I  tell  you  that  offences  must  be  prevented 
or  removed  by  a  lowly  forgiving  spirit  on  your  part  You 
know  ho^v  far  you  are  yet  from  this  ;  how  strong  pride,  love 
of  your  own  opinion,  harshness,  and  impatience,  still  are  in 
your  hearts.  To  further  my  Kingdom  when  I  am  gone, 
strive  above  all  things  for  peace  and  love  among  yourselves. 

"The  one  grand  means  of  avoiding  these  causes  of  offence 
and  spiritual  ruin  is  unwearied,  forgi\'ing  love ;  by  that 
frame  of  mind  which,  you  see  so  wholly  Avanting  in  the 
Rabbis,  that  they  have  even  now  murmured  at  my  so  much 
as  speaking  to  sinners,  from  whom  such  simple,  lowly 
brethren  are  to  be  gathered.  If  such  an  one  sin  against 
you,  and  turn  away  from  your  fellowship,  rebuke  him  for 
his  sin,  but  if  he  i-ej  his  error  and  repent  of  it,  and  come 
back,  forgive  him ;  aye,  even  if  he  wrong  you  seven  times 
in  a  day,  and  feel  and  acknowledge  his  error  and  promise 
amendment,  as  often,  }-ou  must  each  time  forgive  him  freely." 

The  Twelve  had  listened  to  these  counsels  with  intense 
interest,  but  their  moral  grandeur  almost  discouraged  them.^"  i'  Loken.s-w. 
They  felt  that  nothing  is  harder  than  constant  patience 
and  loving  humility — never  returning  evil  for  evil,  but  ever 
ready  to  forgive,  even  when  repeatedly  injured  without 
cause.  It  needed,  as  they  feared,  stronger  faith  than  they 
yet  had,  to  create  sucli  an  abiding  spirit  of  tender  meekness. 
They  had  talked  over  the  whole  matter,  and  saw  only  one 
source  of  strength.  Coming  to  their  Master,  full  of  con- 
fidence in  His  diA-ine  power  to  grant  their  request,  they 
openly,  and  with  a  sweet  humility,  prayed  Him  that  He 
would  increase  their  faitli. 


360  THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LIU.  "  Ti^;^  request,"  answered  Jesus,  "  shows  that  faith,  in  a 
true  and  worthy  sense,  is  yet  to  be  begun  in  your  hearts. 
If  you  had  it,  even  in  a  small  measure,  or,  to  use  a  phrase 
you  hear  every  day,  as  a  grain  of  mustard-seed;  instead  of 
finding  obedience  to  these  counsels  too  difficult,  you  would 
undertake  and  perform  even  apparent  impossibilities — acts 
of  trust  which  demand  the  highest  spiritual  power  and 
strength.  To  use  words  which  you  have  often  heard  as  an 
illustration  of  acts  naturally  impossible,  you  would  say  to 
"Tristram's  this  sycamorc  or  mulberry-tree,^^  'Be  thou  plucked  up  by 
Bible, 363.  the  roots  and  planted  in  the  sea,'  and  it  would  obey  you — 
that  is,  you  would  be  able  to  do  what,  without  faith,  seems 

'»  EosenmUUer,    aS  impOSSiblc.  ^^ 

"  To  such  efficiency  and  emmence  in  my  service  will  true 
faith  in  Me  lead  you :  but  beware,  amidst  all,  of  any  thought 
of  merit  of  your  own.  Your  faith  must  grow,  and  cannot 
be  given  as  a  mere  bounty  from  without :  it  is  a  result  of 
your  own  spiritual  development  and  true  humility,  which 
looks  away  from  self  to  Me,  as  the  one  condition  of  this 
advancement.  You  shall  have  the  increased  faith  you  seek, 
but  it  will  be  only  by  your  continued  loving  dependence 
on  me,  your  Master.  If  any  of  you  had  a  servant  ploughing 
or  tending  your  flock,  would  you  say  to  him  when  he  comes 
home  from  the  field  in  the  evening,  '  Come  near  immedi- 
ately, and  sit  down  to  meat?  '  Would  j'ou  not  rather  say, 
'  Prepare  my  supper,  and  make  yourself  fit  to  wait  on  me  at 
table,  and  after  I  have  supped,  you  shall  eat  and  drink  ?  ' 
Would  you  think  yourself  under  obUgation  to  the  servant 
because  he  has  been  working  for  you,  or  because  he  waits 
on  you  as  required  ?  Assuredly  not,  for  your  servant  had 
only  done  what  it  was  right  he  should  do  as  a  servant.  Be, 
you,  such  servants.  There  is  a  daily  work,  with  prescribed 
tasks,  required  from  you.  The  great  supper  will  not  be  till 
this  life  is  ended ;  but  when  it  is  ended,  you  must  not  think 
of  yourselves,  on  account  of  it,  except  as  becomes  servants ; 
and  should  you  be  rewarded  or  honoured,  you  must  not 
forget,  that  it  is  only  from  my  free  favour,  and  not  as  pay- 
ment of  any  claim ;  because,  in  fact,  you  have  done  only  what 
it  was  your  duty,  as  servants,  to  do'.     The  servant  who  does 


THE   KINGDOM   OF   GOD.  361 

less  than  his  duty,  is  guilty  before  his  master,  but  he  Avho  chap.  mi. 
has  done  his  duty,  though  he  has  avoided  blame,  has  no 
reason  to  think  himself  entitled  to  reward.  Feel,  therefore, 
in  any  case,  that  your  work  has  not  been  beyond  your  right- 
ful duty,  and  that,  though  you  have  escaped  condemnation, 
you  have  no  claim  for  any  merit."-"  20  Lnkeir. 

The  hostility  of  the  Rabbis  Avas  growing  daily  more  bitter, 
after  each  fruitless  attack.  At  each  town  or  village  they 
gathered  round  Him,  and  harassed  him  at  every  step  by 
attempts  to  compromise  Him  with  the  authorities. 

On  one  of  these  last  days  of  His  journey  towards  Jeru- 
salem, a  knot  of  Pharisees  had,  thus,  forced  themselves  on 
Him,  and  sought  to  elicit  something  that  might  serve  them, 
by  asking  Him — 

"  Master,  you  have  often  represented  yourself,  both  by 
word  and  by  mighty  deeds,  as  the  Messiah,  but  we  see  no 
signs  as  yet  of  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  When 
will  it  come  ?     It  has  been  long  promised." ^^  21  mkeir. 

"The  kingdom  of  God,"  answered  Jesus,  "is  something 
entirely  different  from  what  you  expect.  You  look  for  a 
great  political  revolution,  and  the  establishment  of  a  Jewish 
empire,  with  its  capital  in  Jerusalem.  Instead  of  this,  it  is 
a  spiritual  kingdom,  in  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men, 
and,  as  such,  cannot  come  with  the  outward  display  and 
circumstance  of  earthly  monarchy,  so  that  men  may  say, 
'Lo,  here  is  the  kingdom  of  God,'  or,  'lo,  there.'  The 
coming  of  the  kingdom  develops  itself  unobserved.  I  cannot, 
therefore,  give  you  any  moment  when  it  may  be  said  to  have 
come,  for,  in  fact,  it  is  already  in  your  midst.  I,  the 
Messiah,  live  and  work  amongst  you,  and  where  the  IMessiah 
is,  there  is  His  kingdom.  There,  already,  is  it  steadily 
advancing,  after  its  nature,  like  the  seed  in  the  ground, 
like  the  grain  of  mustard-seed,  or,  like  the  leaven  in  a 
woman's  measure  of  meal." 

The  malevolent  question  thus  met  a  reply  Avhich  at  once 
balked  curiosity,  and  laid  on  all  the  most  solemn  responsi- 
bilities ;  for  if  the  Messiah  was  really  among  them,  how  im- 
perative to  fit  themselves  for  entering  His  kingdom  !  The 
interrogators,  finding  their  sinister  effort  vain,  presently  left. 


362  THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

and,  wlieii  thus  alone,  Jesus  resumed  the  subject  with  His 
disciples. 

"  I  have  only  spoken  to  these  men,"  said  He,  "  of  the 
growth  and  development  of  my  kingdom,  unseen,  and 
silently,  in  the  hearts  of  men.  To  you  I  would  now  speak 
of  the  future.  Days  will  come  when  trouble  shall  make 
men's  hearts  long  for  one  of  the  days  of  the  Son  of  Man 
back  again,  and  false  Messiahs  will  rise,  pretending  to  bring 
deliverance.  But  when  they  say  to  you,  '  Lo,  there  is  the 
Messiah  come  at  last,'  or,  '  Lo,  here  He  is,'  go  not  out  after 
them ;  do  not  follow  them.  For  the  coming  of  the  Son  of 
Man  will  be  as  sudden,  as  striking  to  all  eyes,  as  mighty  in 
its  power,  as  when  the  lightning  leaps  from  the  cloud  and 
suddenly  sets  the  whole  heavens  in  flame.  There  is  no  need 
of  asking  of  the  lightning  'Where  is  it?'  or  for  any  to  tell 
you  of  it. 

"  But  this  coming  will  not  be  now.  I  must  first  suffer 
many  things  from  this  generation,  and  be  rejected  by  it. 
Far  from  approaching  with  slow  royal  pomp,  seen  and 
welcomed  from  afixr ;  far  from  the  world  hailing  my  coming, 
and  preparing  for  it,  as  for  that  of  an  expected  king :  they 
will  be  l)usied  in  their  ordinary  affairs  when  it  is  nearest ; 
till,  suddenly,  wide  ruin  and  judgment  burst  on  them,  as 
the  flood  on  the  men  of  the  days  of  Noah,  and  the  fire  from 
heaven  on  Sodom,  in  the  days  of  Lot,  bringing  destruction 
on  all.  Men  lived  in  security  then ;  they  ate  and  drank ; 
they  married  and  gave  in  marriage,  Avith  no  thought  or 
preparation  for  the  impending  catastrophe. 

"It  will  be  the  same  at  my  coming.  Men  will  be  as  secure ; 
the  day  will  burst  on  them  as  suddenly,  when  I  shall  be 
revealed  in  my  glory.  When  it  comes,  there  will  be  an 
awful  and  instant  sepai'ation  of  man  from  man.  The  good 
and  evil  will  no  longer  be  mixed  together.  He  who  would 
save  himself  must,  on  the  moment,  part  from  those  whom 
the  peril  threatens.  He  who  lives  in  a  town,  must,  as  the 
destruction  approaches,  so  hasten  his  flight,  that  if  he  be  on 
the  housetop  when  it  draws  near,  he  must  not  think  of 
going  into  the  house  to  save  anything,  but  must  flee,  at  the 
loss  of  all  earthly  possessions.    He  who  is  in  the  open  field, 


VISION   OF   THE   FUTURE.  363 

must  not  turn  back  to  liis  house  for  his  goods,  but  must  cnAP.  nn, 
leave  all  behind  him,  and  escape  with  his  life.  You  hear 
my  words :  see  that,  in  that  day,  you  give  heed  to  them. 
Remember  Lot's  wife,  who  perished  for  looking  back,  in  dis- 
obedience to  the  divine  command.  Whosoever,  in  that  day, 
shall  seek  to  preserve  his  life,  by  unfaithfulness  to  me,  shall 
lose  life  eternal,  and  he  who  loses  this  life  for  my  sake,  will 
secure  heaven  for  ever. 

"The  separation  of  men,  at  my  coming,  will,  indeed,  be 
solemn  !  Those  who  spent  this  life  together,  will  then  find 
themselves  parted  for  ever !  I  tell  you,  in  that  night  there 
wiU  be  two  men  in  one  bed ;  one  wiU  be  taken,  and  the  other 
left;  two  poor  slaves  wiU  be  grinding  flour  for  the  house- 
hold together ;  one  will  be  taken  and  the  other  left." 

The  Twelve  had  listened  with  breathless  attention  to  this 
vision  of  the  future.  They  had  heard  much  that  was  new, 
grand,  and  fearful,  and  they  trembled  with  a  natural  fear  at 
the  awful  picture  set  before  them.  "Where,  Lord,"  asked 
they,  "  will  the  ]\Iessiah  gather  His  own,  that  they  may  be 
safe?  Where  is  the  refuge  in  which  those  who  love  Thee 
will  be  received  in  that  day  ?" 

"Who  says  to  the  eagle,"  replied  Jesus,  "where  the 
carcase  is  ?  His  keen  eyes  see  it  from  afar.  Where  the 
Messiah  will  be,  and  where  the  gathering  place  for  the  saved 
wiU  be,  they  will  see  from  afar  for  whom  it  is  provided,  and 
with  swift  flight  will  betake  themselves  thither." 

The  momentous  earnestness  with  which  Jesus  had  so  often 
spoken  of  the  difiiculty  of  being  truly  His  disciple  had  sunk 
into  the  hearts  of  many  who  heard  it,  and  the  free  access  to 
Himself  He  permitted,  must  often  have  been  used  to  seek 
counsel  on  a  point  so  momentous.  It  was,  moreover,  a 
passion  Avith  the  Jew  to  speculate  on  every  question  of 
theology,  as  is  seen  in  the  vast  system  elaborated  ])y  the 
Rabbis.  The  mysteries  of  the  future  Avorld  especially  en- 
grossed them.  By  the  multitude  it  was  taken  for  granted 
that  every  Israehte,  as  such,  would  have  a  portion  in 
heaven,-'^  but  there  were  not  a  few  othei-s  who,  like  Esdras,  "  ^^^"°^' 
fancied  that  "The  Most  High  had  made  this  world  for  l^^-«-'- 
many,  but  the  workl  to    come  for   few :  as  He   had  made 


364  THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

much  common  earth,  but  little  gold."  One  in  -whom  His 
words  had  raised  such  questions,  took  advantage,'^^  about  this 
time,  of  His  readiness  to  listen  to  their  doubts  and  inquiries, 
to  ask  Him  if  more  than  a  few  only  Avould  be  saved,  since  He 
had  said  it  was  so  hard  to  be  His  follower.  Instead  of 
answering,  directly,  a  question  which  could  only  gratify 
curiosity,  Jesus,  ever  practical,  gave  His  reply  a  turn  which 
was  much  more  useful. 

"  It  Avould  benefit  you  little,"  said  He,  "  if  I  answered 
your  question  as  you  wish  :  the  great  matter  for  you  is  that 
many  vnW  not  be  saved,  so  that  it  becomes  you  to  strive, 
with  intense  earnestness,  to  enter  in  through  the  narrow 
door  that  leads  to  eternal  life ;  for  many,  I  say  unto  you, 
who  would  like  to  enter  at  last,  but  do  not  thus  strive  now, 
will  seek  to  do  so  when  too  late  and  will  not  be  admitted."^ 
If  once  you  be  shut  out  from  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah, 
you  will  in  vain  plead  your  external  connection  with  me 
noAv.  When  the  great  banquet  of  heaven  begins,  the  Mes- 
siah wiU  cause  the  door  of  the  banqueting  hall  to  be  shut. 
If  ye,  then,  come  to  it  and  knock  at  the  door,  saying  'Lord, 
open  to  us,'  He  will  answer  from  within,  'I  know  you  not, 
whence  you  are.'  If  you  urge  that  He  has  forgotten  you, 
and  that,  if  He  will  bethink  Him,  He  will  recollect  that  you 
ate  and  drank  in  His  presence,  as  companions  at  the  same 
table,  and  that  He  had  taught  in  your  streets.  He  will  only 
answer,  '  I  tell  you  I  know  you  not,  whence  ye  are.  Depart 
from  me,  all  ye  workers  of  unrighteousness.' 

"What  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth  will  be  there  as  ye 
stand,  thus,  and  see  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all 
the  prophets,  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  yourselves  cast 
out !  What  wailing,  when  you  see,  instead  of  yourselves, 
the  heathen  you  have  so  despised,  come  from  the  east,  and 
Avest,  and  north,  and  south,^*  and  sit  down  at  the  great  feast 
of  heaven.  Believe  me,  there  are  many  who,  now,  before 
the  setting  up  of  my  kingdom,  are  first,  who,  after  it  is  set 
up,  will  be  last ;  many,  like  the  heathen  who  shall  enter  to 
the  feast,  who  will  b(;come  my  disciples  only  late,  and  shall 
yet  take  a  fii'st  place  in  my  kingdom.  See  that  ye  press  on 
while  the  door  is  still  open  to  admit  you." 


THE   FOX   ANTIPAS.  365 

Jesus  had  now  been  for  some  time  in  Perea,-'  in  the  chap,  nn 
territory  of  Antipas,  the  murderer  of  John.  The  intense  "  l^^l^' 
unpopularity  of  the  crime  had,  doubtless,  been  a  protection 
to.  Him  l>ut  there  -were  many  reasons  why  such  a  man  should 
Avish  the  great  Wonder  AYorker,  whom  he  personally  feared 
so  much,  as,  perhaps,  the  murdei-ed  Baptist,  risen  from  the 
dead,  feirly  out  of  his  dominions.  Unwilling  to  appear  in 
the  matter,  he  used  the  Pharisees,  counting  on  their  readi- 
ness to  further  his  end  of  getting  rid  of  Him.  Some  of 
their  number,  therefore,  came  to  Him,  with  the  air  of  friends 
anxious  for  His  safety,  and  warned  him  that  it  would  be 
well  for  Him  to  leave  Perea  as  quickly  as  possible,  as  Herod 
desired  to  kill  Him. 

Jesus  at  once  saw  through  the  whole  design,  as  a  crafty 
plan  of  Herod  himself  to  expel  Him.  He  was  on  his  way 
to  Jerusalem,  and  contented  Himself  with  showing  that  He 
gave  no  grounds  for  political  suspicion,  and  that  He  quite 
well  understood  how  little  friendship  there  was  in  the  advice 
the  Pharisees  had  given  Him. 

"  Go  and  tell  that  crafty  fox,"  said  He,  "  that  I  know  why 
He  is  afraid  of  me,  and  wishes  me  out  of  His  land.  Tell  him 
there  is  no  cause  for  his  alarm,  for  I  do  nothing  to  wake  his 
suspicions.  I  have  no  designs  that  can  injure  him,  but 
confine  myself  to  driving  demons  from  poor  men  possessed 
with  them,  and  to  healing  the  sick.  These  harmless  labours 
I  shall  not  intermit  till  the  time  I  haxe  fixed  to  give  to  them 
is  over.  It  will  take  three  days  more  to  pass  quite  out  of 
Perea,  and  for  these  three  days  I  shall  be  in  his  territory, 
but  on  the  third  day  I  leave  it,  for  I  am  now  on  my  way  to 
Jerusalem,  to  die  there.  Herod  will  not  need  to  trouble 
himself  to  kill  me,  for  it  would  be  unfitting  for  a  prophet  to 
die  outside  the  holy  city."  Such  a  message  was  virtually 
an  intimation  that  He  knew  that  it  would  be  by  the  hands 
of  those  who  pretended  kindly  to  warn  Him,  and  their  allies, 
that  he  should  perish,  and  not  by  those  of  Antipas. 

The  word  Jerusalem,  and  the  thought  of  the  guilt  of  the 
city  so  tenderly  loved  by  Him — guilt  soon  to  be  increased 
by  His  violent  death  at  its  hand,  fiUed  His  heart  with 
deep  irrepressible  emotion. 


366  THE  LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Liii.  "  0  JGrusalcm  !  Jerusalem,"  cried  He,  in  a  louder  voice, 
trembling  with  sadness — "it  is  thou,  the  City  of  the  Temple, 
the  City  of  the  Great  King,  who  killcst  the  prophets,  and 
stonest  those  whom  God  sends  unto  thee  !  Thou  art  still  true 
to  thine  evil  repute !  How  often,  oh,  how  often,  thou  mother 
of  many  children,  Avould  I  have  gathered  them  all  round  me 
safely,  from  the  dangers  before  them;  as  the  careful  hen 
calls  together  her  brood  when  the  shadow  of  evil  ftxlls  near,  and 
spreads  her  wings  over  them,  and  guards  them  from  every 
harm !  But  thou  wouldst  not  let  me  do  thee  this  service. 
For  what  shall  come  on  thee  thou  must,  thyself,  bear  the 
blame !  The  divine  protection  I  would  have  given  thee 
thou  hast  refused  and  hast  lost,  nor  Avill  I  appear  in  thy 
desolation  as  thy  helper.  Thou  wilt  not  see  me  till  I  come 
to  set  up  in  thee  my  Kingdom,  and  receive  thy  homage, 
no  longer  to  be  denied, — as  the  Messiah,  the  Blessed,  who 
comes  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  I " 


IN   PEREA   CcONTINCED).  367 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

rtr  PEREA— (Continued). 

THE  lofty  demands  of  Jesus  from  His  followers  had  filled  chap^liv. 
the  Twelve  with  doubts  and  misgivings  of  their  power 
to  fulfil  them.  A  continuous  self-denial,  which  thought 
only  of  their  Master,  and  a  patient  love  which  returned 
meekness  and  good  for  evil  and  injury,  were  graces  slowly 
attained ;  how  much  more  so  when  they  could  only  strike 
root  in  the  heart  after  the  dislodgement  of  hereditary  pre- 
judices and  modes  of  thought  ? 

A  sense  of  weakness  had  already  led  them  to  ask  that 
their  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah ;  able  to  aid  them  in  all 
their  straits  and  trials  ;  might  be  strengthened.  The  utter- 
ance of  that  faith  in  prayer  was  no  less  necessary,  at  once  to 
obtain  the  grace  needed  to  bear  them  through  difficulties, 
and  to  raise  them  to  a  steadfiist  confidence  in  the  triumphant 
manifestation  of  their  Master's  Ivingdom,  of  which  He  had 
more  than  once  spoken.  Lest  they  should  grow  slack  in  this 
great  duty,  He  reminded  them  that  their  whole  frame  of 
mind  should  be  one  of  habitual  devotion,  that  they  might 
not  become  faint-hearted,  and  give  way  before  the  trials  they 
might  have  to  sutfer,  or  at  the  seeming  delay  in  His  coming. 
His  words,  as  usual,  took  the  form  of  a  parable. 

"There  was  in  a  city,"  said  He,  "ajudge,who  neither  feared 
God  nor  reverenced  man.^     And  there  was  also  a  widow  in  •  Lukeis.i-a. 
that  city  who  had  an  enemy  from  whom  she  could  hope  to 
get  free  only  by  the  interposition  of  the  judge.     So  she  came 
often  to  him,  asking  him  to  do  justice  to  her,  and  maintain 
her  ri":ht  against  her  adversary.-     But  he  paid  no  attention, »  uiimMD.  es. 
for  a  long  time,  to  her  suit.    At  last,  however,  he  could  bear    sn. 
her  constant  coming  no  longer,  and  said  within  himself — 


368  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

'  Though  I  should  do  it  as  my  duty,  that  does  not  trouble  me, 
for  I  do  not  pretend  to  fear  God,  and  care  nothing  for  man ; 
Yet  this  widow  torments  me.  I  shall  therefore  do  what  is 
right  in  her  case  for  my  own  sake,  for  otherwise  she  will 
perfectly  weary  me  by  her  constant  apjieals.'* 

"  So,  the  mdow,  by  her  importunity,  obtained  her  end, 
at  last. 

"  Hear  what  the  unjust  judge  says  !  But  if  men  thus  get 
what  is  right,  even  from  the  worst,  if  they  urge  their 
suit  long  enough,  with  sufficient  earnestness  ;  how  can  any 
one  doubt  that  God,  the  Righteous  One,  will  give  heed  to 
the  cr}^  of  His  Saints  for  all  they  have  to  suffer  ?  Will  He 
not  much  rather,  though  He  let  the  enemy  rage  for  what 
seems  a  long  time,  surely,  at  the  great  day,  avenge  the 
wrongs  of  His  elect,  who  are  so  dear  to  Him,  and  thus  cry 
in  2)i'ayer  night  and  day  ? 

"  I  tell  you,  He  will  be  patient  towards  them,  though  they 
thus  cry  to  Him  continually,  for  He  is  not  wearied  with 
their  complaints,  as  the  unjust  judge  was  mth  those  of  the 
widow ;  and  He  will  deliver  them  from  their  enemies,  with- 
out and  within,  and  give  them  a  portion  in  the  Kingdom  of 
the  Messiah,  and  that  speedily.  For  M'hen  the  Messiah  comes 
it  will  seem  as  if  the  waiting  for  Him  had  only  been  brief 
But  when  He  thus  comes,  will  He  find  any  who  still  look  for 
Him,  and  believe  that  the  promise  of  His  return  Avill  be  ful- 
filled? Will  my  disciples  endure  to  the  end;  or  can  it  be 
that  they  will  fall  awa}'  l)efore  all  their  trials  ?  " 

To  one  of  these  last  days  in  Perea  we  are  indebted  for 
the  parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  the  Publican.  Jesus  had 
spoken  much  of  prayer,  but  the  religion  of  the  day  was  so 
largely  mechanical,  that  they  were  in  danger  of  mistaking 
the  outward  form  for  the  substance.  Only  repeated  lessons 
could  guard  them  from  the  lifeless  formalit)^  of  the  Rabbis, 
with  whom  the  most  sacred  duties  had  sunk  to  cold  outward 
rites.  Self-righteous  pride,  moreover,  was  the  characteristic 
of  much  of  the  current  religiousnesss,  and  was,  in  fact,  a 
natural  result  of  the  externalism  prevailing.  To  show  the 
true  nature  of  devotion  pleasing  to  God,  He  related  the 
following  parable : — 


THE   PHARISEE    AND   PUBLICAN. 


369 


"  Two  men,"  said  He,  "  went  up  at  the  same  time,  the 
hour  of  prayer,  to  the  Temple,  to  pray.^  The  one  was  a ' 
Pharisee,  the  other  a  Pubhcan.  The  Pharisee,  who  had 
seen  the  Publican  enter  the  Temple  with  him,  stood  apart ; 
his  eyes  towards  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  began  to  pray 
thus — '  0  God,  I  thank  Thee  that  I  do  not  belong  to  the 
common  multitude  of  mankind,  whom  Thou  hast  rejected — 
to  the  covetous,  the  unjust,  the  adulterous.  I  thank  Thee 
that  I  am  not  what  so  many  men  are,  what  this  Publican, 
here  before  Thee,  is.  He  knows  nothing  of  fasting  or  of 
tithes,  but  I  fast  every  Monday  and  every  Thursday,  and  I 
give  the  Priests  and  Levites  the  tenth,  not  only  of  all  I 
have,  but  of  all  I  may  gain,  which  is  more  than  the  Law 
requires.' 

"  The  Publican,  meanwhile,  feeling  that  He  was  a  sinner, 
stopped  far  behind  the  Pharisee,  coming  no  further  into  the 
sacred  court  than  its  very  edge ;  for  he  shrank  from  a  near 
approach  to  God.  Nor  could  he  dare,  in  his  lowly  penitence, 
to  lift  up  so  much  as  his  eyes  to  heaven,  far  less  his  head 
and  his  hands,  but,  wdth  bent  head,  smote  on  his  breast  in 
his  sorrow,  and  said — 'God  be  merciful  to  me  the  sinner.'* 

"The  Pharisee  had  offered  only  a  proud,  cold  thanks- 
giving for  his  own  merits ;  the  Publican  an  humble  cry  for 
mercy. 

"  Believe  me,  this  Publican,  whom  the  Pharisee  gave  a 
place  among  the  extortionate,  the  unjust  and  the  impure, ; 
received  favour  from  God,  and  returned  to  his  home  forgiven 
and  accepted ;  but  the  Pharisee  w^ent  away  unjustified.  For, 
as  I  have  often  said,  every  one  who  thinks  highly  of  himself 
in  reUgious  things  will  be  humbled  before  God,  and  he  who 
humbles  himself  will  be  honoured  before  Him."^  , 

Among  the  questions  of  the  day  fiercely  debated  between 
the  great  rival  schools  of  Hillel  and  Schammai,  no  one  was 
more  so  than  that  of  divorce.  The  school  of  HiUel  con- 
tended that  a  man  had  a  right  to  divorce  his  Avife  for  any 
cause  he  might  assign,  if  it  were  no  more  than  his  having 
ceased  to  love  her,  or  his  having  seen  one  he  liked  better,  or 
her  having  cooked  a  dinner  Ijadly.''  The  school  of  Schammai, 
on  the  contraiy,  held  that  divorce  could  be  issued  only  for 

VOL.  n.  G3 


CH.VP.   LIV. 

Luke  18. 9—14. 
Schenkel's 
Charakterbild, 
1B6.     Schurcr, 
505.    Godwyn, 
•37.  41,  73. 
Bibel  Lex.  ii. 
398. 


The  article 
makes  the 
expression 
equal  to  "  The 
chief  of 
Sionera." 


The  same 
sentiment  is 
quoted  by 
Dukes  from 
the  Talmud 
(p.  181),  "God 
exaltshim  who 
humbles  him- 
self:  God  hum- 
bles him  who 
exalts  himself." 
Tholuck, 
Bergpredigt. 
Matt.  5.  31. 
Hor.  Heb. 
ii.  231. 
Michaelis' 
Mos.  Becht.  ii. 
325.    Schiirer, 
509.    Bibel 
Lex.  iu.  271. 
Schleier- 
macher's  Pre- 
digten,  i.  568. 
Schenkel's 
Charakterbild, 
202.  Newman's 
Sermons,  ii. 
247, 131. 
Hausrath,  i. 
3C9.  Hillel  and 
Jesus,  27. 
Godwjn,  26.5. 


370  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Liy.  the  crime  of  adultery,  and  offences  against  chastity.  If  it 
were  possible  to  get  Jesus  to  pronounce  in  favour  of  either 
school,  the  hostility  of  the  other  would  be  roused,  and,  hence, 
it  seemed  a  favourable  chance  for  compromising  Him,  to 
broach  this  subject  for  His  opinion. 

Some  of  the  Pharisees,  thei'cfore,  took  an  opportunity  of 
raising  the  question.  "Is  it  lawful,"  they  asked,  "to  put 
away  one's  wife,  when  a  man  thinks  fit,  for  any  cause  he  is 
pleased  to  assign  ?  Or,  do  you  think  there  are  exceptions  to 
this  rule  ?  " 

There  could  be  no  douljt  that  the  lofty  morality  of  Jesus 
would  condemn  a  mere  human  custom  which  was  corrupting 
the  whole  civil  and  domestic  life  of  the  nation,  and  under- 
mining all  honour,  chastity,  and  love.  He  had  already 
answered  the  question  fully,  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  in 
which  He  had  taught  that  arbitrary  divorce  was  not  per- 
mitted ;  but  that  was  long  since,  and  He  was  now  in  a 
different  part  of  the  country.  It  was  quite  in  accordance 
with  the  habit  of  the  daj'  to  appeal  to  any  Rabbi  on  a 
disputed  religious  question,  or  scruple,  on  lighter  or  weightier 
points ;  it  gratified  the  univei'sal  love  for  controversy,  and 
gave  an  opportunity  for  showing  dialectical  wit  and  sharp- 
ness. But  the  questioners  gained  little  by  trying  their  skill 
on  Jesus. 

''Have  you  never  read,"  answered  He,  "that  the  Creator 
of  men  made  man  and  Avomau  at  the  same  time,  in  the  very 
beginning  of  our  race,  and  gave  them  to  each  other  as 
Matt.  19. 3-13.  husband  and  wife  ?  ''  And  do  j'ou  not  know  that  so  intimate 
'  ~  '  was  the  relation  thus  instituted,  that,  close  though  the 
connection  be  between  parents  and  children,  God  has 
said  that  that  between  man  and  wife  is  so  much  closer, 
that  a  son,  who,  before,  was  under  his  parents,  and  was 
bound  more  closely  to  them  than  to  any  other  persons  in  the 
Avorld,  is  to  separate  himself  from  his  father  and  mother 
when  he  marries,  and  to  form  a  still  nearer  relationship  with 
his  wife — such  a  relationship  that  the  two  shall  become,  as 
it  were,  one.  As  soon  as  a  man  and  Avoman  are  married, 
therefore,  the  two  make,  together,  only  one  being.  But 
since  it  is  God  who  has  joined  tKem  thus,  divorce  is  the  put- 


ON   DIVORCE.  371 

ting  asunder  by  man  of  -what  God    has  made  into    one.    chap.liy. 
Marriage  is  a  sacred  union,  and  man  is  not  to  regard  it  as 
something  wliich  he  can  undo  at  liis  pleasure." 

Nothing'  could  be  said  against  this  from  natural  grounds, 
but  the  objection  lay  ready  that  the  Law  of  Moses  was  not 
so  strict,  and  a  prospect  offered  of  forcing  Jesus  either  to 
contradict  Himself,  or  to  pronounce  openly  against  the 
great  founder  of  the  nation.  "  If  this  be  so,"  said  they, 
"  how  comes  it  that  Moses  permitted  a  man  to  divorce  his 
wife  ?  for  you  know  that  he  says  that  writings  of  divorce- 
ment might  be  given  where  a  divorce  was  -ndshed,  and  these 
dissolved  the  marriage." 

"Moses,"  replied  our  Lord,  "did,  indeed,  suffer  you  to 
put  away  your  wives,  to  prevent  a  greater  evil.  He  did  so 
as  a  statesman  and  a  law-giver,  from  the  necessities  of  the 
age,  which  made  any  better  law  impracticable.  Our  fathers 
were  too  rude  and  headstrong  to  permit  his  doing  more. 
But,  though  he  did  not  prohibit  divorce,  because  the  feelings 
of  the  times  did  not  allow  him  to  do  so,  it  does  not  follow 
from  this  that  his  action  in  this  matter  was  the  original  law 
of  the  Creator,  or  that  conscience  and  religion  sanction 
such  separations.  I  say,  therefore,  that  whoever  puts  away 
his  wife,  except  for  fornication,  which  destroys  the  very 
essence  of  marriage  by  dissolving  the  oneness  it  had  formed, 
and  shall  marry  another,  commits  adultery ;  and  whoever 
marries  her  who  is  put  away  for  any  other  cause  commits 
adultery,  because  the  woman  is  still,  in  God's  sight,  wdfe  of 
him  who  has  divorced  her." 

This  statement  was  of  far  deeper  moment  than  the  mere 
silencing  of  malignant  spies.  It  was  designed  to  set  forth 
for  all  ages  the  law  of  His  New  Kingdom  in  the  supreme 
matter  of  family  life.  It  swept  away  for  ever  from  His 
Society  the  conception  of  woman  as  a  mere  toy  or  slave  of 
man,  and  based  true  relations  of  the  sexes  on  the  eternal 
foundation  of  truth,  right,  honour,  and  love.  To  ennoble 
the  House  and  the  Family  by  raising  woman  to  her  true 
position  was  essential  to  the  future  stability  of  His  Kingdom, 
as  one  of  purity  and  spiritual  worth.  By  making  marriage 
indissoluble  He  proclaimed  the  equal  rights  of  woman  and 


372  THE   LIFE   OF    CHRIST, 

man  within  the  limits  of  tlie  family,  and,  in  this,  gave  their 
charter  of  nobility  to  the  mothers  of  the  world.  For  her 
nobler  position  in  the  Christian  era,  compared  with  that 
granted  her  in  antiquity,  woman  is  indebted  to  Jesus  Christ. 

When  an  opportunity  offered,  the  disciples  asked  fuller 
instruction  on  a  matter  so  grave.  Customs  or  opinions, 
supported,  apparent!}',  by  a  national  law,  and  that  law 
divine;  customs,  the  rightness  of  which  has  never  before 
been  doubted,  are  hard  to  uproot,  however  good  the  grounds 
on  which  they  are  challenged.  Hence,  even  the  Twelve  felt 
the  strictness  of  the  new  law  introduced  by  their  Master 
respecting  marriage,  and  frankly  told  Him,  that  if  a  man 
were  bound  to  his  wife  as  He  had  said,  it  seemed  to  them 
better  not  to  marry. 

"With  respect  to  marrying  or  not  marrying,"  replied 
Christ,  "your  saying  that  it  is  good  for  a  man  not  to  do  so 
is  one  which  cannot  be  received  by  all  men,  but  only  by 
those  to  whom  the  moral  power  to  act  on  it  has  been  given 
by  God.  Some  do  not  marry  from  natural  causes,  and 
there  are  some  who  voluntarily  keep  in  the  single  state,  that 
they  may  give  themselves  Avith  an  entire  devotion  to  the 
service  of  my  Kingdom.  Let  him  among  you  who  feels  able 
to  act  on  the  lofty  principle  of  denying  himself  the  nobility 
and  holiness  of  family  life,  that  he  may  with  more  entire 
devotion  consecrate  himself  to  my  service,  do  so."  Self- 
sacrifice,  in  this,  as  in  all  things,  was  left  by  Jesus  to  the 
conscience  and  heart.  Even  His  apostles  were  left  free  to 
marry  or  remain  single,  as  they  chose,^  nor  can  any  depre- 
ciation of  the  married  state  be  wrung  from  His  words, 
except  by  a  manifest  perversion  of  their  spirit. 

It  is  significant  that,  in  the  South  as  in  Galilee,  the 
mothers  of  households,  though  not  expressly  named,  turned 
with  peculiar  tenderness  and  revei'ence  to  the  new  Prophet 
and  Rabbi.  They  were  doubtless  encouraged  to  do  so  by 
the  sight  of  the  Avomen  who  now,  as  always,  accompanied 
Him  on  His  journeys ;  but  the  goodness  that  beamed  in  His 
looks,  and  breathed  in  His  every  word,  drew  them  still  more. 
Indifferent  to  the  hard  and  often  worthless  disputes  and 
questions  which  engaged  the  other  sex,  they  sought  only  a 


CHILDREN   BROUGHT    TO   JESUS. 


373 


blessing  on  the  loved  ones  of  their  hearts  and  homes,  con- 
tented if  Jesus  would  lay  His  hands  on  their  infants,  and 
utter  over  them  a  word  of  blessing. 

A  beautiful  custom^  led  parents  to  bring  their  children ' 
at  an  early  age  to  the  Sjaiagogue,  that  they  might  have  the 
prayers  and  blessings  of  the  elders.  "  After  the  father  of 
the  child,"  says  the  Talmud,  "had  laid  his  hands  on  his 
child's  head,  he  led  him  to  the  elders,  one  by  one,  and  they 
also  blessed  him,  and  prayed  that  he  might  gi'ow  up  famous 
in  the  Law,  faithful  in  marriage,  and  abundant  in  good 
works."^"  Children  were  thus  brought,  also,  to  any  Rabbi ' 
of  special  holiness,  and  hence  they  had  been  presented  already 
more  than  once  before  Jesus.  Now,  on  this.  His  last  journey, 
little  children  were  again  brought  to  Him  that  He  might  put 
His  hands  on  them,  and  pray  for  a  blessing  on  their  future 
life.  To  the  disciples,  however,  it  seemed  only  troulsling 
their  Master,  and  they  chid  the  parents  for  bringing  them. 
But  the  feeling  of  Christ  to  children  was  very  different  from 
theirs.  To  look  into  their  innocent  artless  eyes  must  have 
been  a  relief  after  enduring  those  of  spies  and  malignant 
enemies.  He  Himself  had  the  ideal  childlike  spirit,  and  He 
delighted  to  see  in  little  ones  His  own  image.  Purity, 
truthfulness,  simplicity,  sincerity,  docility,  and  loving  de- 
pendence, shone  out  on  Him  from  them,  and  made  them  at 
all  times  His  favourite  types  for  His  followers.  The  Apostles 
needed  the  lessons  their  characteristics  impressed,  and  though 
He  had  enforced  them  before,  He  gladly  took  every  oppor- 
tunity of  repeating  them. 

"Let  the  little  children  come  to  me,"  said  Jesus,  "and  do 
not  forbid  them,  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  given  only 
to  such  as  have  a  childlike  spirit  and  nature  like  theirs." 
Instead  of  being  too  young  for  the  bestowal  of  His  blessing, 
He  saw  in  their  simplicity  and  innocence  the  fond  earnest 
of  the  character  he  sought  to  reproduce  in  mankind.  The 
citizens  of  His  Kingdom  must  become  like  them  by  change  of 
heart  and  a  lowly  spiritual  life.  Stooping  down,  therefore, 
He  took  them  up  in  His  arms,  put  His  hands  on  them,  and 
blessed  them.  Even  the  least  incidents  were  thus  ever 
turned  to  the  hig-hest  uses. 


Matt.  19. 
13—1-5.     Mark 
10.  13—16. 
Luke  18. 
1.5—17. 
Newman's 
Sermons,!.  443. 
Keim,  iii.  22. 
Bibel  Lex.  ii. 
154. 


374  THE   LIFE   OF   CHKIST. 

CH.VP.  LiY.       The  need  of  this  childlike  spirit,  and  the  sad  results  of  its 
absence,  must  have  been  brought  home  to  the  Apostles  by 
an  occurrence  in  their  next  day's  journey.     Starting  south- 
wards, on    the   Avay  to  Jerusalem,   a  young  man,    whose 
exemplary  character  had  already  made  him  a  ruler  of  the 
i6^o"'2o     local  synagogue,  came  running  after  Him,^^  and,  approaching 
jilJkio.       Him  with  great  respect,  kneeled  before  Him,  as  was  usual 
Luke  13.       before  a  venerated  Rabbi.^^     "Teacher,"  said  he,  "  I  shall 

18—30.  '  ' 

Hor.Heb.  greatly  thank  Thee   if  thou  wilt  ease  my  mind.     I  have 

Keim'8  ^^  Uiboured  diligently  to  do  good  words  of  all  kinds  prescribed 

Ketosjesu  ^7  ^^^  Law,  but  I  do  not  feel  satisfied  that  I  have  done 

ui.'so'^^S  enough ;  so  am  not  sure,  after  all,  that  I  shall  inherit  eternal 

jud.  Hand-  life  in  the  kin  fjdom  of  the  ]\Iessiah.      Pray,  tell  me  what 

werkerleben,  ^  -^  ' 

muiifr°M°y"er,  spccial  good  work  cau  I  do  to  secure  this." 

PaXViInge,'      "Why  do  3-ou  ask  me  what  is  right  to  do?"  answered 

De  Wette,  ■,  kat-  ••  n  n       •  •i/» 

eiat.mioc.  Jesus.  Your  question  is  superfluous,  for  it  answers  itseii. 
There  is  only  one  Absolute  Good — that  is,  God.  The  good 
act  respecting  which  you  inquire  can  be  nothing  else  than 
perfect  obedience  to  His  holy  will.  If  you  really  would 
enter  into  life  eternal,  you  must  keep  the  Commandments 
given  thee  by  Him." 

The  young  man  exj)ected  to  hear  some  new  and  special 
commands,  requiring  unwonted  pains,  and  securing  corres- 
pondingly great  merit  by  faultless  obedience.  The  answer 
of  Jesus  Avas  too  general  to  help  him  in  this.  He,  therefore, 
asked — What  commands  He  particularly  meant. 

To  his  astonishment  and  mortification,  instead  of  naming 
some  ceremonial  injunctions,  as  the  Rabbis  would  have  done, 
Jesus  simply  quoted  some  of  the  well-known  commandments 
of  the  Second  Table— "Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  "Thou  shalt 
not  commit  adultery,"  "Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  "Thou 
shalt  not  bear  false  Avitness,"  "  Honour  thy  father  and  thy 
mother,"  closing  the  list  Avith  the  greatest  of  all — "  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,"  which  Avas  thus  jiut 
last  as  the  one  by  which  He  intended  to  bring  the  young 
man  to  the  test. 

These  were  only  the  common  duties  required  of  all  men, 
and,  as  such,  had  a  conventional  fulfilment  Avhich  satisfied 
human  standards.      Their  scope  Avas  A'ery  different,  Jioav- 


THE    YOUNG   EUTiER.  375 

ever,  in  the  eyes  of  Jesus,  and  this  the  young  man  presently    chap.  li\-. 
felt. 

His  upright  and  honest  life  brought  no  blush  at  the 
enumeration.  Without  pride,  except  the  secret  pride  of 
self-righteousness,  and  with  all  reverent  docility,  he  replied : 

"  I  believe  I  can  say  that  I  have  strictly  kept  all  these 
commands.^     In  what  respect  do  I  still  come  short  ?  " 

The  question  itself  revealed  his  spiritual  deficiencies.  It 
showed  that,  hoAvever  sincere  in  his  efforts  after  such  a  life 
as  would  secure  heaven,  he  had  not  risen  above  the  outward 
service  of  the  letter,  and  had  realized  neither  the  spirit  of  the 
commandments  as  a  whole,  nor,  in  particular,  the  infinite 
breadth  of  that  which  enjoined  love  to  his  neighbour.  Had 
he  seen  this  in  its  true  grandeur,  it  would  have  hinted  a 
higher  moral  task  than  merely  legal  conceptions  of  duty 
had  taught  him,  and  have  supplied,  at  the  same  time,  an 
impulse  towards  its  fulfilment. 

Jesus  read  his  heart  in  a  moment,  and  was  won  by  the 
guilelessness  of  his  answer  and  question,  and  by  the  evident 
worth  of  his  character.  As  He  looked  at  him,  so  earnest,  so 
humble,  so  admii-able  in  his  life  and  spirit,  He  loved 
him.  Could  he  only  stand  the  testing  demand  that  must 
now  be  made,  he  would  pass  into  the  citizenship  of  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

"You  lack  one  thing  yet,"  said  Jesus,  therefore,  "if  you 
really  wish  to  be  perfect.  Had  you  understood  the  com- 
mands of  God  in  their  depth  and  breadth,  j'ou  would  not 
have  asked  if  you  could  do  anything  more  than  you 
had  done ;  their  li^dng  power  in  3'ou  would  have  suggested 
continually  fresh  duties.  When  you  ask  me  to  tell  you 
what  next  to  do,  it  shows  that  you  think  only  of  tasks  im- 
posed from  Avithout,  and  do  not  act  from  a  principle  in  your 
own  soul.  If  your  desire  for  eternal  life  be  supreme,  as  it 
ought  to  be — go  home,  sell  all  that  you  have,  and  give  what 
you  get  for  it  to  the  poor,  and  instead  of  the  earthly 
riches  thus  given  in  charity,  you  Avill  have  treasure  in 
heaven.  Then,  come  to  me,  be  my  disciple,  and  bear  your 
cross  after  me,  as  I  bear  mine." 

The  demand,  gi-eat  though  it  seems,  Avas  exactly  suited  to 


'  Seevol.  L 
page2Sl. 


376  ^  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

the  particular  case.  It  was  a  special  test  in  a  special 
instance,  though  underneath  it  lay  the  unconditional  self- 
sacrifice,  and  self-surrender  for  Christ,  required  from  all  His 
disciples.  It  could  not  fail  to  bring  the  young  man  to  a 
clearer  self-knowledge,  and  thus,  to  awhoUy  new  conception  of 
what  true  religion  demanded.  The  only  way  to  lead  him  to  a 
healthier  moral  state  was  to  humble  him,  by  a  disclosure  of 
weakness  hitherto  unsuspected.  He  had  fancied  himself 
willing  to  do  whatever  could  be  requii'ed :  he  could  now  see 
if  he  really  were  so.  He  had  thought  he  cared  for  nothing 
in  comparison  with  gaining  heaven  :  he  could  now  judge  for 
himself  if  he  had  not  erred. 

It  might  have  been  hoped  that  this  lofty  coinisel,  the 
repetition  of  that  which  had  been  so  often  given  to  others 
befoi'e,  would  have  roused  one  so  earnest  to  a  noble  enthu- 
siasm, befoi'e  which  all  loAver  thoughts  would  have  lost  their 
power.  The  love  he  had  inspired  in  Jesus  must  have  shown 
itself  towards  him  in  every  look  and  tone :  there  must  have 
been  every  desire  to  attract  and  win :  none  to  repel.  But 
the  one  absolute,  constant  condition  of  acceptance  demanded 
from  all — supreme,  unrestricted  devotion  to  Himself  and 
His  cause,  and  willingness  to  sacrifice  all  human  ties  and 
possessions,  or  even  life,  for  His  sake,  could  in  no  case  be 
lowered.  Poor,  friendless,  outlawed,  Jesus  abated  no  jot  of 
his  awful  claims,  loftier  than  human  monarch  had  ever 
dreamed  of  making,  on  all  who  sought  citizenship  in  His 
Kingdom. 

The  test  exacted  was  fatal,  at  least  for  the  time.  It  was  pre- 
cisely that  which  the  young  man  had  least  expected,  and  Avas 
a  thousand  times  harder  than  any  legal  enforcements  ;  pain- 
ful and  protracted  even  as  those  by  which  the  highest  grade 
of  ceremonial  holiness  was  attained. ^^  Had  Jesus  invited 
him  to  be  His  disciple  without  requiring  the  condition  He 
had  so  often  declared  indispensable,  there  would  have  been 
instant,  delighted  acceptance.  But  that  could  not  be.  He 
could  not  say  "  Be  my  disciple,"  till  He  had  secured  his 
supreme  devotion. 

Rich,  and  already  a  magistrate — for  Church  and  State 
Avith  the  Jews  were  identical — the  demand  staggered  and 


RICHES   AND    HEAVEN.  377 

ovenvhelmed  the  young  man.  A  moment's  thought,  and  his  ciLVP.Ln-. 
broad  acres,  and  social  position,  which  he  must  give  up  for 
ever,  if  he  would  foUow  Jesus,  raised  a  whole  army  of 
hindrances  and  hesitations.  The  condition  imposed  had  no 
limitation,  but  neither  had  his  own  question  to  which  it  was 
a  reply.  He  had  been  touched  where  weakest,  but  this  was 
exactly  what  his  repeated  request  demanded.  Why  should 
Jesus  have  asked  less  from  him  than  from  other  disciples  ? 
It  was,  doubtless,  harder  for  a  rich  than  for  a  poor  man  to 
leave  all,  but  there  must,  in  no  case,  be  room  for  doubt  of 
the  entire  sincerity  of  those  admitted  as  disciples,  and  this 
could  be  tested  only  by  their  readiness  to  sacrifice  aU  to 
become  so.  It  was  less,  besides,  to  demand  this,  as  things 
were,  for  discipleship  would  only  too  surely  involve,  very 
soon,  not  only  loss  of  all  earthly  goods,  but  life-long  trials, 
and  even  death. 

But  the  world  got  the  better  in  the  young  man's  heart, 
and  he  went  away  sorrowful,  at  the  thought  that  he  was 
voluntarily  excluding  himself  from  the  kingdom  of  the 
Messiah.  Yet,  the  broad  acres  :  the  rich  possessions — how 
could  he  give  them  up  ? 

"  How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of   God  ! "  said  Jesus,  as  he  went  away,  evidently 
in  great  mental  distress.'*    "  It  is  easier,"  continued  He,  "  to  u  Matt.  is. 
use  a  proverb  you  often  hear,  for  a  camel  to  go  throuofh  the    lols-s?^'* 

r  11        ^1  /•  -1  .  ,        ,.  Luke  18. 30. 

eye  oi  a  needle,  than  tor  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kin"-- 
dom  of  God."" 

The  words  fell  with  a  new  and  perplexing  sound  on  the 
ears  of  the  disciples.  Like  all  Jews,  they  had  been  accustomed 
to  regard  worldly  prosperity'  as  a  special  mark  of  the  favour 
of  God— for  their  ancient  Scriptures  seemed  always  to  connect 
the  enjo3^nent  of  temporal  blessings  with  obedience  to  the 
divine  law.^^  They  still,  moreover,  secretly  cherished  the  «  Deat  oh.  sa 
hope  of  an  earthly  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  in  which  riches 
would  play  a  great  part,  and,  even  apart  from  all  this,  if  it 
were  hard  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  except  by  stoop- 
ing to  absolute  poverty,  it  seemed  as  if  very  few  could  be 
saved  at  all. 

"  Children,  how  hard  is  it  for  them  that  trust  in  riches  to 


378  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LiY.  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  Gocl,""^  repeated  Jesus,  seeing  their 
^Yonder  and  evident  uneasiness.  "  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to 
go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man,  who  clings 
to  his  riches,  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 

"  Who,  then,  can  be  saved  ?"  asked  some  of  them. 

"  With  men  it  is  impossible,"  replied  Jesus,  fixing  His  eyes 
earnestly  on  them,  "  but  not  with  God :  for  with  God  aU 
things  are  possible.  He  can  bestow  heavenly  grace  to  wean 
the  heart  from  worldly  riches  :  apart  from  this,  the  world 
wiU  prevail." 

Peter,  especially,  had  listened  with  deep  attention  to  all 
that  had  passed,  and  had  been  mentally  applying  it  to  the  case 
of  his  fellow  disciples  and  himself.  Their  minds  were  still  full 
of  the  Jewish  ideaof  merit  before  God,  and  of  a  claim  to  cor- 
responding reward.  When  Jesus  summoned  them  to  follow 
Him,  they  had  been  exactlyinthe  youngman's  position,  though 
they  had  not  had  so  much  to  surrender.  They  had  given  up 
every  thing  for  Him,  at  His  first  invitation — their  families, 
houses,  occupations,  and  prospects.  However  little  in  them- 
selves, these  had  been  the  whole  world  to  them.  It  seemed  only 
natural,  therefore,  that  they  should  have  a  proportion  of  that 
treasure  which  Jesus  had  promised  the  young  man,  if  he 
forsook  all  for  His  sake. 

In  keeping  Avith  his  natural  frank  impulsiveness,  Peter 
could  not  restrain  his  thoughts,  and  asked  Jesus  directly 
what  he  and  his  fellow  Apostles  would  have  for  their  loyalty 
to  Him  ? 

KnoAving  the  honest  simplicity  of  the  Twelve,  their 
Master,  instead  of  reproving  their  boldness,  cheered  them 
with  words  which  must  have  sounded  inconceivably  grand 
to  Galila^an  fishermen. 

"  Be  assured  that  at  the  final  triumph  of  my  Kingdom, 
when  all  things  shall  be  delivered  from  their  present  cor- 
ruption, and  restored,  through  ]\Ie  and  my  work,  to  the  glory 
the}'  had  Ijefore  sin  entered  the  Avorld :  when  I.  the  now 
despised  Son  of  Man,  shall  come  again,  seated  on  the  throne 
of  my  glory,  you  who  have  followed  me  in  my  humiliation, 
wUl  be  exalted  to  kingly  dignity,  and  shall  sit,  each  of  you, 
on  his  throne,  to  judge  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.     Yea, 


THE   VINETARD   LABOURERS.  379 

more :  every  one  who  gives  up  his  bi'ethren,  or  sisters,  or  chap.  liv. 
father,  or  mother,  or  children,  or  lands,  or  houses,  that  he 
may  the  more  unreservedly  spread  my  Gospel,  and  honour 
my  name,  will  be  rewarded  a  hundred  fold.  Even  in  this 
present  life  he  will  receive  back  again  richly  all  he  has  left : 
houses,  and  brethren,  and  sisters,  and  mothers,  and  children  ; 
for  he  will  find  among  those  who  believe  in  me,  a  compen- 
sation for  all :  he  will  regard  and  be  allowed  freely  to  use 
their  means  as  his  own,  and  be  welcomed  by  them  "with  more 
than  brotherly  friendship.  But,  with  all  this,  he  wiU  have 
to  bear  persecution.^^  In  the  future  world,  moreover,  he  ■«  Acts  4. 32. 
will  have  a  still  greater  reward,  for  there  he  will  inherit 
everlasting  life." 

"But,"  added  He,  by  way  of  warning,  "  Do  not  trust  to 
your  having  been  the  first  to  follow  me.  For  the  rewards 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  will  be  like  those  given  by  a 
householder  who  had  a  vineyard,  and,  needing  labourers 
for  it,  went  out  early  in  the  morning  to  hire  them.  Having 
found  some,  he  agreed  to  give  them  a  denarius  a  day,  and 
sent  them  into  the  vineyard.  Going  out  again  about  the 
third  hour — nine  o'clock — he  saw  others  standing  idle  in  the 
market-place,  and  sent  them  also  into  the  vineyard,  inaking  no 
bargain  with  them,  however,  but  bidding  them  trust  him  that 
be  would  give  them  what  was  just.  He  did  the  same  at  the 
sixth  and  at  the  ninth  hours.  Finally,  he  went  out  at  the 
eleventh  hour,  and  found  still  others  standing  about,  and 
asked  why  they  had  stayed  there  all  the  day,  idle.  'Because 
no  one  has  hired  us,'  replied  they.  '  Go  ye  also  into  the 
vineyard,'  said  he,  '  and  you  shall  receive  whatever  is  right.' 

"When  the  evening  was  come,  the  lord  of  the  vineyard 
bade  his  overseer  call  the  labourers,  and  pay  them  all  the 
same  sum — the  denarius  for  which  he  had  agreed  with  the 
first.  He  was,  also,  to  begin  with  those  who  came  into  the 
vineyard  last. 

"When  they  came,  therefore,  who  were  hired  at  the 
eleventh  hour,  they  received  each  a  denarius.  But  when  the 
first  came,  they  supposed  they  should  have  received  more ; 
but  they  also  received  each  only  the  same  amount.  And 
when  they  received  it,  they  murmm'ed  against  the  house- 


380  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP,  uv.    holder,  saying — '  Those  who  came  in  last  did  only  one  hour's 

work,  and  thou  hast  made  them  equal  to  us,  \\'lio  bore  the 

Stanley's       scorching  A\dnd  from  the  desert  at  sunrise,-^"  and  the  heat  of 

Apostolic  Age,    ,  , 

»*-  the  da}'.'     But  he  answered  one  of  them,  '  Friend,  I  do  thee 

no  wron"-:  didst  not  thou  agree  with  me  for  a  denarius? 
Take  what  is  yours,  and  go :  I  desire  to  give  the  same  to 
those  who  came  in  last,  as  inito  thee.  Is  it  not  lawful  for 
me  to  do  what  I  will  in  my  own  affairs  ?  Is  thine  eye  evil 
because  I  am  good  ? ' 

"  The  householder  thus  made  the  first  last,  and  the  last 
first,  because  the  first  had  been  working  for  hire,  while  the 
others  had  simply  trusted  his  promise.  He  Avho  works  in 
my  kingdom  for  the  sake  of  a  reward  hereafter,  may  do  his 
work  well,  but  he  honours  me  less  than  others  who  trust  in 
me,  without  thinking  of  future  gain.  The  spirit  in  -which 
you  labour  for  me  gives  your  service  its  value.  He  who  is 
called  late  in  life,  and  serves  me  unselfishly,  will  stand  higher 
at  the  great  day  than  he  who  has  served  me  longer,  but  with 
a  less  noble  motive.  Many  are  called  to  join  my  kingdom 
and  Avork  in  it,  but  few  show  themselves  by  their  sjsirit 
!  Newman's     aud  zcal  especially  worthy  of  honour.^*     If  the  first  find 

vi.  313.         themselves  last,  it  will  depend  on  themselves,  for  thouo;h  no 

Godwyn.  81.  '  -I  JO 

miuiSce'  01^6  can  claim  reward  as  his  due  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
i2i'^',SSI|  yet  I  give  it,  of  favour,  to  those  first  who  serve  me  most 
ittioe.  purely.     He,  I  repeat,  who  works  most  devotedly,  without 

thought  of  reward,  Avill  be  first,  though,  perhaps,  last  to  be 
called:  he  will  be  chosen  to  honour,  while  others  less 
zealous  and  loving,  though  earlier  called,  will  remain  un- 
distinguished." 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  fitted  to  check  any  ten- 
dency to  self-importance  and  pride,  so  natural  in  men  raised 
to  a  position  so  inconceivably  above  their  original  station. 
Nor  was  there  room,  henceforth,  for  any  mercenary  thoughts, 
even  of  future  reward,  for  the  discharge  of  their  dut}'.  They 
could  not  forget,  that,  though  first  to  enter  the  vineyard  of 
the  New  Kingdom,  they  were  yet,  so  far,  on  a  footing  with 
all  who  should  folloAv  them,  that  the  spiritual  worth  of  their 
work,  alone  determined  their  ultimate  honour.  The  special 
I'eward  promised  by  their  IMaster  was  a  fi'ee  gift  of  God,  not 


NEARING   JERICHO.  381 

the  payment  of  a  debt,  and  depended  on  their  own  spirit    chap,  liv. 
and  zeal. 

They  were  now  approaching  the  end  of  their  journey,  for 
they  were  near  Jericho,  at  which  the  road  struck  directly 
west  to  Jerusalem.  Nisan,  the  month  of  the  Passover,  had 
already  come,  and  only  a  few  days  more  remained  of  our 
Saviour's  life.  Nature  was  putting  on  its  spring  beauty, 
and  throngs  of  early  pilgrims  were  passing  to  the  holy  city. 
All  around  was  joy  and  gladness,  but,  amidst  all,  a  deep 
gloom  hung  over  the  little  company  of  Jesus.  Everything 
on  the  way — the  constant  disputes  with  the  Rabbis — the 
warning  about  Antipas ;  the  very  solemnity  of  the  recent 
teachings,  combined  to  fill  their  minds  with  an  undefined 
terror.  They  had  shrunk  from  visiting  Bethany,  because  it 
was  near  Jerusalem ;  for  they  knew  that  the  authorities  were 
on  the  watch  to  arrest  their  Master,  and  put  Him  to  death. 
He  had  had  to  flee  from  that  village,  first  to  Ephraim,  and 
then,  over  the  Jordan,  to  Perea,  and  yet  He  was,  now,  de- 
liberately walking  into  the  very  jaws  of  danger.  They  had 
marched  steadily  southwards  through  the  woody  highlands 
of  Gilead  ;  had  passed  the  rushing  waters  of  the  Jabbok 
and  its  tributaries,  and  had,  for  a  moment,  seen,  once  more, 
the  spot  where  John  had  closed  his  mission.  The  distant 
mountains  of  Machaerus  now  threw  their  shadows  over  their 
route,  and,  everywhere,  the  recollections  of  the  great  herald 
of  their  ]Master  met  them.  Mount  Xebo,  where  Moses  was 
buried,  and  the  range  of  Attaroth,  where  John's  mutilated 
corpse  had  been  laid  to  rest,  were  within  sight.  Every  thing 
in  the  associations  of  the  journey  was  solemn,  and  they  knew 
their  national  history  too  well  not  to  fear  that,  for  Jesus,  to 
enter  Jerusalem,  would  be  to  share  the  sad  fate  of  the  pro- 
phets of  old,  whom  it  had  received  only  to  murder.  It  was 
clear  that  there  could  be  but  one  issue,  and  no  less  so  that 
He  was  voluntarily  going  to  His  death.  The  calm  reso- 
lution with  Avhich  He  thus  cari'ied  out  His  purpose  awed 
them;  for,  so  far  from  showing  hesitation.  He  walked  at 
their  head,  while  they  could  only  follow  with  excited 
alarm. 

Yet,  their  ideas  were  still  confused,  and  the  hope  that 


382  THE   LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

CHAP.  MY.  things  might  result  very  difFercntly,  still  alternated  with 
their  fears.  The  old  dream  of  an  earthly  kingdom  still 
clung  to  them,  and  they  fancied  that,  though  Jesus  might 
expect  to  be  killed  in  the  rising  of  the  nation  which  He 
Avould,  perhaps,  bring  about  at  the  approaching  feast,  He 
might  be  more  fortunate,  and  live  to  establish  a  great  Mes- 
sianic monarchy. 

To  dissipate  such  an  illusion.  He  had  already  told  them, 
twice,  exactly  what  was  before  Him ;  but  to  prepare  them, 
if  possible,  for  the  shock  -which  the  sad  realization  of  His 
words  was  so  soon  to  bring.  He  once  more  reca2:)itulated, 
with  greater  minuteness  than  ever,  what  He  knew,  with 
divine  certainty,  awaited  His  entrance  into  Jerusalem. 

"  Behold,"  said  He,  "  we  are  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and 

the  Son  of  Man  will  be  delivered  to  the  chief  priests  and 

'  Mattoo.        scribes,  and  they  will  condemn  Him  to  death  " ^" — they,  and 

Luke'is'^'^''^^  others;  for,  as  heads  of  the  Old  Kingdom  of  God,  now 

^^"^*"         corrupt  and  dying,  they  had  rejected  Him — "  and  they  will 

deliver   Him  to  the  Romans,  to  mock,  and  scourge,   and 

crucify,  but  the  third  day  He  shall  rise  again." 

How  hard  it  is  to  uproot  strong  prepossessions  was  shown 
within  a  few  hours.  In  spite  of  such  repeated  warnings, 
not  only  the  Twelve,  but  the  others  who  followed  Him,  did 
not  understand  what  He  meant.  It  is  easy  for  us  to  do  so, 
after  the  event;  but  to  anticipate  the  explanation  thus 
given  must  have  been  weU-nigh  impossible  to  minds  pre- 
occupied with  ideas  so  radically  opposed  to  it. 

The  mention  of  thrones,  as  in  reversion' for  the  Twelve  at 
"  the  Coming  "  of  their  IMaster  in  His  glory,  had  neutralized 
the  announcement  of  His  death.  His  open  triumph  was  ex- 
pected as  very  near  at  hand  ;  His  death  they  did  not  under- 
stand, and  could  not  reconcile  with  His  other  statements, 
for,  indeed,  they  did  not  wish  to  do  so. 

Dreams  of  ambition,  thus  kindled,  had  risen,  especially  in 
the  minds  of  James  and  John,  who,  with  Peter,  were  the 
most  honoured  of  the  Apostles.  They  had  been  in  a  better 
social  position  than  most  of  their  brethren,  and,  ■with 
Salome,  their  mother,  had  given  all  they  had,  freely,  to  the 
cause  of  their  ]\Iaster.     Ashamed,  themselves,  to  tell  Him 


AN   AMBITIOUS   DREAM.  383 

their  thouglits,  tliey  availed  themselves  of  Salome,  whom,    chap,  liv. 
perhaps,   He  might  the  more  readily  hear,    as  older  than 
they  ;  as  a  woman ;  perhaps  as  His  mother's  sister ;  and  as 
one  who  had  shown  herself,  like  her  sons,  His  true  friend. 

She  now  came,  therefore,  witli  them,  in  secret,  and,  fall- 
ing: on  her  knees,  as  was  tlie  custom  where  reverence  Avas  in- 
tended,  and  as  was  especially  due  to  one  whom  she  regarded 
as  the  future  great  ]\Iessianic  King — told  Him  she  came  to 
ask  a  surpassing  favour.^"  "What  is  it?"  asked  Jesus. «  Matt.^20.^^^ 
"Say,"  answered  she,  "that  these,  my  two  sons,  may  sit,  i»-33-«- 
like  the  chief  ministers  of  other  kings,  on  the  first  step  of 
Thy  throne,  at  Thy  feet,  on  Thy  right  hand  and  Thy  left, 
when  Thovi  settest  up  the  Kingdom." 

So  different,  as  yet,  were  the  two  men  from  what  they 
were  afterwards  to  become,  when  they  had  drunk  more 
deeply  of  their  Master's  spirit ! 

"  You  do  not  understand  what  your  request  implies," 
answered  Jesus.  "  The  highest  place  in  my  Kingdom  can 
only  be  gained  by  drinking  the  cup  of  sore  trial,  of  which  I, 
myself,  shall  drink  presently,  and  enduring  the  same  fierce 
baptism  of  sorrow  and  suffering,  even  to  death,  in  which  I 
am  to  be  plunged.  Do  j-ou  think  you  are  able  to  bear  all 
that  ? '.' 

In  simple  true-heartedness,  both  answered,  at  once,  that 
they  were. 

"  You  shall,  indeed,"  replied  Jesus,  "  drink  of  my  cup, 
and  be  baptized  with  the  same  baptism  as  I,  but,  in  my 
Kingdom,  no  honours  can  be  given  from  mere  favour,  as  in 
kingdoms  of  the  world.  Those  only  can  obtain  them  whose 
spiritual  gi-eatness  has  fitted  them,  for  them.  The  way  to 
secure  them  is  only  through  supreme  self-sacrifice  for  my 
sake,  and  they  are  given  by  my  Father  to  those  only  who 
are  thus  prepared  for  them.  For  such,  indeed,  they  are  pre- 
pared by  Him  already." 

John  and  James  had  striven  to  hide  their  selfish  and 
ambitious  request,  by  coming  to  Jesus  when  He  was  alone, 
but  the  Ten,  as  was  inevitable,  soon  heard  of  it,  and  were 
indignant  in  the  extreme  at  such  an  unworthy  attempt  to 
forestal  them  in  their  blaster's  favour.     Their  o\m  ambition. 


384  THE    LIFK    OF    CURIST. 

CHAP.  LR-.  at  best  only  suppi'cssed,  broke  out,  afresh,  in  a  fierce  storin 
of  jealous  passion.  Such  human  weakness  was  sadly  out  of 
place  at  any  time,  among  the  followers  of  the  meek  and 
lowly  Son  of  ]\Ian,  but  still  more  so,  now,  when  He  stood 
almost  under  the  shadow  of  the  cross,  and  it  must  have 
caused  Him  the  keenest  sorrow.  Calling  the  whole  Twelve, 
offenders  and  offended,  round  Him,  therefore,  He  pointed 
out  how  utterly  they  had  misapprehended  the  nature  of 
His  Kingdom,  notwithstanding  all  His  teaching  through  the 
1  Authorities:   past  ycars."^ 

BibeLLex.  "  You  arc  disputing  about  precedence  in  my  Kingdom," 
i"24!'Ketaa  s^ld  Hc,  "  as  If  it  were  like  the  kingdoms  of  the  world.  Once 
^i^s!"  Haus-  more,  let  me  tell  you  that  it  is  wholly  different.  The  kings 
383. '390.  '     of  the  heathen  nations  around  us  lord  it  over  their  subjects, 

Schenkel'8  •"  ' 

buisJc"'  ^iitl  their  magnates,  under  tliem,  exercise  authority  often 
maS^  more  imperiously  than  their  chiefs.  But  it  is  very  different 
425.  NeW-'   in  mv  Kinsrdom,  and  a  very  different  spirit  must  find  place 

man's  Ser-  ./  o  '  »'  J-  J- 

i?.°3T6:'i.fG5' among  you,  its  dignitaries.  He  who  wishes  to  be  great  in 
s?rm^'""^  that  Kingdom  can  only  be  so  by  becoming  the  servant  of 
the  others ;  and  he  who  wishes  the  very  highest  rank,  can 
only  be  so  by  becoming  their  slave."  You  may  see  that  it 
must  be  so  from  my  own  case,  your  King  and  Head — for  I, 
the  Son  of  Man,  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  as  other 
kings  are,  but  to  serve,  and  to  give  up  even  my  life  as  a 
ransom  for  many." 

The  upland  pastures  of  Perea  were  now  behind  them, 
and  the  road  led  down  to  the  sunken  channel  of  the  Jordan, 
and  the  "divine  district"^  of  Jericho.  This  small  but  rich 
plain  was  the  most  luxuriant  spot  in  Palestine.  Sloping 
gently  upwards  from  the  level  of  the  Dead  Sea,  1,350  feet 
under  the  Mediterranean,  to  the  stern  background  of  the 
hills  of  Quarantana,  it  had  the  climate  of  Lower  Egypt,  and 
displayed  the  vegetation  of  the  tropics.  Its  fig-trees  were 
pre-eminently  famous  :  it  was  unique  in  its  groves  of  palms 
of  various  kinds :  its  croj)s  of  dates  were  a  jwoverb  :  the 
babam-plant,  which  gi'ew  principally  here,  furnished  a 
costly  perfume,  and  was  in  great  repute  for  healing  wounds: 
maize  yielded  a  double  harvest :  wheat  ripened  a  whole 
month  earlier  than  in  Galilee,  and  innumerable  bees  found  a 


JERICHO.  385 

Paradise  in  the  many  aromatic  flowers  and  plants,  not  a  few   chap,  liy. 
unknown  elsewhere,  Avhich  filled  the  air  with  odours,  and 
the  landscape  with  beauty. 

Rising  like  an  amphitheatre  from  amidst  this  luxuriant 
scene,  lay  Jericho,  the  chief  place  east  of  Jerusalem — at 
seven  or  eight  miles  distance  from  the  Jordan — on  swelling 
slopes,  seven  hundred  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  river,  from 
which  its  gardens  and  groves,  thickly  interspersed  with 
mansions,  and  covering  seventy  furlongs  from  north  to 
south,  and  twenty  from  east  to  west,  were  divided  by  a 
sti'ip  of  wilderness.--  The  town  had  had  an  eventful  history.  =  sepp,v.393. 
Once  the  stronghold  of  the  Canaanites,  it  was  still,  in  the 
days  of  Christ,  surrounded  by  towers  and  castles.  Thrax 
and  Taurus,  two  of  them,  at  the  entrance  of  the  city,  lay  in 
ruins  since  the  time  of  Pomj^ey,  but  the  old  citadel  Dock 
still  stood — dark  with  the  recollection  that  its  heroic  builder 
Simon  Maccabaius,  and  his  two  sons,  had  been  murdered  in 
its  chambers.  Kypros,  the  last  fortress  built  by  Herod  the 
Great,  who  had  called  it  after  his  mother,  rose  white  in  the 
sun  on  the  south  of  the  town.  The  palace  of  the  Asmonean 
kings  towered  amidst  gardens ;  but  it  had  been  deserted 
by  royalty  since  the  evil  genius  of  her  house,  Alexandra, 
the  mother-in-law  of  Herod,  and  mother  of  Mariamne,  had 
lived  in  it.  The  great  palace  of  Herod,  in  the  far-famed 
gi'oves  of  pahns,  had  been  plundered  and  burned  down  in 
the  tumults  that  followed  his  death,  but  in  its  place  a  still 
grander  structure,  built  by  Archelaus,  had  risen  amidst  stUl 
finer  gardens,  and  more  copious  and  delightful  streams.  A 
grand  theatre  and  spacious  circus,  built  by  Herod,  scanda- 
lized the  Jews,  not  less  by  their  unholy  amusements  than 
by  the  remembrance  that  the  elders  of  the  nation  had  been 
shut  up  in  the  latter  by  the  dying  tyrant,  to  be  cut  down  at 
his  death  in  revenge  for  the  hatred  borne  him.  Nor  was  the 
murder  of  the  young  Asmonean,  Aristobulus,  in  the  great 
pools  which  surrounded  the  old  Asmonean  palace,  forgotten ; 
nor  the  time  when  Cleopatra  had  wrung  the  rich  oasis  from 
the  hands  of  Herod,  by  her  spell  over  her  lover,  Antony.  A 
great  stone  aqueduct  of  eleven  arches  brought  a  copious 
supply  of  water  to  the  city,  and  the  Roman  military  road 

VOL.  II.  64 


386 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


tion  is  taken 
from  Winer, 
Herzog, 
Smith, 
Schenkel, 
Eohr,  Haus- 
rath,  Keim, 
and  others. 


ran  tlirough  it.  The  houses  themselves,  however,  though 
shoAvy,  were  not  substantial,  but  were  built  mostly  of  sun- 
dried  brick,  like  those  of  Egypt;  so  that  now,  as  in  the 
similar  cases  of  Babylon,  Nineveh,  or  Egypt,  after  long 
a  This  descrip-  desolatiou  hardly  a  trace  of  them  remains.'^^ 

A  great  multitude  accompanied  Jesus  as  He  drew  near 
Jericho — pilgrims,  on  foot,  or  on  asses,  or  camels ;  who  had 
come  from  all  the  side  passes,  and  cross  roads,  of  Perea  and 
Galilee.  They  met  at  this  central  point  to  go  up  to  the 
Passover,  at  Jerusalem :  not  a  few  with  an  eye  to  the  trade 
driven  so  briskly  in  the  Holy  city  at  this  season,  with 
foreign  pilgrims, — as  well  as  for  devotion. 

Near  the  gate  of  the  town  one  of  the  last  miracles  of  our 
Lord  was  performed.  All  the  roads  leading  to  Jerusalem, 
like  the  Temple  itself,  were  much  frequented  at  the  times 
of  the  feasts,  by  beggars,  who  reaped  a  special  harvest  from 
the  charity  of  the  pilgrims. 

Blindness  is  specially  frequent  in  the  East.  While  in 
northern  Europe  there  is  only  one  blind  in  a  thousand,  in 
Egypt  there  is  one  in  every  hundred ;  indeed,  very  few 
persons  there  have  their  eyes  quite  healthy.  The  great 
changes  of  temperature  at  different  times  of  the  day,  especi- 
ally between  day  and  night,  cause  inflammation  of  the  eyes, 
as  well  as  of  other  parts,  both  in  Palestine  and  on  the  Lower 
Nile  ;  while  neglect  and  stupid  prejudice,  refusing  or  slight- 
ing remedies  in  the  earlier  stages,  lead  to  blindness  in  many 
cases  that  otherwise  might  have  been  easily  cured.-^ 

Among  the  beggai's  who  had  gathered  on  the  sides  of  the 
road  at  Jericho  were  two  who  had  thus  lost  their  sight :  one 
of  whom  only,  by  name  Bar-Timajus,^  for  some  special 
reason,  is  particularly  noticed  by  two  of  the  Gospels,  in  the 
incident  that  foUowed.^^ 

They  had   probably  heard   of  the   cure,    at   Jerusalem, 


2*  BibelLex., 
Art. 
"Blindheit. 


Matt.  20. 
29—34.  Mark 
10.  4e— 62. 
Luke  18. 

35-43;  19.1.  gf  ^\^q  vti&u  wlio  had  been  born  blind,  and  learning  now 


from  the  crowd  that  the  great  wonder-worker  was  passing 
by,  at  once  appealed  to  Him  as  the  Son  of  David — the 
Messiah — to  have  mercy  on  them.  The  multitude  tried  in 
vain  to  silence  them :  they  only  cried  the  louder.  At  last, 
Jesus  came  near,  and,  standing  still,  commanded  them  to  be 


ZACCH^us,  387 

brought.  In  a  moment  their  upper  garment,  which  would  chap,  liv. 
have  hindered  them,  was  cast  aside,  and,  leaping  up,  they 
stood  before  Him  with  their  artless  tale  ;  that  they  believed 
He  could  open  their  eyes,  and  they  prayed  He  Avould  do  so. 
A  touch  sufficed :  immediately  their  eyes  received  sight 
again,  and  they  joined  in  the  throng  that  followed  their 
Healer. 

Jericho  was  a  Levitical  city,  and  hence  the  residence  of  a 
gi'eat  many  priests :  its  position  as  the  centre  of  an  excep- 
tionally productive  district,  and  also  of  the  import  and 
export  trade  between  the  two  sides  of  the  Jordan,  made  it, 
also,  a  city  of  publicans.  It  had  much  the  same  place  in 
Southern  Palestine  as  Capernaum — the  centre  of  the  trade 
between  the  sea-coast  and  the  northern  interior,  as  far  as 
Damascus — held  in  GaUlee.  The  transit  to  and  fro  of  so 
much  wealth  brought  ANath  it  proportionate  woi-k  and  har- 
vest for  the  farmers  of  the  revenue.  Hence,  a  strong  force 
of  customs  and  excise  collectors  was  stationed  in  it,  under  a 
local  head,  named  Zacchajus,  whom,  in  our  day,  we  might 
have  called  a  commissioner  of  customs.  In  a  system  so 
oppressive  and  arbitrary  as  the  Roman  taxation,  the  inhabit- 
ants must  have  suiFered  heavily  at  the  hands  of  such  a  com- 
plete organization.  To  be  friendly  with  any  of  their  number 
was  not  the  way  to  secure  the  favour  of  the  people  at  large. 

Zacchteus,  especially,  was  disliked  and  despised,  for,  though 
a  Jew,  he  had  grown  rich  by  an  infamous  profession, 
and  was,  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow-townsmen,  not  only  an 
extortioner,  but,  by  his  serving  the  Romans,  a  traitor  to 
his  race,  and  to  their  invisible  king,  Jehovah.  His  personal 
character,  moreover,  seems  to  have  been  bad,  for  he  owned 
to  Jesus  that  he  had,  at  least  in  some  cases,  wrung  money 
from  his  fellow-townsmen  by  swearing  falsely  against  them 
before  the  magistrates. 

Jesus  had  seldom  passed  that  way,  and  hence  His  person 
was  little  knoAvn,  though  report  had  spread  His  name  widely. 
Among  others,  Zaccha?us  was  anxious  to  see  Him,-''  and,  » Luke  19.2-23. 
being  a  httle  man,  he  had  run  before  the  caravan  with  which 
Jesus  was  entering  the  to-mi,  and  had  taken  his  station 
in   one  of  the  ever-gi-een  fig-trees — a  sycamore — of  which 


388  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Liv.  some  grew  at  the  wayside,  of  great  size — a  few  even  fifty 
feet  in  circumference.  They  were  easy  to  climb,  from  their 
short  trunks  and  wide  branches,  forking  out  in  all  direc- 

"  Tristram,  399.  tlOUS.^'' 

He  had  never  seen  Jesus ;  but  he  was  not  the  less  known 
to  Him,  and  must  have  been  astounded  when  the  Great 
Teacher,  as  He  passed  the  spot,  looked  up,  and,  addressing 
him  byname,  told  him  to  make  haste  and  come  down,  as  He 
"  John  1. 39.  intended  to  be  his  guest  that  night.^^  A  divine  jjurpose  of 
mercy,  as  yet  kno'svn  to  Jesus  alone,  had  determined  this 
self-invitation.  Though  all  others  shunned  the  chief  of  the 
publicans  as  specially  disreputable,  he  was  chosen  in  loving 
pity  by  Jesus,  as  His  host.  The  word  was  enough :  in  an 
instant  he  was  on  the  ground,  and  pressingly  welcomed 
Christ  to  his  hospitality.  That  he,  the  hated  and  despised 
one,  should  have  been  thus  favoured,  in  a  moment  won  his 
heart,  and  waked  the  impulse  of  a  new  and  better  life ;  but 
it  also  raised  the  hostile  feeling  of  the  multitude.  Voices 
on  every  side  were  heard  murmuring  that  "  He  was  gone,  in 
defiance  of  the  Law,  and  of  pul)lic  feeling  and  patriotic  duty, 
to  lodge  with  the  chief  publican." 

They  little  knew  the  mighty  change  His  having  done  so 
had,  in  a  moment,  wrought  in  a  soul  hitherto  degraded  and 
lost,  not  less  by  an  ignoble  life,  than  by  the  social  proscrip- 
tion which  barred  all  hope  of  self-recovery.  Christ  had 
completely  overcome  him,  for  He  had  treated  him  as  a  man, 
mth  respect,  and  shown  him  that  the  way  still  lay  open,  even 
to  him,  to  a  new  and  better  future.  The  two  had  meanwhile, 
apparently,  reached  the  court  of  Zacchajus'  house,  and  the 
crowd  pressed  closely  round  as  Jesus  was  about  to  enter  a 
dwelling,  the  threshold  of  which  no  respectable  Jew  would 
think  of  crossing.  He  was  braving  a  harsh  public  opinion, 
and  incurring  the  bitterest  hatred  of  the  JeAvish  religious 
leaders,  by  openly  disregarding  the  laws  of  ceremonial 
defilement,  and  by  treating  with  respect  one  whom  they 
denounced  as  accursed.  Zacchaeus  was  overpowered  with 
a  sense  of  the  unselfish  magnanimity  which  could  prompt 
such  treatment  of  one  who  had  no  claim  to  it.  He  would 
signalize  the  event  by  an  open  and  pubhc  vow.     Standing 


Bibel  Lex.  iv. 
295.    Eobert- 


A   HEART   WON.  389 

before  the  crowd,  therefore,  he  addressed  Christ — "  Lord,  I  chap,  liy. 
feel  deeply  the  honour  and  loving  service  you  do  me,  and 
I  hereby  vow  that  I  shall  give  one-half  of  my  goods  to  the 
poor,  to  show  how  much  I  thank  Thee.  And,  still  more,  if, 
as  I  lament  to  think  has  been  the  case,  I  have  ever  taken 
any  money  from  any  one  by  false  accusation,  I  promise  to 
repay  him  four-fold — the  highest  restitution  that  even 
Roman  law  demands  from  one  guilty  of  such  an  offence." 

"  This  day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house,"  said  Jesus,  as 
he   heard  such  words, ^^  "for  this  man — sinner  though  he=»Lanaand 

"  *^  Book,  22. 

be — is,  nevertheless,  a  son  of  Abraham,  and  now  shows  him-    fj'J^e's''; 'Utei 
self  humbled  and   penitent.     I  came  to  seek  and  to  save    schcnieis' 

IT..  1  11  1  CharaktP'- 

that  which  was  lost,  and  I  reioice  to  have  won  back  to  the    ww  197 

'  •>  Bibel  Le 

fold  of  God,  a  child  of  Israel,  who  had  wandered  so  far  from 

Him."     He  had  foreseen  the  whole  incident,  by  His  divine    "Ts."''"' 

.  in  .    .  ^  1  Schleier- 

power,  and  calmly  ignored  all  recognition  01  caste  or  class    ™^'=^"^^^  .j. 
when  a  human  soul  was  to  be  won.  ul^ii.^'^is- 

"  Before  you  leave,"  He  continued,  still  addressing  the  ™■'^'•^''^• 
crowd  in  the  court-yard,  or  outside  it,  "  let  me  tell  you  a 
parable.  I  know  what  is  in  your  thoughts.  You  see  that 
I  am  near  Jerusalem,  and  suppose  I  shall  take  advantage  of 
the  Passover,  when  such  vast  throngs  of  Jews  are  in  the  holy 
city,  to  proclaim  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  in  the  way 
you  expect,  by  insurrection  and  force.  Let  me  set  before 
you  the  truth." 

With  that  marvellous  power  of  turning  every  incident  to 
practical  account  which  marked  His  teaching,  he  proceeded 
to  repeat  a  parable  borrowed,  in  many  particulars,  from  facts 
in  their  recent  or  passing  national  history.^"     Archelaus  had  »  Bamngarten, 

J-  O  J  2G8.    Schiirer, 

set  out  for  Rome,  most  likely  from  Jericho  itself,  not  many    227^  Hj^f; 
years  before,  to  obtain  investiture  in  the  kingdom  left  to    IS'n^f^' 
him  by  the  mil  of  his  fother  Herod,  and  the  Jews  had  sent    Tho'cJm-  ' 
a  fruitless  embassy  after  him,  to  prevent  his  obtaining  it.     ''•'«• 
All  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Herod  had,  indeed,  been  only 
vassals  of  Rome,  and  had  had  to  go  to  the  imperial  cit}-,  in 
each  case,  to  seek  their  kingdom  as  a  gift  from  the  Roman 
senate. 

"  A  certain  man,"  said  He,  "  of  noble  birth,  Avent  to  a 
distant  country  to  receive  for  himself  the  dignity  of  king 


390  THE  LITE   OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Liv.  over  bis  former  fellow-citizens,  and  then  to  return.  Before 
doing  so,  he  called  ten  of  his  servants,  from  Avhom,  as  such,  he 
had  the  right  to  expect  the  utmost  care  for  his  interests  in 
his  absence.  He  jn'oposed,  in  his  secret  mind,  to  entrust 
them  with  a  small  responsibility,  by  their  discharge  of  which 
he  could  judge,  when  he  returned,  of  their  fitness  and  worthi- 
ness to  be  put  into  positions  of  greater  consideration;  for  he 
washed  to  choose  from  them  his  futui-e  chief  officers. 

"  In  the  meantime  he  gave  them,  each,  only  a  mina,  one 
hundred  drachma^,^  and  said  to  them,  '  Trade  Avith  this,  on 
my  account,  till  I  return.'  If  they  proved  to  be  faithful  in 
this  small  matter,  he  would  be  able  to  advance  them  to 
higher  trusts. 

"It  haj)pened,  however,  that  he  was  so  unpopular,  that 
his  fellow-citizens,  in  their  hatred  of  him,  sent  an  embassy 
after  him  to  the  supreme  power,  complaining  against  him, 
and  contemptuously  declaring  that  they  would  not  have 
such  a  man  to  rule  over  them.  But  their  embassy  failed, 
for,  in  spite  of  it,  he  obtained  the  province,  and  was  appointed 
their  king. 

"On  his  return,  after  he  had  thus  received  the  government, 
he  ordered  the  servants  to  whom  he  had  given  the  money  to 
be  called  before  him,  that  he  might  know  what  each  had 
gained  by  trading.  The  first  came  and  said,  '  Lord,  thy 
mina  has  gained  ten.'  '  Well  done,  good  servant,'  replied 
his  master,  '  because  thou  wast  faithful  in  a  very  little, 
be  thou  governor  of  ten  cities.'  The  second  came,  saying, 
'  Lord,  thy  mina  has  gained  five.'  '  Be  thou  governor 
of  five  cities,'  replied  his  master.  But  another  came  and 
said,  '  Lord,  here  is  thy  mina,  I  have  kept  it  safely  tied  up 
in  a  napkin :  you  will  find  it  just  as  I  got  it.  I  did  not 
know  what  to  do  with  it,  and  I  was  afraid  of  thee ;  for  I  know 
you  are  a  hard  man  in  money  matters,  looking  for  great 
profits  where  you  have  laid  out  next  to  nothing, — taking 
up,  as  they  say,  what  you  had  not  put  down,  and,  if  needs 
be,  reaping  where  you  had  not  sown, — making  good  your 
loss,  if  there  w-ere  any,  at  his  expense  who  caused  it, — and  so, 
to  keep  myself  safe,  I  thought  it  best  to  run  no  risk  one  way 
or  other.' 


THE   TEN   TALENTS.  391 

" '  I  will  judge  you  out  of  your  o-mi  mouth,  wicked  ser-  chap.liy. 
vant,'  replied  his  master;  '  You  say  you  knew  I  Avas  a  hard 
man  in  money  matters,  seeking  gain  where  I  had  laid  no- 
thing out  to  secure  it,  and  reaping  where  others  have  sown, — 
why  then  did  you  not  at  least  give  my  money  to  some  exchan- 
ger to  use  at  his  table,  that  thus,  on  my  return,  I  might  have 
got  it  back  Avith  interest?'  Then,  turning  to  the  servants  stand- 
ing by,  he  continued,  'Take  from  him  the  mina,  and  give 
it  him  that  has  ten.'  '  He  has  ten  already,'  muttered  the 
servants,  half  afraid.  But  the  king  went  on  in  his  anger, 
without  heeding  them, — '  I  teU  you  that  to  every  one  who 
shows  his  fitness  to  ser\-e  me,  by  haAdng  ah'eady  increased 
what  I  at  first  gave  him,  I  shall  give  more ;  but  I  shall  take 
away  what  I  first  gave,  from  him,  who,  by  adding  nothing 
to  it,  has  proved  his  unfitness  to  use  what  might  be  put  in 
his  hands.' 

"  '  As  to  my  enemies,  Avho  did  not  wish  me  to  reign  over 
them,  bring  them  hither,  and  put  them  to  death  in  my 
presence.'  " 

The  lessons  of  the  parable  could  hardly  be  misunderstood. 
To  the  Jewish  people,  who  would  not  receive  Him  as  the 
Messiah,  they  spoke  in  words  of  warning  alarm ;  but  the 
TAvelve,  themselves,  heard  a  solemn  caution.  They  had  each, 
in  being  selected  as  an  apostle,  received  a  sacred  trust,  to  be 
used  for  his  Master's  interests,  tiU.  the  coming  again  in  glory. 
Well  for  him,  who,  when  his  Lord  returned  to  judgment, 
could  give  a  good  account  of  his  stewardship  ;  woe  to  him 
who  had  neglected  his  trust!  Though  called  to  the  same 
honour  at  first  as  the  others,  as  an  apostle,  he  would  be 
stripped  of  his  rank,  and  receive  no  share  in  the  glory  and 
dignities  of  the  Messianic  kingdom.  As  to  the  Jews  Avho 
rejected  Him,  His  coming  would  be  the  signal  for  the  sorest 
judgments. 

Having  finished  his  brief  stay  in  Jericho,  Jesus  set  out, 
once  more,  on  his  journey  of  calm,  self-saci-ificing  love,  to 
Jerusalem,  going  on  before  the  multitude  in  his  grand  con- 
sciousness of  \dctory  beyond  thought.  Many  had  already 
gone  up  to  the  Holy  City,  for  not  a  few  needed  to  be  there 
some  time  before  the  feast,  to  pre2)are  themselves  to  take  part 


392  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Liv.    in  it,  by  purifications  necessary  from  various  causes.    Lepers, 
for  example,  -who  were  cured,  but  had  not  been  pronounced 

1  Ewaid,T.49i.  clean  by  the  priests,^^  and  many  others,  were  in  this  position. 

Great  numbers,  moreover,  doubtless  went  up  early,  for  pur- 

jioses  of  trade  Avith  the  first  arrivals  of  pilgrims  from  abroad. 

Meanwhile,  all  classes   alike,  in   Jerusalem,  discussed  the 

2  John  11.       probability  of  Christ's  coming  to  the  feast. ^^     The  excite- 

ment among  the  people  was  evident,  and  increased  the  alarm 
of  the  hierarchical  party,  for  how  could  they  withstand  Him, 
if  He  once  gained  general  popular  support  ?  The  advice  of 
Caiaphas  had,  therefoi-e,  been  accepted  as  the  policy  of  the 
party  at  large,  and  orders  had  been  issued  that  He  should  be 
arrested  at  once,  when  found.  It  was  even  required  that  any 
one  who  knew  where  He  was,  should  report  it,  with  a  view  to 
His  apprehension. 

In  the  midst  of  this  commotion,  Jesus  quietly  entered 
'John  12.1,  Bethany,^^  on  the  sixth  day  befoi-e  the  Passover.  It  was, 
however,  impossible  for  Him  to  remain  concealed.  The  neAvs 
passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  the  street  of  the  village 
soon  became  thronged  with  visitors,  who  came,  not  only  to 
see  Him,  but  to  see  Lazarus  also,  whom  they  heard  He  had 
raised  from  the  dead.  The  high  priests  began  to  question 
Avhether  they  could  not  manage  to  put  him,  also,  to  death. 
The  sight  of  him  was  winning  many  disciples  to  Jesus.  They 
would  try. 


PALM   SUNDAY. 


393 


CHAPTER    LV. 


PALM  SUNDAY. 


THE  long  caravan  of  pilgrims  that  had  accompanied  Jesus 
up  the  wild  gorge  of  the  Kedron,  from  Jericho,  had 
been  left  at  Bethany  ;  some  pressing  on  to  Jerusalem,  others 
striking  their  tents,  as  fiincy  pleased  them,  in  the  pleasant 
dell  below  the  village,  or  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  where  they  could  feast  their  eyes  with  a  sight  of 
Jerusalem.  It  was  the  eve  of  the  Sabbath,  and  that  night 
and  the  next  day  were  sacred.  The  journey  from  Jericho 
had  been  exhausting.  A  steep  and  narrow  bridle-path, 
threading  the  precipitous  defile,  had  been  the  only  road. 
It  was  the  scene  of  the  parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan. 
The  khan,  where  the  wounded  man  was  sheltered,  had  been 
passed  half  way.  Lonely  ascents,  between  bare  rocks,  ^nth 
the  worst  footing,  had  only  been  left  behind  when  Bethany 
and  Bethphage,^  on  the  eastern  spur  of  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
came  in  sight.  The  journey  was  over  before  three  in  the 
afternoon,  for  it  was  the  rule  to  have  three  hours  of  rest 
before  the  Sabbath  began,  at  six.  In  Bethany  Jesus  was  at 
home.  It  was  the  village  of  Lazarus,  and  Martha,  and 
Mary.  The  fifteen  miles  from  Jericho  had  been  a  continual 
climb  of  over  three  thousand  feet,  but  He  could  now  rest 
with  His  friends,  through  the  Sabbath.^  Before  the  next  He  : 
would  be  crucified.     And  He  knew  it. 

This  glimpse  of  sweet  rest  over — the  last  He  would  enjoy 
before  the  awful  end ;   the  first  act  in  the  great  tragedy — 
His  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem^ — fitly  led  the  way  to  3 
the  great  consummation. 

In  these  last  months  He   had  more  and  more  oponl}'  as- 
sumed the  supreme  dignity  of  Messiah.     "With  wise  caution 


>  Mfttt.51.1— 11, 
14—17.    Mark 
n.  I— II. 
Luke  19. 
2!l — 14.    Jolin 
12.  16—18. 


Friday  sunset 
to  Saturday 
sunset,  9th 
Nisan  (30—31 
March). 


Saturday  sun- 
set to  Sunday 
sunset,  loth 
Nisan  (31st 
March  and  1st 
April). 


394 


THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


F.  C.  Baur,  38 
Baunigarten, 
294. 


He  had  at  first  refrained  from  a  sudden  proclamation  of  His 
office,  and  had  carefully  shunned  jjopular  excitement  even 
by  the  publication  of  His  miracles;  that  His  words — which 
were  the  true  seed  of  His  kingdoni — might  get  time  to  root 
themselves,  and  bear  fruit  among  the  people,  before  the  in- 
evitable opposition  of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  brought 
His  work  to  a  close.  He  had  never,  however,  refused  the 
title  when  given  Him,  or  the  honours,  from  time  to  time 
paid  Him  as  the  Christ.  He  had  even  revealed  Himself  to 
the  woman  of  Samaria,  to  the  Apostles,  first,  on  the  Sea  of 
Galilee,  and  afterwards,  with  impressive  solemnity,  at  Cossarea 
Philippi ;  and,  latterly,  more  than  once,  to  His  enemies,  as 
the  Head  of  the  New  Kingdom  of  God.  But,  as  yet.  He  had 
made  no  public,  or,  as  it  Avere,  oflftcial  declaration  of  His  claims 
and  rights  as  the  Messiah,  and  till  this  was  done,  there  still 
wanted  a  formal  proclamation  of  His  kingdom  before  Israel 
and  the  world.  Till  it  had  been  done,  moreover,  the 
heads  of  the  moribund  theocracy  could  not  be  said  to  have 
had  the  choice  openly  given  them,  as  the  representatives  of 
the  religious  past,  to  accept  Him  as  the  Messiah,  or  definitely 
to  reject  Him. 

He  had,  therefore,  determined,  with  calm  deliberation, 
and  consciousness  of  what  it  involved,  to  enter  Jerusalem 
pubhcly,  Avith  such  circumstance  as  would  openly  an- 
nounce His  claim  to  be  the  Messiah.  He  Avould  also 
perform  specific  ]\Iessianic  acts,  in  the  very  citadel  of 
the  theocracy,  and  \inder  the  eyes  of  the  haughty,  and 
yet  alarmed,  hierarch}-.*  He  would  enter  as  a  king,  but, 
as  the  Prince  of  Peace,  giving  no  real  pretence  for  any 
charge  of  political  design,  but  clearly,  as  king  only  in  a 
spiritual  sense.  He  had  no  longer  any  reason  to  conceal 
from  the  authorities  whom  He  really  was,  and  felt  Himself 
to  be. 

The  companies  of  pilgrims  from  the  various  towns  and 
districts  of  Palestine,  or  from  Jewish  settlements  abroad, 
were  wont  to  make  public  entries  into  the  city  before 
the  great  feasts.  Such  an  entry  Jesus  would  make  ;  Him- 
self its  central  figure.  It  would  be  a  day  of  joy  and  glad- 
ness to  Himself  and  to  others,  as  Avhen  a  king  enters  on  his 


JEWISH   ROYALTY. 


395 


kingdom.  He  would  no  longer  check  the  popular  feeling 
in  His  favour.  His  last  entry  to  the  Holy  City,  at  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles,  had  been  designedly  secret ;  but  this 
should  be  in  exact  contrast,  for  He  knew  that  His  kingly 
work  was  now  over,  so  far  as  He,  Himself,  could  complete  it, 
and  the  enthusiasm  of  willing  consecration  to  death,  as  His 
path  to  eternal  triumph,  filled  Him  with  a  serene  and  vic- 
torious joy.  Misconception  of  His  claim  would  be  impos- 
sible in  honest  minds,  in  the  face  of  facts.  Israel  should 
now  see  Him  come  openly,  as  He,  who,  alone,  if  they  frankly 
accepted  Him,  could  save  them,  by  leading  them  as  a 
nation,  to  true  repentance,  and  a  higher  spiritual  life.  He 
knew,  beforehand,  that  they  would  not,  but  His  work  could 
not  be  said  to  be  completely  ended  till  He  had  given  them 
and  their  leaders  this  last  public  opportunity. 

Hitherto  He  had  entered  the  Holy  City  on  foot ;  this  day 
He  would  do  so  as  David  and  the  Judges  of  Israel  were 
wont — riding  on  the  specially  Jewish  ass.  Nor  must  we 
think  of  Western  associations  in  connection  with  the  name. 
In  the  East,  the  ass  is  in  high  esteem.  Statelier,  livelier, 
swifter  than  Avith  us,  it  vies  with  the  horse  in  favour. 
Among  the  Jews  it  was  equally  valued  as  a  beast  of  burden; 
for  work  in  the  field  or  at  the  mill ;  and  for  riding.  In  con- 
trast to  the  horse,  which  had  been  introduced  by  Solomon, 
from  Egypt,  and  was  used  especially  for  war,  it  was  the 
spnbol  of  peace.^  To  the  Jew  it  was  peculiarly  national,  5 
for  had  not  Moses  led  his  wife,  seated  on  an.  ass,  to  Egypt; 
had  not  the  Judges  ridden  on  white  asses;  and  was  not  the 
ass  of  Abraham,  the  friend  of  God,  noted  in  Scri2)ture? 
Every  Jew,  moreover,  expected,  from  the  words  of  one  of 
the  prophets,  that  the  Messiah  would  enter  Jerusalem, 
poor,  and  riding  on  an  ass.''  No  act  could  be  more  per- « 
fectly  in  keeping  Avith  the  conception  of  a  king  of  Israel,  and 
no  words  could  express  more  plainly  that  that  king  pro- 
claimed Himself  the  Messiah." 

On  the  early  morning  of  Sunday,  the  tenth  of  Xisan — the 
Jewish  ^londay,  therefore — Jesus  and  the  Twelve  left  their 
hospitable  shelter  at  Bethany,  and  passed  out  to  the  little 
valley  beneath,  with  its  clusters  of  fig,  almond,  and  olive  trees. 


Stanley's 
Jewish  Ch. 
i.  94. 


Zcch.  9.  9. 
Talmad  in 
ELsenmengfr. 


396 


THE   lilFE   OF   CHRIST. 


soon  to  burst  into  leaf;  and  its  evor-green  palms.  Some- 
where near  lay  the  larger  village  of  Bethphagc  ;  like  Bethany, 
so  close  to  Jerusalem  as  to  be  reckoned,  in  the  Rabbinical  law, 
a  part  of  it.  Secret  disciples,  such  as  the  five  hundred  who 
afterwards  gathered  to  one  spot  in  Galilee,  and  the  hundred 
and  twenty  who  met,  after  the  resurrection,"  in  the  upper 
room  in  the  Holy  City,  were  scattered  in  many  places.  At 
least  one  such  lived  in  Bethphage.  Jesus,  therefore,  now 
sent  two  disciples  thither ;  telling  them  that,  immediately 
on  entering  it,  they  would  find  a  she  ass  tied,  and  her  colt 
standing  by  her.  "Loose  and  bring  them  to  me,"  said  He, 
"and  if  any  one  make  a  remark,  say  that  the  Lord  needs  them, 
and  he  Avill  send  them  at  once."  His  supernatural  power  had 
rightly  directed  them.  The  ass  and  its  colt  were  found,  and 
the  ready  permission  of  their  owner — no  doubt  a  disciple 
— was  obtained  at  once,  for  their  being  taken  for  His  use.* 

Meanwhile,  it  had  reached  Jerusalem  that  He  was  about  to 
enter  it,  and  great  numbers  of  the  Galila?an  pilgrims,  proud  of 
Him  as  a  prophet  from  their  own  district,  forthwith  set  out 
to  meet  and  escort  Him,  cutting  fronds,  as  they  came,  from  the 
palm-trees  that  then  lined  the  path,^  to  do  Him  honour. 
5  The  disciples  showed  equal  enthusiasm,  and  it  was  forthwith 
caught  by  the  crowds  around — for  the  whole  open  ground 
near  the  city  was  filled  with  pilgrims  at  this  season.  The 
former  hastily  threw  their  abbas  on  the  back  of  the  colt,  to 
deck  it  for  their  Master,  and  set  Him  on  it,  the  mother  walk- 
ing at  its  side ;  and  the  latter,  not  to  be  behind,  spread  theirs 
on  the  road,  or  cut  off  the  young  sprouts  from  the  trees,  and 
strewed  them  before  Him.  So,  myrtle  twigs  and  robes  had 
been  strewn  by  their  ancestors  before  Mordecai,  when  he  came 

'«  Targ.  Esther  forth  froui  tlic  palacc   of  Ahasuerus,^"  and  so  the  Persian 
army  had  honoured  Xerxes,  when  about  to  cross  the  Helles- 

"  Heroa.vii.54.  pout,^^  and  so  it  is  still  sometimes  done  in  Palestine,  as  a 

«  Fnrrer,  Wan-  mark  of  SDccial  houour.^^ 

derimgen,  88.  -^ 

There  were  three  paths  over  the  ]\Iount  of  Olives — on  the 
north,  in  the  hollow  between  the  two  crests  of  the  hill ; 
next,  over  the  summit ;  and  on  the  south,  between  the 
Mount  of  Olives  and  the  Hill  of  Offence — still  the  most 
frequented   and    the    best.      Along  this    Jesus    advanced, 


Sepp,  V.  43C 
Schieier- 
macher's 
Predigten,  i 
Bibel  Lex.  i 


PALM   SUNDAY.  397 

preceded  and  followed  1)}'  multitudes,  -vvitli  loud  cries  of    chap^lv. 

rejoicing,   as  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  when  the  great 

HaUeP^  was  daily  sung  in  their  processions.      With  the  "  p3.  113.  i-s. 

improvisatorial  turn  of  the  East,  their   acclamations  took 

a  rhythmical  form,  which  was  long  sung  in  the  early  Church, 

as  the  first  Christian  hymn.^^  "  EwaM,G<!sch. 

"  Give  (Thou)  the  triumph,   (0  Jehovah),  to  the  Son 
of  David ! 

Blessed  be  the  kingdom  of  our  Father  David,  now  to 
be  restored  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  ! 

Blessed  be  He  that  cometh — the  King  of  Israel — in  the 
name  of  Jehovah  ! 

Our  peace  and  salvation    (now  coming)  are  from  God 
above ! 

Praised  be  He  in  the  highest  heavens  (for  sending  them 
by  Him,  the  Son  of  David)  ! 

From  the  highest  heavens,  send  Thou,  now,  salvation  !" 
It  was  a  triumph  in  wondrous  contrast  with  that  of 
earthly  monarchs.  Xo  spoils  of  toAvns  or  villages  adorned  it, 
no  trains  of  captives  destined  to  slavery  or  death  ;  the  spoil 
of  His  sword  and  His  spear  were  seen  only  in  trophies  of 
healing  and  love,  for  the  lame  whom  He  had  cured  ran 
before,  the  dumb  sang  His  praises,  and  the  blind,  sightless 
no  longer,  crowded  to  gaze  on  their  benefactor.  The 
Pharisees  among  the  multitude  in  vain  tried  to  silence  the 
acclamations.  In  their  mortification  they  even  turned  to 
Jesus  Himself,  to  ask  that  He  should  rebuke  those  who  made 
them.  "  Xo,"  replied  He,  "  I  tell  you  that,  if  these  should 
hold  their  peace,  the  very  stones  will  cry  out." 

As  they  approached  the  shoulder  of  the  hiU,  where  the 
road  bends  downwards  to  the  noi'th,  the  sparse  vegetation 
of  the  eastern  slope  changed,  as  in  a  moment,  to  the  rich 
green  of  gardens  and  trees,  and  Jerusalem  in  its  glory  rose 
before  them.  It  is  hard  for  us  to  imagine,  now,  the  splendour 
of  the  view.  The  City  of  God,  seated  on  her  hills,  slione  at 
the  moment  in  the  morning  sun.  Straight  before,  stretched 
the  vast  white  walls  and  buildings  of  the  Temple,  its  courts, 
glittering  with  gold,  rising  one  above  the  other ;  the  steep 
sides  of  the  hill  of  David  crowned  with  lofty  walls;  the  mighty 


398  THE   LIFR   OP   CHRIST. 

cHAKLv.  castles  towering  above  them  ;  the  sumptuous  palace  of  Herod 
in  its  green  parks,  and  the  picturesque  outlines  of  the  streets. 
Over  all  rested  the  spell  of  a  history  of  two  thousand  years ; 
of  a  present  which  craved  salvation  in  its  own  perverted 
way ;  and  the  mystic  Holy  of  Holies  linked  the  seen  to  the 
invisible.  The  crusaders,  long  centuries  after,  when  the 
only  glorj^  left  to  the  Holy  City  was  its  wondrous  memories, 
burst  out  into  a  loud  cry — Jerusalem !  Jerusalem  !  when 
they  first  saw  it,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Jew  could  not 
have  been  fainter.  The  shouts  and  rejoicing  rose  higher 
than  ever. 

The  whole  scene  was  overpowering,  even  to  Jesus  Himself 
He  was  crossing  the  ground  on  which,  a  generation  later, 
Jos.  BeR  Jud.  the  tenth  Roman  legion  would  be  encamped,^^  as  part  of 
8;t.i2.2.  the  besieging  force  destined  to  lay  all  the  splendour  before 
Him  in  ashes.  Knowing  the  future  as  He  did.  His  heart 
was  filled  with  indescribable  sadness,  for  He  was  a  patriot, 
and  man,  though  also  the  Son  of  God.  Looking  at  the 
spectacle  before  Him,  and  thinking  of  the  contrast  a  few  years 
would  show,  tears  burst  from  His  eyes,  and  His  disciples 
heard  Him  sa^^ng — "  Would  that  thou  hadst  known,  thou, 
Jerusalem,  in  this,  thy  day,  when  I  come,  who,  alone,  can 
bring  it — what  would  give  thee  peace  and  safety!  But 
now,  thou  seest  not  what  only  could  make  them  thine — the 
receiving  me  as  the  ]\Iessiali !  Days  Avill  come  upon  thee, 
when  thine  enemies  will  raise  a  mount  about  thee,  and 
compass  thee  round,  and  invest  thee  on  every  side,  and  level 
thee  Avith  the  ground,  and  bury  thy  children  under  thy 
ruins,  and  leave  not  one  stone  in  thee  upon  another,  because 
thou  knewest  not  the  time  when  God,  through  me,  offeredst 
thee  salvation ! " 

Sweeping  round  to  the  north,  the  road  approached  Jeru- 
salem by  the  bridge  over  the  Kedron  ;  to  reach  which  it  had 
to  pass  Gethsemane.  The  mjTiads  of  pilgrims  on  the  slopes 
of  Olivet,  and  the  crowd  at  the  eastern  wall  of  the  Temple, 
thus  saw  the  procession  winding  in  slow  advance,  till  it 
reached  the  gate,  now  St.  Stephen's,  through  which  Jesus 
passed  into  Betheza — the  new  town — riding  up  the  valley 
betAveen  it  and  Mount  Moriah,  through  narrow  streets,  hung 


INDIGNATION   OF  THE   AUTHOEITIES.  399 

with  flags  and  banners  for  the  feast,  and  croAA'ded,  on  the 
raised  sides,  and  on  every  roof,  and  at  every  Avindow,  with 
eager  faces.  "  Who  is  this?"  passed  from  lip  to  lip.  "It  is 
Jesus,  the  Prophet  of  Xazareth,  in  Galilee,"  shouted  back  the 
crowd  of  northern  pilgrims  and  disciples,  gloi-ying  in  the 
vindication  of  the  honour  of  their  province  before  the  proud 
and  contemptuous  sons  of  Jerusalem. 

Leaving  His  beast  and  entering  the  Temple,  which — 
having  ridden — He  could  do  without  preparation,  except 
that  of  removing  His  sandals,  though  the  crowd  with  Him,  if 
at  such  times  the  rules  Avere  enforced,  had  to  stop  behind  to 
cleanse  their  dusty  feet,  take  off  their  shoes,  or  sandals,  and 
lay  aside  their  walking  staves,  before  entering  a  place  so  holy, 
— He  took  possession  of  it  in  the  name  and  as  the  representa- 
tive of  Jehovah  its  Lord,  and  closed  the  wondrous  day  by  a 
calm  and  prolonged  survey  of  all  around.  Earnest,  sad,  indig- 
nant hours  thus  passed ;  but  even  they  were  filled  with  works 
of  pitying  goodness,  for  the  blind  and  the  lame  had  heard 
of  His  coming,  and  hastened  to  Him,  and  were  healed.  The 
courts  and  halls  of  the  Sacred  House — the  very  stronghold  of 
His  enemies,  re-echoed — to  their  intense  mortification,  with 
the  shouts  that  had  accompanied  His  entry  to  the  city,  for 
the  miracles  He  wrought  heightened  and  prolonged  the 
enthusiasm  till  the  very  children  joined  in  the  cry  of 
•'  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David  !  " 

"  Do  you  see  how  powerless  Ave  are  against  Him?"  muttered 
the  Pharisees ;   "  the  whole  people  have  gone  after  Him." 

His  bold  appearance  in  the  Temple  itself,  especially  filled 
the  priestly  dignitaries  and  Rabbis  A\ith  indignation,  all  the 
deeper  because  they  dared  not  arrest  Him  for  fear  of  the 
crowds,  even  when  noAv  in  their  very  hand.  That  the 
children  should  hail  Him  as  the  Messiah,  also  enraged  them. 
"  Hearest  thou  not  Avhat  these  say  ?"  asked  some  of  them. 
But,  instead  of  disaA'owing  the  supreme  honour  ascribed  to 
Him,  He  onlyreplied  that  He  did — "but, "  added  He,"ha\'e  ye 
never  read  in  your  oaa'u  Scriptures — '  Out  of  the  mouths  of 
babes  and  sucklings.  Thou  (Jehovah)  hast  perfected  praise,^*" " 
that  thou  mightest  put  to  shame  thine  enemies,  and  sUence 
thy  foes,  and  those  Avho  rage  against  Thee.'  "^ 


400  THE   LIFE   or   CHRIST. 

Never  was  His  presence  of  mind  and  quick  aptness  of 
retort  shown  more  strikingly. 

The  day  was  now  far  spent.  The  end  proposed  had  been 
abundantly  attained.  The  crowds  had  begun  to  retire,  after 
evening  prayers,  and  He,  too,  with  the  Twelve,  passed  out 
quietly  with  the  throng,  and  betook  Himself  once  more  to 
the  well-loved  cottage  at  Bethany. 

It  had  been  no  chance  coincidence  that  the  day  in  which 
He  had  thus  vii'tually  consecrated  Himself  to  death,  was 
that  on  Avhich  the  paschal  lamb  was  selected. 

It  is  easy  to  vxnderstand  the  statement  of  the  Gospels, 
that  neither  the  Twelve  nor  the  disciples  at  large  realized  at 
first  the  full  significance  of  what  had  happened.  In  later 
times,  however,  after  He  had  risen  and  ascended  to  heaven, 
its  full  grandeur  gradually  l)roke  on  them  as  they  discoursed 
again  and  again  on  the  whole  strange  history  through  which 
they  had  passed.  They  remembered,  then,  the  words  of  the 
prophet  Zechariah,  and  saw  how  the  triumphal  entry  in 
which  they  had  taken  part,  had  been  the  divinely  designed 
fulfilment  of  ancient  prophecy.^" 

The  entry  on  Palm  Sunday,  though,  for  the  moment,  a 
bitter  mortification  to  the  hierarchical  party,  was  presently 
hailed  by  them  as  a  fancied  mistake  on  the  part  of  Jesus.  Till 
now,  all  their  efforts  to  frame  any  capital  charge  against 
Him,  on  plausible  grounds,  had  utterly  failed.  He  had 
slighted  the  Rabbinical  laws,  but  the  Romans,  with  whom 
lay  the  power  of  life  and  death,  woidd  take  no  cognizance 
of  such  off'ences.  His  public  entiy  into  Jerusalem,  as  the 
Messiah,  amidst  the  shouts  of  the  people,  seemed  to  give 
them,  at  last,  the  means  of  indicting  Him  for  what  they  could 
represent  as  at  least  constructive  treason — the  claiming  to 
be  king  instead  of  Ca3sar.  The  Romans  dreaded  nothing 
more  than  assumption  of  the  Messiahship,  for  it  had  often 
cost  them  dear  to  quell  the  insurrections  to  which  it  led,  and 
they  were  stern  to  the  uttermost  against  any  attempt  to 
challenge  the  Emperor's  authority.  But  the  absolutely 
peaceful  bearing  of  Jesus,  throughout :  His  studied  care  to 
make  no  illegal  use  of  the  popular  enthusiasm :  the  quiet 
dispersion  of  the  crowds,  and  the  utter  absence  of  any  poli- 


THE   BARREN   FIG-TREE.  401 

tical  character  in  His  whole  life  and  words,  were  fatal  to  chap^lv 
judicial  action,  based  on  grounds  so  slender.  They  would 
not,  however,  let  such  a  charge  against  Him  slip,  and  could 
accuse  Him  to  Pilate,  if  other  charges  failed,  of  "  perverting 
the  nation,  and  forbidding  to  give  tribute  to  CiBsar,  saying 
that  he,  Himself,  is  Christ,  a  king.''^*  ■»  Luke  23. 2. 

Morning^"  saw  Jesus  once  more  on  His  way  to  the  Temple.  "  nthNisan, 

o  ./  i  Sunday  sun- 

He  had  not  as  yet  eaten,  for  He,  apparently,  looked  forward    3^^1,'3°w8"aad 
to  doing  so  at  the  home  of  some  disciple  in  Jerusalem,  and    ^ndApni). 
the  keen  air  of  the  early  hours  made  Him  hungry.''^"     The  »  sunnse  on 

•^  1  1    />  />  Monday 

little  valley  of  Bethany  was  famous  for  dates  and  ngs,  tor    morning,  5.49 
the  very  name  Bethany  means — "  the  place  for  dates  ;"  while 
Bethphage"   is  "the  place  for  the  green  or  winter  fig" — a 
variety  Avhich  remains  on  the  trees  through  the  wintei', 
having  ripened  only  after  the  leaves  had  fallen. 

It  was  not  yet  the  time  of  the  fig  harvest,-^  but  some  of  21  Matt.21.18,19. 

Mark  11. 

last  year's  fruit  might,  no  doubt,  be  found  on  some  of  the  v2-u. 
trees  growing  about.  One  tree,  especially,  attracted  the 
notice  of  Jesus.  It  grew  at  the  road-side,  as  common  pro- 
perty, and,  even  thus  early,  when  other  fig-trees  had  scarcely 
begun  to  show  greenness,  w^as  conspicuous  by  its  young 
leaves.-^  When  He  came  to  it,  however,  they  proved  its  a  schenkeia 
only  boast :  there  was  no  fruit  of  the  year  before,  as  might  bua,  191. 
have  been  naturally  expected.  It  was,  indeed,  the  very  type 
of  a  fair  profession  without  performance :  of  the  hypocrisy 
which  has  only  leaves,  and  no  fruit.  Such  a  reahzed  parable 
could  not  be  passed  in  silence  by  One  who  drew  a  moral 
from  every  incident  of  hfe  and  nature.  "  Picture  of  boastful 
insincerity;"  said  He,  loud  enough  for  the  disciples  to  hear — 
"  type  of  Israel  and  its  leaders :  pi'etentious,  but  bearing  no 
fruit  to  God — let  no  fruit  grow  on  thee  henceforward,  for 
ever,"  and  passed  on.  They  were  to  learn  that  profession, 
without  performance,  found  no  favour  with  their  Master. 

Reaching:  the  city,  He  once  more  went  to  the  Temple,-^  ^  113(1.21.12,13. 
as  His  Father's  house.     Two  years  before.  He  had  purified    j-^'^^"''^ 
its  outer  court  from  the  sordid  abuses  which  love  of  gain 
had  dexterously  cloaked  under  an  ^  affectation  of  piously 
serving  the  requirements  of  worship.     Since  then,  they  had 
been  restored  in  all  their  hatefuhiess.     The  lowing  of  oxen, 

VOL.  II.  65 


402  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

chap.lv.  the  bleating  of  sheep,  the  cries  of  the  money-changers,  and 
the  noisy  mai'ket  chaffering  of  buyers  and  sellers  of  doves 
or  other  accessories  to  a  ceremonial  worship,  filled  the  air 
■s\^th  discordant  sounds  of  the  outside  world,  which  had  no 
right  in  these  sacred  precincts.  The  scene  roused  the  same 
deep  indignation  in  Jesus,  as  when  He  formerly  rose  in  His 
grand  protest  against  it.  He  had  now,  in  His  triumphal 
entry,  formally  proclaimed  His  Kingdom,  and  would,  forth- 
with, vindicate  its  rights,  by  once  more  restoring  the  Temple 
to  its  becoming  purity,  for  while  it  stood,  it  should  be  holy. 
The  same  fervent  zeal  again  dismayed  and  paralyzed  oppo- 
sition. Filled,  as  all  minds  were,  with  the  awe  of  the  popular 
enthusiasm  in  His  behalf,  His  command  sufficed  to  clear  the 
spacious  court  of  its  motley  crowd :  the  sellers  of  doves,  at 
His  order,  bore  off  their  cages  :  the  exchangers  gathered  up 
their  coin,  and  He  made  the  one  remove  their  benches  and 
counters,  and  overturned  the  empty  booths  of  the  others.  Nor 
would  He  suffer  the  desecration  of  laden  porters  and  others 
seeking  to  shorten  their  journeys  by  crossing  the  Temple 
spaces,  as  if  they  were  public  streets.  They  might  carry 
them  round  by  what  way  they  chose,  but  must  not  make  a 
■■*  jo8t,i.i4o.  thoroughfare  of  the  sacred  courts.-*  "  Jehovah  has  Avritten," 
iJ^rkSeben,  Said  Hc,  "  jMy  house  is  the  house  of  prayer  for  all  nations, 
micher,i.43-.  ijut  ye    briuirino;  in  all  the  wiles  and  cheats  of  unworthy 

Furrer,  172.  J     1  o      o  •' 

charakter-     traffic,  havc  made  it  a  den  of  thieves." 

*''*  ^"*'  We  cannot  suppose  that  Jesus,  within  a  few  hours  of  His 

death  at  the  hands  of  the  Temple  authorities,  and  immedi- 
ately after  His  lament  over  His  rejection  by  them  and  the 
nation,  intended,  by  this  cleansing  of  the  outer  Temple 
spaces,  to  present  Himself  as  a  reformer  of  the  Temple 
service.  He  meant,  rather,  to  show,  among  other  things,  to 
the  multitudes  round  Him,  by  an  act  which  they  could  not 
mistake ;  that  the  Holy  House  was  already  desecrated  by  the 
sanctioned  intrusion  of  the  spirit  of  common  gain,  and  made 
no  more  than  a  huge  bazaar,  with  all  its  abuses;  doubly 
unworthy  in  such  a  place.  He  wished  to  teach  them  by  the 
sight  of  such  insensibility  to  the  ideal  of  a  Temple  of  God, 
that  the  fall  of  the  theocracy,  with  its  scoffing  high  priests, 
and  worn-out  ceremonial,  was  a  fact  abeady  begun.     The 


THE   SECOND   TEMPLE    CLEA^'SING.  403 

very  texts  He  had  quoted  ^'  were  from  lamentations  over  the  chap.  lv. 
religious  decay  of  the  nation,  which,  the  prophets  predicted,"  If^^f^^- 
would  bring  the  stranger  into  the  House  of  Jehovah,  as 
more  -worthy  than  the  Jew ;  a  decay  Avhich  demanded, 
instead  of  mere  outward  service,  a  reform  of  the  heart  and 
life.  But  the  great  lesson,  also,  was  not  wanting,  that  the 
worship  of  God  must  be  pure  and  earnest,  not  merely  formal, 
and  that  hypocrisy  was  abhorrent  to  Him.  This  truth  sank 
that  day  into  all  hearts,  and  before  a  generation  had  passed, 
it  had  been  repeated  from  the  Euphrates  to  Rome.  It  was 
the  knell  of  the  Jewish  economy  at  its  centre,  for  a  Temple 
thus  publicly  marked  as  given  over  to  greed  and  gain,  under 
pretence  of  zeal  for  religion,  was  doomed  to  perish,  as  all 
hypocrisies  must,  in  the  end. 

The  significance  of  such  an  act  to  Himself,  was  known  to 
none  better  than  to  Jesus.  He  knew  that  His  hour  had 
come,  and  that  He  would  perish,  a  martyr  to  the  spu'it  of 
a  living,  as  opposed  to  the  letter  of  a  worn-out,  faith.  He 
knew  that  He  had  against  Him  the  vast  power  of  great 
vested  interests,  Avho  passed  off  their  selfish  aims  as  zeal  for 
Church  and  State,  and  thus  won  support  from  unthinking 
thousands.  He  knew,  moreover,  that  the  religious  revolu- 
tion He  had  begun  was  spreading  daih',  and  must  be  crushed 
by  His  opponents,  by  any  measures  that  promised  success,  if 
their  ovm  authority  were  to  stand.  But,  in  the  face  of  all 
this,  He  went  forward  with  calm  serenity  towards  death,  as 
the  one  purchase  price  of  liberty  and  life  for  the  souls  of  men. 

The  day,  which  had  begun  with  the  symbolic  cleansing 
of  the  Temple,  was  devoted,  in  its  later  hours,  to  His  wonted 
work  of  teaching  all  who  would  listen,  but  none  of  the 
discourses  have  been  preserved.  The  people,  thronging  the 
Court  where  he  sat — foV  He  taught  in  the  Temple — were 
greatly  impressed  by  His  words ;  so  new,  so  earnest,  so  search- 
ing and  practical,  compared  with  the  vapidities  of  the 
Rabbis.  It  was  vain  for  the  Je^svish  authorities  to  attempt 
to  arrest  Him,  while  He  was  thus  in  favour,  for  all  the 
people  ralhed  to  hear  Him,  and  no  one  knew  how  fai'  they 
might  be  disposed,  with  their  fiery  Eastern  natures,  to  rise 
on  His  behalf,  if  He  were  seized. 


404  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP^v.  This  day,  therefore,  passed  as  safely  for  Him  as  the  last, 
and  in  the  evening  Bethany  once  more  received  Him.  He 
had  entered  the  city  -with  loud  jubilees,  but  the  last  mortal 
struggle,  begun  by  His  lofty  bearing  and  independence,  made 
it  wise  to  retire  unnoticed.  Leaving,  therefore,  privately, 
by  the  flight  of  steps  to  the  Kedron,  He  crossed  Olivet, 
only  with  His  disciples. 

The  sensation  caused  by  the  great  act  of  the  day  must 

Matt.  21.       have  been  profound.''^''     The  relio;ious  instinct  of  the  masses 

20 32.   Mark 

Luk^i-8-  ^^^^  *^^*  ^*  ^^^^  worthy  of  a  true  prophet  of  God,  but  the 

21.37,88.      Temple  officials  realized  only  the  public  censure  it  implied, 

on  their  own  estimate  and  discharge  of  their  duties.     For 

the  moment  they  were  paralyzed  and  helpless;  rebuked  before 

all,   and  boldly    condemned  by    the    strange    intruder,  in 

exactly  the  point  on  which  they  were  most  sensitive,  for  it 

was  as  watchful   guardians    of   the  Temple  they  claimed 

especially  the  respect  of  the  nation. 

i2thNisan,        Ncxt  inoming  "^''  found  him  once  more  on  the  way  to  the 

settoTuesday Temple.      "Rabbi,"   exclaimed  Peter,   in  wonder,   as  they 

sunset.  J-  '  I  J  %/ 

cAprU2-3.)  passed  the  tree  on  which  Jesus  had  sought  figs  the  day 
before  —  "The  fig-tree  which  Thou  cursedst  is  withered 
away."     It  had,  indeed,  already  shrivelled  wp. 

The  question  gave  another  opportunity  for  impressing  on 
the  Twelve  a  truth,  which,  above  all  others.  He  had  sought 
to  fix  in  their  hearts  during  His  three  years'  intercourse 
with  them — that,  as  His  apostles,  commissioned  to  establish 
and  spread  His  Kingdom,  they  would  be  able,  if  they  had  an 
unwavering  faith  in  God  and  in  Him,  to  overcome  all  diffi- 
culties, however  apparently  insuperal^le. 

"  See,"  replied  He,  "  that  you  learn  from  this  tree  to  have 
firm  trust  in  God.  Believe  me,  if  you  have  such  faith,  and 
let  no  doubt  or  wavering  enfeeble  it;  you  will  be  able  to  do 
not  only  such  things,  hereafter,  as  j^ou  have  seen  done  to  this 
tree,  but,  to  use  the  exj^ression  you  so  often  hear  from  the 
Rabbis,  when  they  intend  to  speak  of  overcoming  the  greatest 
difficulties,  or  achieving  the  most  unlikely  ends — you  wUl 
be  able,  as  it  were,  to  bid  this  mountain  rise,  and  cast  itself 
into  the  sea.  All  depends,  however,  on  your  faith  being 
simple  and  undoubting,  for  anything  less  dishonours  God. 


EXHORTATION   TO   APOSTLES.  405 

He  who  has  such  chikl-Uke  trust  in  Him,  may  confidently  cn.u>.Lv. 
expect  his  prayers  to  be  heard.  When  you  pray,  beheve 
that  prayer  is,  in  very  deed,  answered,  and  your  faith  will 
be  honoured  by  God  granting  what  you  seek,  for,  as  His 
children,  and  my  disciples,  you  will  ask  only  what  is  in 
accordance  with  His  will.  Only,  you  must  ever,  in  your 
prayers,  be  in  that  frame  of  loving  tenderness  to  your  fellow- 
men,  which  true  faith  in  God,  as  His  sons,  always  brings 
with  it.  Strife  and  division  destroy  your  spiritual  life,  and 
weaken  that  faith  by  which,  alone,  you  can  do  great  things. 
As  you  stand  at  your  prayers,  as  your  manner  is,  you  must 
have  no  anger,  no  revenge  in  your  hearts,  else  you  will  not 
be  heard.  The  spirit  of  frank  forgiveness,  which  sjjrings 
from  true  love  to  God,  must,  beforehand,  have  forgiven  all 
Avho  have  injured  you.  For  how  can  you  hope  that  your 
Father  in  heaven  will  forgive  your  sins  against  Him,  if  you 
do  not  forgive  offences  against  yourselves  ?"  -^  ts  Tjumann.  133 

But  the  moments  were  precious,  for  His  hours  were  num-    423."  KeLI'ii 

.  .  6O1— 610. 

bered.  Always,  from  the  first,  intensely  energetic,  He  was 
now,  if  possible,  more  so  than  ever,  that  He  might  utilize 
every  instant  for  His  great  purpose.  With  calm  undismayed 
resolution,  each  morning  saw  Him  in  the  Temple,  as  soon 
as  it  was  opened.  He  would  show  that  He  was  no  Jacobin, 
no  revolutionist.  Had  He  been  so,  how  easily  might  He 
have  taken  advantage  of  the  popular  enthusiasm,  at  His 
entry  to  the  city,  or  at  His  cleansing  of  the  Temple  Courts. 
Instead  of  doing  so.  He  would  proclaim  the  true  nature  of 
His  Kingdom,  by  the  one  means  He  employed  to  establish 
it — the  power  of  persuasion.  He  would  devote  His  last 
hours,  as  He  had  all  His  pubUc  Hfe,  to  teaching.  By  His 
words  alone  would  He  prevail,  for  they  had  the  irresistible 
and  deathless  force  of  truth,  and,  as  such,  would  found  in 
every  heart  whose  convictions  they  reached,  a  kingdom  that 
must  spread,  and  could  never  perish. 

Meanwhile,  His  enemies,  irresolute  what  course  to  pursue 
to  strike  Him  down  ;  determined  to  do  so  but  afraid  of  the 
popular  feeling  they  might  invoke  in  His  favour ;  watched 
every  opportunity  to  faciUtate  decisive  action.  Their  bear- 
ing had  acquitted  Him  of  all  further  responsibility  towards 


406  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lv.  them.  He  had  brought  the  truth  home  to  them  in  their 
central  stronghold;  had  made  it  unmistakable  Avhat  He 
demanded  in  the  name  of  His  Father; — that  they  should 
begin  the  reform  and  salvation  of  the  nation,  by  reforming 
themselves  its  leaders ;  that  they  should  be  true  shepherds, 
and  not  hirelings  ;  sincere  in  their  religion,  and  not  actors. 
Such  demands,  in  themselves,  proved  His  IMessiahship,  for 
they  bore  on  their  front  the  evidence  that  they  were  from 
God,  and,  if  accepted,  He  also  must  be,  who  had  thus  been 
sent  from  God  to  proclaim  them.  The  internal  evidence  of 
His  acts  and  words  thus  established  His  highest  claims,  for 
truth  and  goodness  are  their  own  witness,  in  the  universal 
conscience.  But  the  hierarchy  had  shown  themselves  inca- 
pable of  reform.  Like  the  barren  fig-tree,  they  bore  only 
leaves,  and  must  be  left  to  the  righteous  indignation  of 
God. 

He  had  not  been  long  instructing  the  people,  who  flocked 
9  Luke  31. 38.   to  see  and  hear  Him,-'*  before  some  of  the  Temple  authorities 
came  to  Him,  determined  to  bring  Him  to  account  for  His 
act  of  the  day  before,  which  had  been  an  intrusion  on  their 
duties  as  Temple-inspectors ;   and  for  His  assuming  to  teach 
30  Matt. 21. 23  ff.  as  a  Rabbi,  Avithout  any  licence  from  the  schools,^"  which 
Luke 20.' iff.  ^vas  conti'ary  to  established  rule.      They  seem  to  have  been 
a  deputation  sent  oflicially,  and  consisted  of  some  of  the 
higher  priests — heads  of  the  diflferent  courses — some  Rabbis, 
and  some  of  the  "  elders  " — the  ancient  senators  or  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people — who,  as  a  body,  had  existed  through 
"  Micwiis-     all  political  changes,  from  the  days  of  Moses.^^      Interrupt- 
Eecttl  263.  ing  Jesus  as  He  taught,  they  now  abruptly  asked  Him  by 
what  authority  He  acted  as  He  had  done,  and  was  doing. 

They,  doubtless,  hoped  that  He  would  claim  divine 
authority,  and  that  they,  thus,  might  have  ground  for  a 
charge  against  them.  But  He  was  not  to  be  snared.  He 
showed  Himself  the  dreaded,  prompt,  keen  disputant,  ready 
to  turn  defence  into  attack.  Careful  to  avoid  giving  any 
handle  for  misrepresentation,  instead  of  answering  their 
question.  He  evaded  it,  by  asking  one  in  His  turn.  "  Be- 
fore I  answer  your  question,"  said  He,  "  let  me  ask  you — ; 
Did  John  the  Baptist,  in  his  great  work,  act  in  obedience  to 


CHRIST  S   AUTHOEITT   QUESTIONED.  407 

God,  as  one  sent  by  Him,  or  was  he  unauthorized  ?  "  To  be 
themselves  put  to  the  question  ;  to  be  forced  to  give  a  reply, 
instead  of  listening  to  one,  was  sufficiently  embarrassing, 
but  the  question  itself  was  still  more  so.  It  involved  much. 
Jesus  evidently  associated  Himself  with  John  as  He  had 
never  before  done.  He  imphed  that  the  man  who  had  been 
the  tei-ror  of  Phai'isees  and  priests,  and  their  victim — the 
man  of  the  people,  who  had  roused  such  an  unprecedented 
excitement, — was  His  Forerunner  and  Herald.  He  spoke  of 
John  s  baptism  as  a  commission  from  God,  and  evidently 
claimed  that  His  o-mi  entry  to  Jerusalem,  His  preaching 
of  the  lungdom  of  Heaven,  His  cleansing  the  Temple, 
and  His  claim  to  be  the  Messiah,  were  no  less  by  di\-ine 
authority. 

He,  Himself,  might  say  all  this  if  He  pleased,  but,  that 
they  should  have  to  say  it,  was  to  force  them  to  become  His 
advocates  and  apologists.  Yet,  what  could  they  do,  for 
was  it  not  clear  to  all  men  not  blind  to  the  truth,  that  John 
was  no  mere  adventurer,  but  a  noble  servant  of  God  ?  But 
to  o^vn  that  he  was  so,  would  only  bring  down  on  themselves 
the  crushing  question,  "Why  then  did  ye  not  beUeve  what 
he  said  respecting  yourselves,  and  what  he  said  of  Me  ?  for 
his  witness,  alone,  is  enough  to  prove  that  I  come  from  God." 
On  the  other  hand,  to  denounce  him  as  an  impostor  was 
dangerous,  for  his  memory  was  cherished  by  the  people  at 
large,  as  that  of  a  national  hero,  the  last  of  the  mighty  line 
of  prophets.  To  avoid  so  disastrous  a  dilemma,  therefore, 
they  wei-e  driven  to  the  feeble  evasion — that  they  could  not 
tell  whether  John's  mission  was  from  God  or  not. 

"  If  so,"  rephed  Jesus,  "  then  clearly  he  did  not  need  your 
authority,  since  you  never  thought  it  worth  while  to  sanc- 
tion, or  even  decide  respecting  him,  and  you  can  have  no 
claim  to  authorize  me,  or  to  withhold  authority  froui  me.  I, 
myself,  decline,  therefore,  to  tell  by  what  authority  I  act ; 
if  it  was  inditferent  in  the  case  of  John,  it  is  equally  so  in 
mine." 

He  had  silenced  His  opponents,  but  would  not  let  them 
leave  without  once  more  trying  to  open  their  eyes  to  their 
false  position.^'^  " 


408  THE   LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

"  Let  me  tell  you  a  parable,"  He  continued.  "A  certain 
man  had  two  sons.  He  came  to  the  first  and  said,  '  Son,  go, 
•work  to-day  in  the  vineyard.'  But  he  answered,  'I  will 
not;'  yet,  afterwards,  he  repented  and  went.  And  he  came 
to  the  second  son,  who,  on  receiving  the  same  command,  at 
once  answered, — '  Yes,  Sir.'  But  he  did  not  go.  Let  me 
ask  you,  which  of  the  two  do  you  think,  did  the  will  of  his 
fether?" 

The  perfect  composure  and  the  consummate  art,  with  which 
He  addressed  them,  were  equally  perplexing;  for  high  digni- 
taries of  the  Jewish  religious  world  must  have  been  little 
accustomed  to  be  put  in  such  a  position  before  the  multitude. 
But  an  answer  could  not  be  refused,  and  the  question  was 
framed  in  such  a  way,  that  they  could  give  none  but  the 
one  which  Jesus  required  for  His  complete  justification,  and 
their  own  condemnation.  Hardly  seeing  what  it  implied, 
they  readily  answered, — "  The  first."  They  were  now  in 
His  hands.  "  You  say  rightly,"  replied  He,  "for  when  John 
came  calling  j-ou,  in  the  name  of  God, — you  priests,  scribes, 
and  elders, — to  repentance  and  righteousness,  you  honoured 
him  by  ready  professions,  and  smooth  compliance,  promising 
all  good  works  of  a  pious  and  holy  life,  and  yet  you  held 
aloof  after  all,  and  showed,  by  your  neglect  to  obey  him,  that 
you  disbelieved  his  message.  You  are  the  second  son,  who 
said  yes,  but  did  not  go  into  the  vineyard." 

"  On  the  other' hand,  the  publicans  and  harlots  whom  you 
despise,  the  common  people  at  large,  whom  you  reckon 
cursed  of  God ;  who  had  roughly  and  wickedly  refused  to 
do  right,  and  had  even  gone  to  the  utmost  in  sin,  repented 
at  the  summons  of  John,  beUeving  his  words,  and  sought 
earnestly  to  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God.  They,  therefore, 
condemn  you,  0  ye  leaders  of  the  people,  for,  by  your  own 
showing,  they  have  done  the  will  of  their  Father  in  Heaven, 
but  you  have  not." 

"It  has,  indeed,  been  always  the  same.  As,  in  John's  day, 
ye  would  not  hear  him,  and  in  the  end  persecuted  him  to 
the  death,  so  have  you  and  your  fathers  done  in  all  genera- 
tions. You,  indeed,  are  worse  than  they  all,  for  you  seek  to 
do  even  worse.     Hear  another  parable." 


THE   WICKED    HUSBANDMEN.  409 

He  had  spoken  of  the  call  of  God  by  the  mouth  of  John,  chap^lv. 
and  by  implication  affirmed  that  His  own  experience,  as  the 
successor  of  the  Baptist  in  his  great  work,  had  been  the 
same.  He  now  glanced  at  the  history  of  the  theocracy, 
and  at  the  sins  of  their  party,  from  its  earliest  days.  He 
recounted  the  long  roll  of  the  servants  of  God  whom  they 
had  persecuted  and  misused,  from  the  first  to  the  last,  now 
no  longer  John,  but  a  far  greater — Himself  In  doing  so, 
He  now  first  openly,  before  them,  called  Himself  the  Son  of 
God,  and  left  them  to  feel  that  He  now  stood  as  such  in  their 
presence,  awaiting  the  fate  of  other  messengers  of  His  Father 
at  their  hands. 

"A  certain  man,"  said  He,  adopting  a  parable  of  Isaiah's, 
"  planted  a  vineyard,  and  set  a  hedge  about  it,  and  hewed  out 
a  wine-cistern  in  the  hill-side,  into  which  to  press  the  wine, 
and  buUt  a  tower  for  the  watchers,  to  guard  the  vineyard,  and 
agreed  with  husbandmen  to  work  it  on  his  behalf,  and  went 
into  a  far  country,  for  a  long  time.  And  when  the  fruit 
season  drew  near,  he  sent  his  servants  to  the  husbandmen, 
that  thev  might  receive  for  him  his  fruits.^^     But  they  took  "Isaiah  5.itf; 

•/  O  •'        _  3.  14;  9.  10. 

them,  and  beat  one  and  killed  another,  and  stoned  a  third.  ^^'^^'Iw?; 
He  then  sent  other  servants,  more  numerous  than  the  first ;  ^°^^  so-^-ia- 
but  the  husbandmen  treated  them  as  badly,  for  they  beat 
one,  cast  stones  at  another,  and  wounded  him  in  the  head, 
and  sent  him  away,  not  only  empty-handed,  but  shamefully 
treated.  Some  of  the  rest  they  beat,  others  they  killed,  and 
they  refused  to  pay  the  fruits  they  owed. 

"Having  yet,  therefore,  a  son, — his  only  and  well-beloved, 
— ^he  determined  to  send  him  to  them,  thinking  that,  though 
they  had  treated  his  servants  so  badly,  they  would  be  sure  to 
show  his  son  respect.  But  instead  of  this,  when  they  saw 
the  son,  they  said  among  themselves,  '  This  is  the  son, 
come  let  us  kill  him,  and  the  vineyard,  which  he  should  have 
inherited,  will  be  ours.'  So  they  took  him,  and  cast  him 
out  of  the  vineyard,  and  slew  him. 

"  Let  me  ask  you  now,  what  will  the  lord  of  the  vineyard 
do  to  these  husbandmen  ?" 

The  dignitaries  thus  addressed  could  not,  in  the  presence 
of  the  crowd  listening  to  all  that  had  passed,  refuse  the  only 


410  THE   LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lv.  possible  answer:  "  He  will  come  and  miserably  destroy  these 
wretched  men,"  said  their  spokesman,  "  and  give  the  vine- 
yard to  others,  who  will  render  him  his  fruits  in  their 
seasons."  The  meaning  of  the  parable  had  already  flashed 
on  the  minds  of  some  of  them,  and  the  answer  was  followed 
by  a  deep  "  God  forbid ! "  from  several  voices. 

Looking  full  and  steadilly  at  them,  Jesus  now  kept  them 
from  retiring  by  a  further  question. 

"  Did  you  never  read  in  the  Scriptures,"  said  He,  "  this 
text,  '  The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected  is  made  the 
chief    corner-stone — the  main   foundation;    Jehovah    hath 

"  Ps.  118. 22.    done  this ;  marvellous  is  it  in  our  eyes  ?  ' "  2* 

The  meaning  was  clear.  The  corner-stone  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  of  which  those  in  His  presence  claimed  to  be  the 
chief  men,  was,  in  their  own  mode  of  speech,  only  a  figurative 
name  for  the  Messiah,  on  whom  its  existence  and  completion 
depended,  as  a  building  depends  on  its  foundation  and 
support.  The  Psalm  quoted  had  been  sung,  it  is  believed, 
by  Israel,  on  the  first  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  after  the  return 

"  Enaid,  M  7or.  froui  captivity.^*  Its  historical  reference  was  primarily  to 
the  Jewish  nation — rejected  by  the  heathen,  but  chosen 
again  by  God  as  the  foundation  of  His  earthly  kingdom ; 
but,  in  a  higher  spiritual  sense,  the  Rabbis  themselves 
understood  it  of  the  Messiah,  and  thus  there  could  be  no 
doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  Jew  that  when  now  applied 
by  Christ  to  Himself,  it  was  a  direct  claim  of  Messianic 
dignity. 

"You  know  this  verse,  do  you  not?"  continued  Jesus: 
"Well,  then — because  the  stone  which  you  have  rejected 
has   been    chosen  by  God  as  the  foundation-stone    of  His 

M  schoettgen,  Ncw  Spiritual  Ivingdom,  every  one  who  shtdl  fall  on  it^^ — 
Meyer''"'  that  Is,  cvery  one  who,  by  rejecting  me,  the  Messiah,  shall 
have  drawn  down  on  himself  destruction — will  peri.sh  ;  but 
he  on  whom  it  will  fall — he,  I  mean,  on  whom  I,  the 
Messiah,  mil  let  loose  my  avenging  judgments,  for  his 
rejection  of  me — will  be  crushed  to  pieces,  small  as  the  dust 
or  chaff  that  is  scattered  to  the  winds.'^ 

"  Therefore,  I  say  to  you,  the  Kingdom  of  God  shall  be 
taken  from   Israel,  and  from  you,  its  present  heads,  and 


APPLICATION   OF   THE   PAEABLE.  411 

be  given  to  a  nation  who  -vvill  render  to  God  the  fruits  He    chap^lv. 
has  a  right  to  claim  from  it." 

The  guilty  consciences  of  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees 
addressed,  felt,  instinctively,  that  in  these  parables  He  had 
pointed  to  them.  The  vineyard  of  God,  separated  from  the 
wilderness  of  heathenism  was,  clearly,  Israel.  The  Jews 
had  been  favoured  by  having  the  "  noble  vine  "  of  divine 
institutions  among  them.  The  tower  which  protected  them, 
was  the  Temple  of  God;  the  husbandmen  were  the  suc- 
cessors of  Moses ;  the  Priests,  Rabbis,  and  Pharisees,  the 
representatives  of  God,  to  whom  of  old  He  had  left  His 
vineyard  when  He  returned  to  heaven  from  Mount  Sinai ; 
with  the  charge  to  tend  it,  and  to  render  Him  duly  its 
fruits.  The  servants  sent  were,  cleaiiy,  the  prophets,  from 
their  first  appearance,  in  the  distant  past,  to  John  the  Baptist. 
They  had  been  despised,  beaten,  mart}Ted.  Only  one  could 
follow  them — the  last  and  highest  representative  of  God, 
who  should  have  commanded  respect  even  from  murderers 
— His  only  and  well-beloved  Son,  the  ]\Iessiah,  who  had 
come,  not  as  the  nation  fancied,  to  bring  them  political 
glory  and  earthly  prosperity,  but  to  receive  and  bear  to 
His  Father  the  fruits  ivhich,  kept  back  for  hundreds  of 
years,  could  no  longer  be  left  unrendered.  But  Jesiis,  the 
Messiah,  had  long  foreseen  His  fate.  He  had  had  it  before 
His  eyes  every  hour  since  His  public  entry  to  Jerusalem. 
He,  the  rightful  heir  of  the  vineyard,  had  been  received  by 
the  husbandmen  with  jealous  eyes  and  deadly  purposes. 
The  revolt  He  had  come  to  end  had  grown  rampant.  It 
had  risen  from  a  refusal  to  render  the  fruits,  to  a  rejection 
of  their  dependence,  and  a  daring  resolution  to  take  the 
vineyard  into  their  own  hands  :  to  cast  out  God,  in  casting 
out  Him  whom  He  had  sent.  The  fierce  anger  of  God  could 
not  long  delay.  The  rebels,  smitten  by  His  wrath,  must 
perish.  The  vineyard  must  pass  into  other  hands.  But 
"  the  others "  could  only  be  the  heathen,  whom  Israel 
despised.  Loyal  to  the  Son,  whom  Israel  had  rejected  and 
slain;  His  disciples  and  followers,  gathered  from  other 
nations,  would  be  entrusted  -n-ith  the  inheritance.  Changing 
the  figure,  these  would  willingly  accept,   as  the  foundation 


412  THE    LIFE   OF   CUEIST. 

CHAP.  Lv.  and  chief  corner-stone  of  the  New  Kingdom  of  God,  Him 
whom  the  first  builders — of  whom  those  noAV  before  Him 
were  the  representatives — had  rejected.  Was  there  any 
doubt  that  God  would  transfer  that  kingdom  to  those  thus 
loyal  to  His  Son  ?  He,  who  now  stood  before  them,  and 
who  at  any  moment  might  be  cast  out  of  the  Temple  with 
ignominy,  and  slain,  must  be  the  foundation  of  the  New 
'  Keim,  iii.  117.  Thcocracy  which  was  to  supplant  the  Old  !  ^^ 

The  first  open  attempt  at  violence  followed  this  parable. 
The  hierarchical  party  felt  that  they  were  meant,  and  that 
Jesus  had  dared  to  call  Himself  the  chief  corner-stone  of  the 
future  Kingdom  of  God,  Avhich  was  to  rise  in  the  place  of 
that  with  which  all  their  dignities  and  interests  were  bound 
up.  With  Avild  Eastern  frenzy,  they  sought  to  arrest  Him 
on  the  spot.  But  as  looks  and  words,  passing  among  them, 
betrayed  their  intention  to  the  crowds  around,  these  Avould 
not  let  Him  be  taken,  counting  Him,  if  not  the  Messiah,  at 
least  a  prophet.  Some,  bolder  than  the  rest,  possibly  laid 
hands  on  Him,  but  they  were  forced  by  the  surging  multi- 
tude to  let  go.  They  had  to  leave  the  place,  and  suffer 
Jesus  to  escape  for  the  moment.  But  they  had  power,  and 
organization,  and  the  people  would  not  always  be  round 
Him ! 

Left  in  peace,  the  unwearying  Divine  Man  once  more 
calmly  betook  Himself  to  His  task  of  teaching  all  Avho 
would  hear. 

The  die  had  finall}'  been  cast,  and  the  open  breach  be- 
tween Him  and  the  Church  authorities  had  been  proclaimed 
by  Himself  in  His  last  parables.  Full  of  lofty  indignation 
at  the  hypocrisy  and  wilful  blindness  of  His  adversaries,  no 
less  than  ot  compassion  for  the  multitude.  He  could  not 
repress  the  crowding  thoughts  which  the  last  hours  raised 
in  His  soul,  and,  as  usual,  they  found  expression  in  addi- 
tional parables. 

"  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  He  began,  "  is  like  a  king  Avho 
Matt.22.1-14.  made  a  marriage-feast  for  His  son,^*  and  sent  forth  his  ser- 
vants, as  the  custom  is,  to  tell  those  who  had  already  been 
invited  that  the  time  had  now  come.     But,  though  thus 
once  and  again  summoned,  they  would  not  come.     Yet,  the 


THE   WEDDING   GARMENT.  413 

king,  nnwilling,  in  his  goodness,  that  they  should  not  enjoy  chap,  lv. 
the  feast ;  in  spite  of  this,  sent,  once  more,  other  servants  to 
invite  them  again.  'Come,'  ran  his  message,  'for  I  have 
prepared  the  first  meal  of  the  feast ;  my  oxen  and  fatlings 
have  been  killed,  and  all  things  are  ready  :  come  to  the 
marriage.'  But  they  made  light  of  this  fresh  invitation 
as  well,  and  went  off,  one  to  his  farm,  another  to  his 
merchandise,  while  still  others  took  his  servants,  and  ill- 
treated,  and  even  killed  them.  Then  the  king  was  angry, 
and  sent  his  soldiers,  and  destroyed  these  murderers,  and 
burned  their  city.  Meanwhile,  he  said  to  his  servants, 
'  The  marriage  feast  is  ready,  but  those  who  have  been  called 
were  not  worthy.  Go,  therefore,  to  the  highways,  where 
the  roads  cross,  and  there  are  most  passers-by,  and  invite  to 
the  feast  as  many  as  ye  find.' 

"So  the  servants  went  forth  from  the  palace  of  the  king 
to  the  roads  and  cross-ways,  and  gathered  together  all,  both 
evil  and  good,  who  were  willing  to  accept  their  invitations, 
and  the  feast-chamber  was  filled  wth  guests. 

"  The  king  had  made  all  preparations  for  the  guests  being 
nobly  arrayed  in  festal  robes,  so  as  to  be  worthy  to  appear 
before  him.^^  "  Nork,  ss. 

Eabbinical 

"But,  now,  when  he  came  in  to  see  the  guests,  he  saw  |Xwh''°" 
among  them  a  man  who  had  not  put  on  a  marriage  robe.  i^''''*' '•  *• 
And  he  said  to  him,  '  Friend,  how  is  it  that  you  have  come 
in  hither  without  a  marriage  garment?  You  must  needs 
have  known  that  I  provided  robes,  fit  for  my  presence, 
for  all  my  guests,  and,  not  less,  how  great  a  slight  and  dis- 
respect it  is  to  refuse  what  is  thus  oftered  ;  you  know  that 
to  do  so  is  to  raise  the  severest  indignation  in  a  king  thus 

Ofifended.''*'^  "  HosenmUUer, 

Scholia. 

"But  the  man  was  speechless,  for  he  could  not  excuse    Matt 22. n. 
himself. 

"  Then  said  the  king  to  his  attendants,  •  Bind  him  hand 
and  foot,  and  cast  him  out  into  the  thick  darkness  outside.' " 

"Ye  know,"  added  Jesus,  "how  dark  in  the  night  our 
streets  are,  in  which  no  windows  open,  and  which  no  lights 
illumine.  That  darkness  is  but  a  type  of  the  awful  night 
into  which  he  will  be  cast  out,  who  appears  at  the  marriage 


414  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LY.  feast  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom,  "witliout  the  marriage-robe 
provided  by  my  Father.  In  that  darkness  there  Avill, 
indeed,  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  for  though  mul- 
titudes are  invited  to  the  feast  of  the  heavenly  kingdom, 
many  neglect  to  secure  the  marriage-robe,  without  which 
no  one  can  see  the  king !  " 

The  parable  was  an  enforcement  of  those  just  addressed 
to  the  priests  and  Rabbis,  but  with  various  additional  les- 
sons. The  haughty  sons  of  Jerusalem  heard  once  moi'e,  that 
when  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  should  be  set  up  in  its 
glory,  God  would  call  the  heathen  to  a  share  in  it,  while  the 
people  of  Israel,  with  their  religious  leaders — because,  as  a 
nation,  they  had  rejected  His  repeated  invitations — would  no 
longer  be  the  one  people  of  God.  Still  more,  they  would  be 
visited  with  the  avenging  -nTath  of  God,  in  the  destruction 
of  Jerusaleni,  even  before  the  final  triumphant  establish- 
ment of  the  New  Divine  Kingdom.  Yet,  among  the  heathen 
invited  to  enter  it,  as  among  the  Jews,  God,  at  the  day  of 
judgment,  when  the  kingdom  was  finally  set  up  for  eternity, 
would  separate  and  judge  those  who  had  been  wanting  in 
loyalty  to  Him,  and  had  come  into  His  presence  without  the 
preparation  demanded.  Such  would  be  cast  into  the  outer 
darkness  of  Gehenna. 

Thus,  in  the  very  presence  of  imminent  death,  there 
was  the  same  tranquillity  and  repose  as  on  the  free  hills  of 
Galilee,  or  in  the  safe  retreat  of  Cajsarea  Philippi :  the  same 
stupendous  claims  as  Head  of  the  New  Ivingdom  of  God,  and 
lung  over  the  souls  of  men,  for  time  and  eternity.  Within 
a  few  hours  of  crucifixion,  and  conscious  of  the  fact ;  in  the 
intervals  of  mortal  contest  with  the  whole  forces  of  the  past 
and  present,  the  wandering  Gahlasan  Teacher,  meek  and 
lowly  in  spirit,  so  that  the  poorest  and  the  youngest  instinc- 
tively sought  Him;  full  of  divine  pity,  so  that  the  most 
sunken  and  hopeless  penitent  felt  He  w^as  their  friend; 
indifferent  to  the  supports  of  influence,  wealth,  or  numbers ; 
alone  and  poor ;  the  very  embodiment  of  weakness,  as 
regarded  all  visible  help,  still  bore  Himself  with  a  serene 
dignity  more  than  human.  In  the  name  of  God  He  trans- 
fers the  spiritual  glory  of  Israel  to  His  o-\ati  followers ;  throws 


THE   DIVINE   MAN.  415 

doAvn  the  barriers  of  caste  and  nationality ;  extends  the  chap,  lv. 
new  dominion  of  which  He  is  Head,  to  all  races,  and  through 
aU  ages,  here  and  hereafter ;  predicts  the  divine  wrath  on 
His  enemies  in  this  world,  as  the  enemies  of  God,  and 
announces  the  decision  of  the  final  judgment  as  turning  on 
the  attitude  of  men  towards  Himself  and  His  message.  The 
grandeur  of  soul  which  could  so  utterly  ignore  the  outward 
and  apparent,  and  realize  the  essential  and  eternal;  the  con- 
scious majesty  in  the  midst  of  humiliation  and  danger ;  the 
absolute  trust  that,  if  the  present  belonged  to  His  adversa- 
ries, the  everlasting  future,  in  earth  and  heaven,  was  all  His 
OAvn,  could  spring  in  such  a  heart,  only  because  it  felt  that 
it  was  not  alone,  but  that,  unseen  by  man,  a  greater  than 
man  was  ever  with  Him.  Only  when  we  realize  Him  as 
enjoying  unclouded  and  absolute  communion  with  eternal 
truth  and  love — Man,  but  also  the  Incarnate  Divine— can 
we  hope  to  solve  the  mystery. 


416  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

JERUSALEM. 

cHARLvx  yT  was  still  Tuesday,  and  Jesus  still  remained  In  tlie  Temple 
iS^a"' Mark -■-  courts.^  The  deputation  from  the  Temple  authorities 
Luke2a2o-26.  had    come   to   Him  in  the  early  mornino;    only  to   retire 

lathNisan,  .«      i  i        -t  i      i  i  i  i  p        n  • 

Monday  at      mortificd  aud  Silenced,   but  the  heads  oi    all  parties  were 

sunset  to  Tues-  '  ■* 

(^Is  Ap'Sr'  threatened  by  One  who  demanded  changes  so  fundamental. 
All  alike,  therefore,  however  hostile  at  other  times,  made 
common  cause  in  trj'ing  to  get  the  hated  Reformer  into 
their  power.  It  was  the  same  spirit,  as,  in  after  ages,  when 
far  less  fiercely  roused,  burned  Arnold  of  Brescia,  and  John 
Huss,  and  strangled  and  burnt  Savonarola,  and  slew  the 
thousands  of  victims  of  the  Inquisition: — the  non  2)0ssumus 
of  a  corrupt  ecclesiastical  corjioration,  which  would  murder 
in  the  name  of  God,  because  that  could  be  called  ortho- 
doxy ;  but  would  not  reform,  because  to  do  so  would  touch 
their  interests  and  their  order. 

Plot,  therefore,  thickened  on  plot.  Having  themselves 
failed,  the  authorities  sent  some  of  the  Pharisees  in  com- 
pany with  some  Herodians,  otherwise  their  deadly  enemies, 
to  try  to  commit  Him  by  the  answers  He  might  give  to 
treacherous  questions.  Obscure  men  were  chosen,  men 
unknown  to  Jesus.  They  were  to  pretend  themselves 
anxious,  as  sincere  Jews,  scrupulous  in  all  duties,  to  get 
His  counsel  on  a  point  much  disputed.  The  snare  was  no 
longer  laid  in  the  sphere  of  Rabbinical  law,  but  in  the  more 
dangerous  one  of  political  obligation,  that  an  ambiguous 
answer  might  compromise  Him  before  the  Roman  procu- 
rator. If  they  succeeded,  it  would  at  once  transfer  the 
odium  of  His  arrest  from  themselves  :  ensure  His  not  being 


-  ^ 


v\ 


TRIBUTE   TO   CiESAR.  417 

rescued,  and  make  it  possible  to  get  Him  put  to  death,  for   cuaf.  lvl 
the  power  of  death  was  in  Pilate's  hands  alone. 

The  Pharisees  and  Herodians,  though  from  different  prin- 
ciples, were  equally  disloyal  in  heart  to  the  Roman  Emperor. 
The  extreme  section  of  the  former  had  developed  into  the 
sanguinary  zealots — the  extreme  left,  or  irreconcilables,  of 
Jewish  pohtics :  the  Herodians  were  Jewish  royahsts,  who 
sighed  for  the  old  days  of  Archelaus  and  the  Edomite 
dynasty.^  With  dexterous  craft,  the  ultra-orthodoxy  of  the '  Antiiv.is.ic 
Pharisaic  party  allied  itself  with  the  discontented  royalist 
faction,  to  tempt  Jesus,  if  possible,  to  some  bold  expression 
of  opinion  on  the  hated  question  of  the  payment  of  the 
Roman  poll  tax,  which  had  already  excited  fierce  insur- 
rections. If  He  held  that  pajonent  should  be  refused.  He 
would  compromise  Himself  with  the  Romans:  if  He  sanc- 
tioned it.  He  would  embitter  Himself  both  with  the  Herodians 
and  the  ultra-national  part}'.  Danger  lay  on  each  hand. 
On  the  07ie,  the  fierce  eyes  of  the  multitude,  on  the  other,  the 
bailiff's  of  Herod:  here,  the  cry,  "  Publicans,  sinners;"  there, 
a  Roman  dungeon.     To  disarm  suspicions  they  used 

"  Smooth  dissimulation,  taught  to  grace 
A  devil's  purpose  with  an  angel's  face." 

"  Teacher,"  said  they,  with  soft  accents  and  humble  looks, 
"we  know — indeed,  we  are  fully  convinced — that  thou 
teachest  what  God  requires  of  man  as  his  duty  in  all  matters, 
truly  and  rightly,  and  troublest  not  thyself  about  the 
opinions  of  men,  but  fearlessly  and  nobly  speakest  what 
truth  demands,  without  thinking  of  consequences,  and  with- 
out caring  who  hears  Thee,  whether  he  be  rich,  or  poor, 
learned  or  simple,  powerful  or  lowly.  Is  it  lawful  for  us 
Jews  to  pay  tribute  to  Caesar  or  not  ?  We  are  the  people 
of  God :  God  is  our  King :  is  it  in  accordance  with  the 
allegiance  we  owe  to  Him,  as  such,  to  recognize  any  other 
king,  as  we  must  do  if  we  pay  taxes  to  Cagsar?"  It  was 
on  such  reasoning  that  Judas  the  Gaulonite  had  based  his 
fierce  revolt  against  payment  of  the  tax  demanded  after 
the  census  of  Quirinius,^  and  his  name  and  opinions  were  3  Ant. iviii.i.i, 
venerated  by  the  closely-packed  multitude  around.  Every 
Galilfean  among  them  expected  a  stern  avowal  of  the 
VOL.  II.  66 


418  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lvi.  illegality  of  the  demand.  For  Judas  had  taught  the  youth 
of  the  country  that  to  pay  taxes  to  a  heathen  state  was  not 
allowable,  and  defiled  the  land,  and  thousands  had  already 
died  for  this  cause,  or  lived  as  fugitives  in  the  caves  of  the 
north. 

The  mode  of  approach  adopted  was  well  fitted  to  throw 
Jesus  off  His  guard.  Recognition,  even  by  Pharisees,  as 
the  brave,  frank,  fearless  !Man  of  God,  and  appeal  to  Him  in 
a  matter  which  might  cost  the  questioner  His  life,  were,  alike, 
ensnaring.  Frankness  demanded  frankness.  The  courage 
of  the  question  demanded  as  much  in  the  reply.  Jesus 
knew,  besides,  that  such  ideas  were  always  fermenting  in 
the  mind  of  the  Phai'isee  youth,  and  that  the  Herodians, 
instead  of  being  friends  of  Rome,  anxiously  desired  a  change. 
Why,  therefore,  should  He  distrust  the  new  allies?  The 
Roman  supremacy  was,  undoubtedly,  at  bottom,  a  usurpa- 
tion. The  strict  Jew  recognized  no  ruler  but  Jehovah,  and, 
since  Jesus  had  devoted  His  life  to  founding  a  "  Kingdom  of 
Heaven,"  it  seemed  only  natural  that  He  should  hold  His 
followei's  free  from  obligations  to  the  kingdoms  of  the  woi'ld. 
They  could  not  comprehend  the  spirituality  of  His  concep- 
tions, for  had  they  not  had  a  secret  suspicion,  that,  in  spite 
of  appearances,  He  really  meditated  an  attack  on  the  Roman 
government,  they  would  hardly  have  asked  such  a  question. 
Could  they  only  bring  Him  to  reveal  these  secret  thoughts, 
His  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Romans  was  certain,  as  a 
crafty  conspirator,  and  the  hierarchical  party  would  get  their 
revenge,  without  the  odium  of  exacting  it,  against  the 
darino;  and  determined  transo-ressor  of  Rabbinical  law. 

But  Christ's  answer  scattered  their  subtle  plans  to  the 
wind. 

"You  hypocrites ! — you  actors! "  replied  He;  "I  see  through 
your  designs,  and  value  your  deceitful  flatteries  at  their 
worth.  Why  do  you  thus  seek  to  entrap  me,  under  pre- 
tence of  religious  scru2:)les,  which  you  wish  me  to  solve  for 
ybu?  Bring  me  the  coin  you  pay  as  the  Roman  tax." 
A  Roman  denarius  was  presently  brought  Him — a  coin 
which  the  Jew  hated  intensely,  for  it  was  that  in  which  the 
poll  tax  was  paid,  and  was,  thus,  the  sign  of  slavery  to  the 


DUTY   TO   GOD   AND  TO   CiESAR.  419 

heathen.  Besides,  it  bore  the  idolatrous  image  of  the  Roman 
Emperor  Tiberius,  and  the  legend  of  his  authority.  The 
Emperors,  to  Vespasian,  to  spare  Je^'ish  feeling,  had  a  special 
coinage  struck  for  Judoa,  ■without  a  likeness  on  it,  and  only 
the  name  of  the  Emperor  and  the  traditional  Jewish  emblems. 
But  other  coins,  stamped  with  the  image  of  Augustus  or  Tibe- 
rius, naturally  found  their  way  to  Jerusalem,  especially  at 
the  feasts.  Such  a  coin  was  now  handed  to  Jesus,  with  the 
hope,  doubtless,  that  the  double  abomination — the  idola- 
trous image  on  one  side,  and  the  legend  of  Jewish  subjection 
on  the  other — might  provoke  Him  to  some  treasonable 
expression.     But  the  result  proved  the  reverse. 

"  Wliose  image  and  superscription  is  this?"  asked  He. 

"  Caesar's." 

"  Render,  then,  to  Ctesar,  the  things  that  are  Cajsar  s,  and 
to  God,  the  things  that  are  God's." 

Nothing  could  be  said  after  such  an  answer.  The  head  of 
the  Emperor  on  the  coin,  and  the  legend  round  it,  were  overt 
proofs  of  the  existing  state  of  things,  and  of  the  de  facto 
right  of  the  imperial  government,  as  such,  to  levy  taxes. 
Hence  followed,  not  only  the  lawfulness,  but  the  duty,  of 
paying  what  was  thus  due  to  the  Emperor,  including  the  tax  in 
question,  since  the  very  coin  in  which  it  was  payable  showed, 
on  its  face,  that  it  was  the  lawful  claim  of  the  ruling  power. 
"  But,"  added  He,  "  your  theocratic  duty  is  in  no  way  com- 
promised by  such  political  duties  as  subjects.  Pay  also, 
what  is  demanded  by  God  as  your  spiritual  King,  as  a  legal 
claim  of  His  goverinaient, — the  Temple  tax,  and  all  that  He 
demands  from  you  besides  as  His  spii'itual  subjects."  The 
treacherous  question  was  answered  ■\\'ith  a  clearness,  precision, 
and  wisdom,  which  defined,  for  all  ages,  the  relations  of  His 
kingdom  to  the  civil  power.  The  Christian  was  not  to 
oppose  existing  authority,  but  to  unite  his  duty  to  it,  w^ith 
his  duty  to  God.  The  political  and  rehgious  spheres,  were 
declared  not  opposite  but  co-existing,  and  harmonious 
though  distinct. 

To  realize  the  immense  significance  of  this  utterance, 
delivered  as  it  was,  on  the  moment,  without  an  instant's 
hesitation,  we  must  remember  that  it  introduced  an  entirely 


420 


THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 


cHA_p_Lvi.    new  conception  of  the  relation  of  Church  and  State.  Till 

then,  over  the  world,  they  had  been  identical.     The  Ca?sar 

was  chief  jiriest  as  well  as  emperor,  and  the  colleges  of  priests 

*  G^XriM;  ^^^^  fiugurs  Avere  political  institutions.*     In  Judea,  the  two 

iii.478.  spheres,  henceforth  to  be  separated,  had,  hitherto,  been  con- 
fused and  intermixed ;  the  civil  power  was  the  instrument  of 
the  priest ;  its  institutions  were  religious,  and  the  priesthood 
had  striven  after  kingly  power  and  rank.  Henceforward,  the 
new  society  was  to  stand  apart  from  political  interests  and 
authorities.  The  State  was  no  longer  indispensable  to  its 
perfect  completeness  and  efficiency.  The  sphere  of  religion 
was  that  of  the  conscience,  which  is,  by  its  nature,  free.  The 
State  cannot  leave  the  payment  of  its  impositions  to  goodwill; 
it  must  enforce  them,  if  they  be  refused  :  but  force  is  utterly 
opposed  to  the  idea  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  In  it  volun- 
tary service  alone  has  value.  What  is  yielded  to  force, 
without  inner  truth  and  love,  is,  before  God,  as  if  not  given 
at  all ;  what  is  given  in  hypocritical  self-interest,  is  an  abomi- 

e  Schenkel.  240.  natioU  tO  Him.^ 

No  wonder  such  an  answer  filled  the  messengers  of  the 
hierarchical  party  with  astonishment.  It  was  not  only  not 
treasonable,  but  indirectly  pressed  on  the  hierarchy  the  con- 
scientious discharge  of  its  duties  to  Rome.  But  they  could 
not  grasp  its  whole  significance,  for  they  had  no  conception 
of  a  religious  community  which  had  not  the  right  and 
power  to  inflict  civil  penalties.  The  Old  Testament  economy 
was,  itself,  the  State.  Obedience  to  its  requirements  was 
enforced  by  the  national  courts,  and  an  attempt  to  change  or 
transgress  them  was  severely  punished.  Jesus  Himself,  indeed, 
was  about  to  atone  with  His  life  for  His  offences  against  the 
estabhshed  and  traditional  religious  usages  and  opinions  of 
the  ruling  caste.  The  idea  of  freedom  of  conscience  and 
faith,  which  was  the  very  starting-point  of  His  teaching,  was 
a  stumbling-block,  and  a  ground  of  bitterness,  to  His  age. 
The  conception  of  a  religion,  in  which  there  was  no  respon- 
sibility except  to  God,  was  beyond  it. 

All  the  influential  Jewish  parties  had  now  united  against 
Him,  as  a  dangerous  innovator,  an  enemy  of  the  Rabbinical 
"hedge  "  of  human  prescriptions  and  refinements,  which  Avas 


THE    SADDUCEES    QUESTIOX   JESUS.  421 

the  essence  of  the  religion  of  the  clay.     If  tolerated  longer   cuap.  lvl 

He  might  win  over  the  people  to  favour  His  demand  for 

fundamental  reform.      The    Pharisees  and   Herodians  had 

hardly  left  Him,  when  some  aristocratic  Sadducees  renewed 

the  attack.    The  clergy  of  all  classes,  from  highest  to  lowest, 

Avere  against  Him.    His  support  was  among  the  people.    His 

appearance  in  the  Temple,  His  assumption  of  authority  over 

it,  and  His  lofty  claim  to  be  the  Messiah,  filled  the  official 

world  with  alarm,  and  united  them  to  crush  Him.    But  the 

Sadducees  had  none  of  the  earnestness  of  the  Pharisees.  They 

were  the  prototypes  of  the  scoffing  and  infidel  priests  whom 

Luther  found,  almost  fifteen  hundred  years  after,  in  Rome ; 

who  parodied  even  the  words  of  the  Holy  Sacraments  they 

were  busied  in  consecrating.''   The  Pharisees  had  early  taken  « siicheiefs 

offence  at  Jesus,  for  they  were  zealots  for  the  Rabbinism 

which  He  attacked ;  but  the  Sadducees — few,  rich,  dignified ; 

the  primate  and  bishops  of  the  day — affected  at  first  only 

to    despise  the   Galileean,  who,  like   so   many  before  Him, 

had,  stirred  up    commotion  for  the  time  among  His  rude 

compatriots.     Even  now,  in  Jerusalem,  they  were  disposed 

to  look  at  Him  and  His  adherents  with  a  lofty  contempt, 

and  to  laugh  the  foolish  rabble  who  listened  to  Him  out  of 

their  fanatical   dreams.     His   claims  Avere,  in  their  opinion, 

more  silly  than  dangerous,  and  they  would,  therefore,  bring 

the  whole  matter  into  contempt,  by  making  it  ridiculous. 

For  this  end  they  had  carefully  selected,  from  tl:e  cases 
invented  by  Rabbinical  casuistry,  that  of  a  Avife,  Avho  was 
supposed,  in  accordance  with  the  Mosaic  laAv,  to  have  married 
in  succession  seven  brothers/  each  of  whom  died  without  ■  Matt. 2?. 

1   .,  1  rrii  1  •  .  .  .,  ,  „  23—33.     Mark 

children.     Ihou^h  an  imagmarv,  it  was  a  possible  case,  for    i2is-2?- 

~  o  .-  1  1  )  Lube  20. 

the  LaAv  enacted,  that,  if  a  husband  died  without  leaving  a    ^'~"'- 
son    to    perpetuate    his    name,    his    brother    must    marry 
the  AvidoAv,  and  the  first-born  son  of  this  second  marriage 
was  to  be  entered  in  the  public  register  as  the  son  of  the 
dead  man.^  .  „  ,  „^  ^ 

"  Deut.  2.5.  5. 


Xot  believing  in  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  themselves,    ^"'*''' 


Alterth.  239. 
De  Wettes 


and  supposing  that  Jesus,  who,  they  had  heard,  taught  it,  held    A^chsoiLye, 
the  same  notions  as  they  ascribed  to  the  Pharisees,  they  fimcied 
they  could  cover  Him  and  it  with  ridicule,  by  a  skilful  use  of 


422  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LTi.    tins  case.  Some  of  tlie  Rabbis,  indeed,  had  pnrer  conceptions 

than  others,  teaching  that  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah, 

after  the  resnrrection,  or  at  least  in  the  future  world,  the 

»  Bcrachoth,  f.  just  would  neither  eat,  di'luk,  nor  marfy.^     But  they  were 

34"i'"jaiirat  exceptions,  for  the  popular  belief,  as  expressed  by  the  Rabbis 

Eubeni,  134. 1.  generally,  Avas  gross  and  unworthy  in  the   extreme.     The 

resurrection  would  not  only  restore  men  to   their  former 

bodies,  but  to  their  bodily  appetites  and  passions ;    they 

would  not  only  eat,  drink,  and  take   Avives,  but  would  rise 

in  the  clothes  they  wore  in  life,  if  buried  with  them,  and 

even  with  all  their  bodily  blemishes  and  defects,  "  that  men 

might  know  them  to  be  the  same  persons  as  they  knew  in 

10  Eiscnmmgor,  life."^*^     Evcu  the  casc  supposed  by  the  Sadducees,  had  been 

settled  m  principle, — "  for  the  woman  who  had  married  two 

husbands  in  this  world,"  says  the  Book  Sohar,  "  will  be  given 

to  the  first,  in  the  world  to  come." 

Fancying  there  was  no  sanction,  either  for  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul  or  the  resurrection,  in  the  Pentateuch,  the 
Sadducees  sneered  at  both  doctrines.     "  They  deny  the  re- 
surrection  after  death,"  saj-s  the  Talmud,  "  and  maintain 
that  it  is  as  vain  to   hope   that  a  cloud  which  has  vanished 
"  NoA  *8°The  ^^^^^  appear  again,  as  that  the  grave  will  give  back  its  dead."  ^^ 
^tehung,"'in"       Comlug  to  Jcsus,  witli  a  well-bred  politeness,  they  put 
gives  an^''     thcir  qucstiou  softly,   addressing  Him   respectfully,  as  the 
history  of  the  Pharlsecs  and  Herodians  had  done,  as  Rabbi,  for  which  they 

doctrine,  in  i  i  J 

Twogy.      used  the  current  Greek  equivalent. 

"  Yovu'  ideas  respecting  these  things  are  wrong,"  replied 
Jesus,  "  from  your  not  understanding  correctly  the  Scrip- 
tures -which  refer  to  them.  The  children  of  this  world  marry, 
and  are  given  in  marriage,  because  they  are  mortal,  and 
marriage  is  necessary  to  perpetuate  the  race.  But  those  who 
shall  be  counted  worthy  to  enter  the  Heavenly  Ivingdom  of 
the  Messiah,  and  will  be  raised  from  the  dead  to  do  so, 
neither  marry  nor  ai'e  given  in  marriage,  neither  can  they 
die  any  more,  for  they  will  be  immortal,  like  angels ;  and 
hence  there  is  no  reason  for  their  maxrying  and  raising 
children,  to  take  their  place,  as  with  men  in  this  world. 
As  sons  of  the  resurrection,  they  are  sons  of  God,  and,  like 
the  angels,  will  live  for  ever. 


THE   LIFE   TO   COME.  423 

"  As  to  the  resurrection  of  tlie  dead,  you  have  referred  to  ch.u>.  lvi. 
Moses.  But  let  me  also  refer  to  him.  Even  he  shows,  in 
the  passage  in  Avhich  we  are  told  of  the  vision  at  the  burning 
bush,  that  the  dead  are  raised.  For  he  calls  Jehovah,  the 
God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  Now,  God  cannot  be 
the  God  of  persons  who  do  not  exist,  and,  therefore,  the 
patriarchs,  though  their  bodies  were  dead,  must  themselves 
have  been  still  living — living,  I  mean,  in  the  separate  state, 
and  awaiting  the  resurrection.  Thus,  God  regai'ds  all  the 
dead  as  still  living,  and  how  easy,  if  this  be  the  case,  for 
Him  to  raise  them  hereafter !" 

"  Rabbi,  Thou  hast  spoken  well,"  said  some  Scribes,  as  He 
closed.  They  were,  for  the  moment,  won  to  His  side,  by  His 
triumph  over  their  bitter  Sadducee  enemies.  Meanwhile, 
the  people  were  more  than  ever  astonished  at  His  teaching, 
and  disposed  to  think  Him  a  prophet. 

It   soon    spread   abroad   that  the    Sadducees   had    been 
silenced,   but  the  Pharisees  had  already   prepared   a   new 
attempt  to  entrap  Him.^^     One  of  them,  who  had  listened  "  ^^-2-^^^^^ 
to  the.  dispute — a  Scribe,  or  master  of  the  Law — had  been     ^^-  ■*~^^- 
selected  to  be  their  spokesman,  but,  as  it  proved,  was  only 
half-hearted  in  His  task.      The    Rabbis  taught  that  there 
were  great  and  small  commands  in  the  laws — the  one  hard 
and   weighty,  the  other  easy  and  of  less  moment.      Their 
idea  of  greatness,  however,  was  independent  of  the  rehgious 
importance  of  a  particular  precept,  and  had  regard  onlj^  to 
their   own  external   precepts,  founded  on  it.     Thus,  com- 
mands were  especially  called  great,  to  the  transgression  of 
which  excommunication  was  attached ;  such  as  observance 
of    the  Sabbath,   in  their   sense  ;    of  circumcision,   of  the 
minutest  rites  of  sacrifice  and  offering,  of  ceremonial  purity, 
and  the  Uke.     The  precepts  respecting  the  structure  of  the 
booths  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  and  of  the  washing  the 
hands,  were,  on  the  contrary,  counted  small.     But,  in  sj^ite 
of  this  nominal  difference,  obedience  to  all  was  alike  impera- 
tive,  and,  in  practice,  both   classes  were  treated  as  alike 
weighty.     To  honour  one's  parents  and  to  let  a  mother-bird 
fly  when  the  young  are  taken ;   not  to  kill ;  and  to  wash 
the  hands,  wex*e  put  on  a  level,  and  had  an  equal  reward.  ^^  "  Keim,  iu.i5o. 


424  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP. LVL  Even  the  injunctions  of  the  Rabbis  respecting  the  zizith,  or 
tassels  of  their  scarves,  were  "  great."  "  The  words  of  the 
Rabbis,"  says  the  Talmud,  "  are  to  be  prized  above  those  of 
the  Law,  for  the  words  of  the  Law  are  both  weighty  and 

I  Hnrwitz,  in    light,  but  thosc  of  thc  Rabbis  are  all  weic^hty."  ^'^     If  Jesus 

his  Sagen  der       °       '  .  O       J 

fiabOTred""'  finswercd   as   the  Pharisees   hoped,  He  would   once  more 
MpSn'tws    commit  Himself,  as  an  enemy  of  the  traditions,  and  expose 

(xxix.).  but  it    TT.  ,p  .  , 

iaafaiiuie.     Himseli  to  ucw  chargcs. 

It  may  be,  there  was,  besides,  a  lurking  desire  to  elicit 
some  utterance  respecting  His  claims  to  a  more  than  human 
authority.  Stones  had  been  lifted  more  than  once,  to  put 
Him  to  death  as  a  blasphemer,  who  made  Himself  equal 
with  God.  How  would  He  express  Himself  in  the  face  of 
the  first  command  of  the  Decalogue  ? 

His  reply,  as  always,  goes  to  the  root  of  the  matter, 
simplifying  the  whole  sweep  of  "  the  Ten  Words  "  into  brief 
and  easily  remembered  principles.  He  avoided  the  least  ap- 
proach to  anything  that  could  give  offence  to  the  most 
zealous  supporter  of  the  Old  Testament,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  gave  no  handle  for  accusation  of  any  slight  of  the 
Rabbinical  precepts. 

"  Teacher,"  said  the  legaUst,  "  which  is  the  great  and  first 
commandment  in  the  Law  ?  " 

No  one  could  take  Jesus  by  surprise  at  any  time,  but  in 
this  sphere  He  was,  if  we  may  so  speak,  especially  at  home, 
as  He  had  shown  a  few  days  before,  in  His  conversation 
with  the  young  ruler,  near  Jericho.  With  a  full  sense  of 
the  peril  of  His  position.  He  answered  with  more  fulness 
than  usual,  leaving  no  ground  for  misapprehension,  but 
giving  as  little  for  offence.  He  had  named  only  one  com- 
mand as  great,  to  the  young  ruler — the  love  of  our  neigh- 
bour— but  to  the  Scribe  He  gave  two,  as  forming,  together, 
"  the  great  and  first  commandment."  Neither  was  abridged, 
or  subordinated  to  the  other,  and  in  the  tAvo  He  formed  the 
principle  from  which  obedience  of  all  the  rest  would  follow. 
With  sure  hand.  He  turned  first  to  the  Fifth  Book  of 
Moses,  then  to  the  Third,  for  the  two  great  guiding  stars 
Keim, ui.  151.  which  all  the  host  of  lesser  commands  followed.^^  "Hear, 
Deut.!!. 4  5.   0  Israel,"  said  He:  "Jehovah,  our  God,  is  one  God"^'' — the 

T.PV.  19.  IS.  '  '  ' 


THE    GREAT    COMMANDMENT.  425 

words  in  -which  every  IsraeUte,  each  morning,  confessed  his 
faith  in  Jehovah — "  And  thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength.  This  is  the  great  and  first 
commandment.  A  second  is  like  it.  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself.  There  is  none  other  command  greater 
than  these.  On  these  two  hang  the  whole  Law  and  the 
pro^ihets." 

He  had  once  more  shown  His  greatness  as  a  teacher,  by 
summing  up  our  whole  duty  in  the  fundamental  concep- 
tions of  religion  and  morality :  in  the  love  to  God,  which  is 
also  love  to  His  childi'en,  our  fellow-men.  Nor  were  the 
various  commands  of  any  part  of  the  Scriptures  overlooked ; 
the  religious  and  moral  precepts  of  the  prophets,  no  less 
than  the  Law,  were  honoured  and  made  binding  for  ever. 

"  Thou  hast  spoken  well  and  truly,"  broke  in  the  scribe, 
"  for  God  is  One,  and  there  is  no  other  but  He,  and  to  love 
Him  with  all  the  heart,  and  with  all  the  understanding,* 
and  with  all  the  soul,  and  with  all  the  strength,  and  to  love 
one's  neighbour  as  one's  self,  is  of  greater  consequence  than 
all  the  whole  burnt  otferings  of  the  Law,  the  morning  and 
evening  sacrifice,  and  all  other  sacrifices  besides." 

"Thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God,"  replied 
Jesus,  as  He  heard  words  which  showed  that  the  speaker 
was  no  mere  man  of  his  party,  but  was  accessible  to 
higher  impulses.  The  Galilajan  had  proved  very  different 
from  what  he  had  been  led  to  anticipate.  His  answers  had 
not  only  silenced  His  enemies,  but  had  half  won  some  of 
them  to  His  side.  Henceforth,  all,  alike,  kept  aloof  from 
one  from  whom  chief  priests  and  Rabbis  equally  went  away 
humbled. 

As  on  the  day  before,  the  defeat  of  all  the  attacks  on  Him 
was  followed  by  His  taking  the  offensive,  but  only  in  a  mild, 
instructive  conflict  with  prejudice  and  misapprehension.  He 
had  openly  assumed  the  Messiahship,  but  in  a  sense  entirely  in 
contrast  with  the  popular  conception.  That  He  fulfilled  none 
of  the  conditions  expected  alike  by  the  authorities  and  the 
people,  in  the  Messiah,  had  given  the  former  the  pretext  for 
spreading  it  abroad  that  He  was  an  impostor ;  a  cry  caught  up, 


426  THE  LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

ciLvp^Yi.  in  the  end,  only  too  -widely,  l)y  the  Jerusalem  populace.  He 
would  now  show  the  Phaiisces,  if  they  chose  to  listen,  that 
their  preconceptions  were  wrong,  when  tested  by  Scripture, 
and  thus  expose  the  worthlessness  of  the  arguments  on 
which  they  based  their  light  denial  of  His  Messlahship. 
Turning  unexpectedly  to  a  knot  of  Pharisees  who  hung 
i»  Matt.  22.       near,  to  watch  as  He  was  teachinjr,  He  asked  them^*^ — 

41— 4G.    Mark  '  tit  i  t 

Liike^w"'  "  What  is  your  opinion  about  the  JMessiah  ;  1  mean,  as  to 

41-44.         j^jg  lineage  and  extraction — whose  son  is  He?" 

"  The  Son  of  David,"  answered  they,  at  once. 

"How  is  it,  then,"   replied  Jesus,   "that  David,  in  the 

hundred  and  tenth  Psalm,  which  you  Rabbis  justly  refer  to 

'»  seeextraets  the  IMcssiah,^'^  says,by  inspiration  of  God,  'The  Lord  said  unto 

in  Nork,  Iviii.  Ti-»r.io-i  -it  t-iit  ^ 

my  Lord,  the  JMessiah,  Sit  thou  on  iny  right  hand,  till  1  make 
thine  enemies  thy  footstool.  Thy  mighty  sceptre  will  the 
Eternal  stretch  forth  out  of  Zion  ;  rule  thou  in  the  midst  of 
thy  foes.'  If  He  be  David's  Lord,  how  can  He  be  his 
Son  ?" 

The  true  answer  they  must  have  given,  had  they  given 
any,  was  one  which  had  not  entered  their  thoughts.  It 
would  have  been — He  is  David's  Son  by  His  human  descent, 
but,  as  the  Son  of  God,  proceeding  from  the  Father,  He  is 
exalted  far  above  Da\-id  and  all  mankind,  and  therefore  was 
rightly  called,  by  David,  his  Lord.  But  this  twofold  relation 
of  the  ]\Iessiah  to  theii'  great  king,  and,  with  it,  the  true 
estimate  of  the  dignity  and  office  of  the  Messiah,  were  not 
in  tlicir  theology.  The  exposition  of  Jesus  might  displease 
the  Rabbis,  but  it  was  heard  with  eager  ears  by  the  multi- 
tude around. 

A  new  scene  now  opened.  Day  after  day,  the  hostility 
of  His  enemies  had  shown  itself  more  fierce,  as  they  found 
it  increasingly  hopeless  to  overcome  Him  by  legitimate 
wea])ons  or  argument.  The  people,  however,  were  more 
friendly,  and  regarded  Him  as,  at  least,  a  prophet,  if  not  the 
Messiah.  He  had  hitherto  maintained  only  a  defensive 
attitude,  but  the  clear  purpose  shown  to  put  Him  out  of  the 
way,  made  all  further  reserve  or  caution  useless.  With  the 
calmness  of  a  profound  conviction,  and  the  clearest  statement 
of  His  grounds.  He  proceeded  to  open  a  vigorous  attack, 


THE    PHARISEES    ARRAIGNED.  427 

that  the  contrast  betAveen  Himself  and  His  opponents  might   chap,  lvl 
be  beyond  question.     Every  one  must  be  enabled  to  judge 
intelligently  on  which  side  he  would  take  his  place.     He 
desired,  henceforth,  only  a  speedy  decision  of  the  struggle. 

He  now,  therefore,  broke  out,  before  the  multitude,  in  a 
last  terrible  denunciation  of  the  moral  and  religious  short- 
comings of  His  adversaries.  These  He  summed  up  under 
the  two  great  heads  of  hypocrisy  and  .selfishness ;  they 
made  a  pretence  and  a  gain  of  religion.  Yet  their  doctrines 
and  decisions  were  substantially  right ;  it  was  their  practice 
He  condemned. 

"The  Scribes  and  Pharisees,"  said  He,  "have  taken  pos- 
session of  the  seat  of  Moses,  to  continue  his  otfice  as  law- 
giver, by  explaining  and  teaching  the  Law.^^  They  ai'e  hi3>»  Mark  12. 
official  successors ;  therefore,  obey  their  decisions.  But  do  Matrmfitl 
not  imitate  their  lives,  for  they  teach  what  they  do  not 
practise.  They  heap  together  their  rules  and  demands,  into 
heavy  burdens,  and  lay  them  on  men's  shoulders,  but  they 
will  not  help  those  whom  they  thus  load  by  so  much  as  the 
touch  of  a  little  finger.  They  shirk  many  rites  and  forms 
which  they  demand  from  others  as  sacred  duties.  Their 
requirements  are  a  load  on  the  conscience,  which  deadens 
and  destroys  it.  To  exalt  their  order,  they  make  slaves  of 
the  people,  paralj-zing  by  their  countless  laws  all  true  virtue, 
freedom,  and  love.  They  act  only  with  an  eye  to  effect ;  to 
be  thought  more  religious  than  others  ;  and  reap  considera- 
tion and  profit  from  this  reputation.  They  come  out  to  pray 
in  their  most  jdIous  robes,  especially  now,  at  the  feast,  and 
wear  phylacteries  of  extra  size  on  their  forehead  and  arm  that 
they  may  be  noticed ;  and  the  very  tassels-"  hung,  in  honour  »  nenog. 

r.      I       -r  Encykl.lv. 

of  the  Law,  at  the  corners  of  their  abbas,  are  larger  than  <^^-- 
those  of  others.  To  get  honour,  they  strive  for  the  highest 
places  at  feasts,  and  the  chief  seats  in  the  synagogues,  and 
court  salutations  in  the  crowded  market-place,  and  the 
sounding  title,  Rabbi.  Have  nothing  to  do  with  such  proud 
names,  for  I,  only,  am  your  Rabbi  or  teachei',  and  all  }'e  are 
brethren.  They  like  to  be  called  '  Father,'  but  call  no 
teacher  on  earth  your  father,  for  one  only  is  your  Father; 
God,  in  Heaven.     And  do  not,  like  them,  be  called  Leaders, 


Mark  12.  40. 
Luke  20.  47. 


428  THE   LIFE    OF  CHRIST. 

cH^Lvi.  for  you  have  only  one  Leader,  Me,  the  Messiah.  The 
highest  phice  among  my  disciples  is  quite  otherwise  obtained 
than  among  them,  for  he  who  seeks  to  be  great  among  you 
can  become  so,  as  I  have  said  before,  only  by  being  the 
servant  of  the  rest.  This  loAvliness  is  itself  his  greatness. 
For  he  who  exalts  himself  shall  be  humbled  at  my  coming, 
and  he  who  humbles  himself  will  be  exalted." 

Rising,  as  he  proceeded.  He  now  broke  out  into  a  lofty 
utterance  of  indignation  at  such  principles  and  conduct. 

"  Woe  to  you,  Sci'ibes  and  Pharisees,  actors  !  Ye  plunder 
the  houses  of  desolate  widows,  left  without  protectors,  and, 
to  hide  your  doings,  make  long  prayers  while  at  such 
"' Mat^M-  work! 21  For  you  say  in  your  hypocrisy,  'Long  prayers 
make  a  long  life,'  and  some  of  you  boast  that  you  pray  nine 
hours  a  day  !-"'^  Believe  me,  you  will  receive  for  all  this  the 
greater  damnation  hereafter. 

"  "Woe  to  you.  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  actors !  Ye  stand 
in  the  gate-Avay  of  the  Ivingdom  of  Heaven,  that  Kingdom 
I  have  come  to  set  up,  and  not  only  do  not  yourselves  enter, 
but  even  close  the  doors  I  have  opened,  that  you  may  keep 
those  from  entering,  who  wish  to  do  so. 

"  "Woe  to  you.  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  actors !  Instead  of 
helping  men  into  the  Kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  ye  compass 
sea  and  land  to  make  one  proselyte,^^  that  your  party  may 
profit  b}'  him,  and,  when  he  is  gained,  what  do  you  make  of 
him  ?  A  son  of  hell,  by  your  example,  two-fold  more  even 
than  you  are  yourselves. 

"  Woe  to  you,  blind  guides,  who  say,  '  If  any  one  swear 
by  the  Temple,  it  is  not  binding;  but  if  he  swear  by  the  gold 
which  belongs  to  the  Temple — the  gilding,  the  golden 
vessels,  or  the  treasure — he  is  bound  by  his  oath.'  Fools 
and  blind !  for  which  is  the  greater,  the  gold,  or  the  Temple 
that  sanctifies  the  gold  ?  You  say,  in  the  same  spirit,  '  If 
any  one  swear  by  the  altar,  his  oath  is  not  binding  on  him ; 
but  if  he  swear  by  the  gift  that  he  ha.s  laid  on  the  altar,  he 
must  keep  his  oath.'  Fools  and  blind!  for  which  is  the 
greater,  the  gift,  or  the  altar  that  sanctifies  the  gift  ?  He 
who  SAvears  by  the  altar  swears  by  it,  and  by  aU  tlie  things 
on  it,  and  he  who  swears  by  the  Temple  swears  by  it,  and 


THE  AERAIGNMENT  COXTIXUED.  429 

by  Him  that  dwells  in  it.     And  he  who  swears  by  heaven,    chap_lvl 
swears  by  the  throne  of  God,  and  by  Him  who  sits  on  it. 

"  Woe  to  you,  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  actors  !  for  ye  affect 
to  be  so  strict  in  observing  the  Law  that  you  pay  a  tenth  to 
the  Temple  of  even  the  sprigs  of  mint  and  anise  and  cummin 
in  your  garden  borders,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  you 
neglect  the  great  commands  of  the  Law;  to  do  justly,  to  love 
mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  your  God.  You  ought 
certainly  to  attend  to  the  lighter  demands  of  the  Law,  but 
surely  not  to  leave  the  far  greater  neglected.  Blind  guides, 
who  strain  out  the  gnat  from  the  wine  and  swallow  the 
camel !  Sticklers  for  worthless  trifles,  regardless  of  matters 
of  moment. 

"  Woe  to  you.  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  actors !  Ye  make 
clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  the  dish,  but,  within,  they 
are  full  of  robbery  and  incontinence.  Blind  Pharisee,  clean 
first  the  inside  of  the  cup  and  dish,  that  the  wine  taste  no 
more  of  plunder  and  lust,  and  that  the  outside  may  not 
only  seem  clean  by  your  washing  it,  but  he  clean,  by  the 
taking  away  of  that  defilement  which  your  life  gives  it,  in 
spite  of  your  cleansings. 

"Woe  to  you,  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  actors!  You  are  like 
the  whitewashed  tombs  all  over  the  land — fair  outside,  but 
full  within  of  the  deadhest  uncleanness — the  bones  of  men, 
and  all  corruption.  You  pass  yourselves  off  as  religious, 
but  in  your  hearts  you  are  full  of  hypocrisy  and  iniquity." 

Over  against  the  eastern  hall  in  which  Jesus  now  stood, 
and  from  which  He  looked  down  into  the  Valley  of  the 
Kedron,  lay,  on  the  slope  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  the  tombs 
of  the  Prophets,  the  southmost  of  which  is  yet  known  as 
the  Tomb  of  Zechariah.  In  sight  of  these  monuments, 
ranging  His  eyes  from  gi-ave  to  grave.  He  burst  out  afresh — 

"  Woe  to  you.  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  actors !  Ye  build 
fine  tombs  over  the  old  prophets,  and  beautify  those  of  the 
saints,  and  say,  '  If  we  had  lived  in  the  days  of  our  fathers, 
we  would  not  have  taken  part  with  them  in  their  martj-rdom 
of  these  holy  men.'  But  when  you  call  them  'your  fathers,' 
you  bear  witness  that  you  are  their  sons — and  you  are,  not 
only  in  natural  descent,  but  in  your  spirit.     You  are  of  kin 


430  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LYi.  in  heart  to  the  pi'ophet-miirderers  !  Fill  up,  therefore,  the 
measure  of  iniquity  your  fathers  before  you  filled  in  their  day, 
— by  slaj'ing  me  and  those  I  shall  send  to  you  !  Serpents ! 
brood  of  vipers,  for  vipers  your  fathers  were,  and  vipers  are 
ye,  how  can  ye  escape  the  judgment  of  hell!  That  ye  may 
not  do  so,  behold,  I  send  to  you  prophet-like  Apostles,  and 
Rabbis,  and  Scribes.  Some  of  them  ye  shall  kill  and  crucify ; 
some  ye  shall  scourge  in  your  synagogues,  and  persecute 
from  city  to  city — that  on  you,  the  leaders  of  the  people, 
may  come  the  punishment  of  all  the  innocent,  righteous 
blood  shed  on  the  earth  ;  from  the  blood  of  righteous  Abel  to 
that  of  Zechariah,  the  son  of  Berechiah,  who  was  stoned  by 
aAntir.8.3.  command  of  King  Joash^*  in  the  court  of  the  Temple, 
between  the  shrine  and  the  altar.  Believe  me,  all  these 
things  will  come  in  this  generation."  Zechariah,  of  old, 
had  denounced  the  sin  of  Israel,  as  Jesus  had  that  of 
the  priests  and  Rabbis.  "Why  transgress  ye,"  he  had 
asked,  "the  commandments  of  the  Lord?  Ye  cannot 
prosper !  Because  ye  have  forsaken  Jehovah,  He  hath  for- 
es chron.  21. 20.  saken  j'ou."-^ 

"  0  Jerusalem !  Jerusalem,"  He  continued,  "  that  killest 
the  prophets,  and  stonest  those  sent  in  love  to  thee ;  how  often 
have  I  desired  to  gather  thy  children,  as  a  hen  gathers  her 
chickens  under  her  wing,  and  ye  refused  to  come  under 
my  loving  protection,  by  accepting  me  as  the  IMessiah. 
Behold,  your  house  is  left  to  you  !  I  go  from  it.  The  time 
of  the  divine  help  and  guard,  over  you  and  your  city, 
which  I  was  sent  to  ofter,  is  past. 

"  I  tell  you  ye  shall  not  see  me  henceforth,  after  my  death, 
which  is  near  at  hand,  till  I  appear  again  in  my  glory. 
Then,  you  shall  be  only  too  eagerly  willing  to  hail  me  as  the 
]\Iessiah,  though  now  ye  refuse  even  to  let  others  thus  hail 
me.  Then,  when  too  late,  you  will  cry,  as  the  crowds  did 
as  I  entered  your  city,  '.  Blessed  is  He  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.' " 

Thus,  the  breach  between  the  Future  and  the  Past  was 
finally  made  complete.  The  whole  hierarchy,  from  the  high 
priest  its  primate,  to  the  Levite  its  curate,  and  the  Rabbi 
its  university  professor  or  tutor,  had  been  denounced  before 


CHRISTIANITY  AND   JUDAISM.  431 

the  people,  in  language  which  tliey  must  resent  if  they  chap,  lvi. 
were  to  retain  any  authority  at  all.  Either  Jesus,  or  the 
Church  as  it  was,  with  all  its  innumerable  personal  interests, 
must  perish.  It  had  come  to  this,  indeed,  before  this  last 
tremendous  indictment  of  the  system,  and  the  certainty  that 
nothing  could  avei't  His  being  sacrificed  to  the  fanaticism 
and  vested  interests  arrayed  against  Him,  had  alone  caused 
such  a  protest.  He  had  no  reasons  for  further  reserve.  It 
was  fixed  that  He  must  die  at  their  hands,  and  the  irre- 
concilable opposition  between  the  system  for  the  sake  of 
which  He  was  to  be  martyred,  and  His  own  character  and 
work,  must,  once  more,  for  the  last  time,  be  bi'ought  out  in 
full  contrast,  that  every  one  might  choose  for  himself  for 
Avhich  he  would  decide. 

The  infinite  moral  grandeur  and  purity  of  Jesus,  His  ab- 
solute truth,  His  all-embracing  love,  His  lowly  humility, 
His  sublime  consecration  to  the  will  of  His  Father,  His  in- 
tense moral  earnestness,  His  spirit  of  joyful  self-sacrifice  for 
the  moral  and  spiritual  good  of  mankind,  shine  out  nowhere 
more  transcendently,  than  when  contrasted,  in  this  parting 
lament,  with  the  wretched  sophistries  and  reverence  for  the 
infinitely  little,  Avhich  marked  the  Rabbinism  He  opposed. 
The  spirit  of  the  market  or  the  booth,  in  religion,  found  no 
sanction  at  His  hands  ;  He  Avould  have  no  huckstering  for 
heaven  by  a  life  of  petty  formalities  ;  He  abhorred  all  cant 
and  insincerity,  and  all  trading  with  religion  ;  all  striving 
after  mere  outward  success,  for  ulterior  and  unworthy  ends. 
He  Avould  have  no  divorce  of  religion  from  morality ;  it  was 
with  Him  a  living  principle  in  the  heart,  not  a  rubric  of  ex- 
ternal acts  ;  its  outward  expression  was  a  holy  life,  but  the 
holiness  Avithout  was  only  the  blossoming  of  a  similar  holi- 
ness within.  In  Rabbinism,  on  the  opposite,  there  was 
formal  piety,  with  no  moral  earnestness :  an  absorbing  zeal 
for  artificial  duties,  with  which  the  conscience  had  nothing 
to  do  ;  and  an  elaborate  multiphcation  of  rules  and  rites,  for 
the  express  aim  of  obtaining  the  absolute  spiritual  de- 
pendence of  all,  on  the  teaching  caste.  The  whole  system 
had  been  originated  and  developed  to  its  fulness,  to  be  a 
"hedge"    round  the  Law,  and  thus  secure  fidelity  to  the 


432  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

onARLvi.  jjolitico-religious  constitution  of  the  nation,  and  its  minutest 
details  were  strenuously  enforced  to  secure  this  end.  Un- 
questioning acceptance  of  tradition,  and  the  deepening  and 
extending  of  the  ghostly  influence  of  the  authorities,  were 
the  two  great  points  kept  in  view.  There  were  true  Is- 
raelites, like  Nathanael,  or  Zechariah,  or  Simeon,  or  Joseph, 
in  spite  of  a  system  thus  lifeless  and  corrupting;  but  it  was 
vain  to  hope  for  anything  but  evil,  in  the  community  at 
large,  under  its  reign.  Insincerity  and  immorality  in  the 
teachers  of  a  religion  can  only  multiply  and  perpetuate 
themselves  in  their  disciples. 

The  theology  and  hierarchy  of  Judaism  had  become, 
in  fact,  what  Jesus  openly  declared  them — whitewashed 
sepulchres — pure  to  the  eye,  but  with  only  death  and  cor- 
ruption within.  They  had  proved  that  they  were  so,  by  re- 
jecting Him,  because  He  demanded  moral  and  religious 
reform.  Wedded  to  the  false  and  immoral,  they  rather 
killed  Him  than  let  Him  lead  them  back  to  God. 

Over  such  a  state  of  things  He  could  only  raise  His  sad 
lamentation !  Judaism  had  chosen  its  own  way,  and  left 
Him  to  His. 


THE   INTEKVAIi.  433 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

THE  INTERVAL. 

AFTER  His  terrible  parting  denunciation  of  the  religious  cHAP^vn 
leaders  of  the  nation,  Jesus  passed  into  the  great  fore- 
court of  tlie  women,  fifteen  steps  below  that  of  the  men.  It 
was  a  wide  space  of  a  hundred  and  thirty-five  cubits  in 
length  and  breadth,  and  was  open  to  the  people  at  large. 
Popular  assemblies,  indeed,  were  at  times  held  in  it,  and  it 
was  the  scene  of  the  torch-dance  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles. 
It  was  especially  frequented,  however,  by  both  sexes,  because 
the  building  was  there  in  which  the  pious  presented  their 
ofiferings. 

Jesus  had  sat  down  to  rest,  after  the  multiplied  excite- 
ments of  the  past  hours,  over  against  the  treasury,  where  the 
continuous  stream  of  persons  casting  in  their  money  neces- 
sarily attracted  His  notice.  As  each  came,  He  could  judge 
by  his  appearance  how  much  he  threw  in.  The  poor  could 
only  give  paltry  copper  coins,  but  the  rich  cast  in  gold  and 
silver ;  some,  doubtless,  from  an  honest  zeal  for  the  glory  of 
God;  others,  because  alms,  in  the  sordid  theology  of  the 
day,  had  their  commercial  value  in  the  future  world. 

Among  others,  came  a  poor  widow,  with  her  Uvo  lepta — 
one-twelfth  of  our  penny  each* — the  smallest  of  copper  coins.  £u^o '^  lii^*' 
She  could  not  have  cast  in  less,  for  one  lepton  was  not  re- 
ceived as  an  ofi'ering.  Tlie  sight  touched  the  heart  of  Jesus. 
"  Believe  me,"  said  He,  to  those  around,  "this  poor  woman 
has  cast  in  more  than  any  one,  for  they  have  only  given 
of  their  superfluity,  but  she,  in  her  need^ — for  she  has 
less  than  enough — has  thrown  in  all  she  had  for  her  day's 
living." 

Among  the  multitude  of  pilgrims  to  the  feast,  then  in 

VOL.  II.  67 


434  THE   LIFE   OF   CHEIST. 

CHAP.  Lvii.  Jerusalem,  '\\'cre  many  foreign  proselytes.  That  they  should 
have  come  up,  though  heathens  by  birth,  showed  an  earnest 
sincerity,  for  it  exposed  them  to  ridicule  and  even  worse, 
from  their  own  countrymen.  Many  of  them,  doubtless,  men 
like  the  centurion  at  Capernaum,  or  like  the  Ethiopian 
eunuch,  were  men  won  over  to  faith  in  Jehovah,  and  to  a 
lo}-al  respect  for  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Old  Testament : 
proselytes  of  the  gate,  in  distinction  from  the  proselytes  of 
righteousness,  who,  by  circumcision,  had  become,  in  all 
religious  and  social  respects,  Jews.  The  spread  of  a  JeAvish 
population  in  all  countries,  and  the  immunities  they 
enjoyed,  had  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  great  numbers  of 
Gentiles,  Avho  were  willing  to  pledge  themselves  to  what 
were  called  the  seven  commands  of  Noah — the  avoidance  of 
murder,  bloodshed,  or  robbery :  obedience  to  the  Jewish 
courts  in  matters  of  religion  :  the  rejection  of  idolatry,  and 
the  worship  of  Jehovah :  and  to  eat  no  freshly-killed  and 
still  bleeding  flesh.  They  were  received  as  "  the  strangers 
■nathin  the  gate"  of  Israel,  and  could  attend  the  synagogues, 
but  could  not  pass  beyond  the  Court  of  the  Heathen,  in  the 

I  Proselyten,  in  Temple. ^ 
Berzog,  y-v  .  . 

KWLe"*  ^^'  ^'^^*  class,  some  Greeks,  then  at  Jerusalem  for  the 
feast,  which  they  were  in  the  habit  of  attending,  had  heard 
much  of  Jesus :  perhaps  had  seen  Him  and  listened  to  His 
discourses,  and  were  anxious  to  know  Him  personally,  that 
they  might  have  His  personal  counsels.  Too  modest  to 
come  direct,  they  applied  to  Philip,  the  only  Apostle  bearing 
a  Greek  name,  though  Andrew  is  of  Greek  origin.  To 
him  Philip  forthwith  mentioned  the  circumstance,  and  the 
two  communicated  it  to  Jesus.  It  filled  His  heart  with 
much-needed  joy,  to  welcome  men  who  must  have  seemed 
to  Him  an  earnest  of  His  future  triumphs,  among  the  great 
heathen  nations.  As  Bengel  says,  "  it  was  the  prelude  of 
the  transition  of  the  kingdom  of  God  from  the  Jew  to  the 
Gentile." 

He  went  out  to  them,  therefore,  to  the  Coiut  of  the 
Heathen,  and  they,  doubtless,  heard  from  His  lips  the 
counsels  desired.  The  incident  brought  to  His  mind,  with 
fresh  vividness  and  force,  the  nearness  of  His  death,  throuo;h 


THE   GREEK  PROSELYTES.  435 

which  His  salvation  was  to  be  brought  to  the  heathen  world  chap,  lvii. 
at  large,-^  and  His  emotion  broke  forth  in  words,  full  of"  "'i^j^ii!:^' " 
subUmity. 

"The  hour  has  come,"  said  He,  lifting  His  face,  as  we 
may  believe,  to  heaven,  as  He  spoke — "  the  hour  a2:)pointed 
in  the  counsels  of  my  Father,  from  eternity,  when  the  Son 
of  man  shall  enter  into  His  glorv  by  death.^     For  it  must  be  =  oh.  n.s;  6.6a 

O        -       •'       _  _  1  Pet.  1.11. 

that  I  die,  that  my  work  may  bear  its  due  fruits — as  the 
grain  must  fall  into  the  ground  and  perish,  that  it  may 
bring  forth  the  harvest.  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  to  you,  it 
must  be  so.  My  life  remains  limited  and  bound  up  in 
myself,  as  the  life  is  in  the  seed,  till  I  die.  It  cannot,  till 
then,  pass  beyond  me  to  others,  and  multiply.  But  when  I 
die,  I  shall  be  like  the  corn,  which,  in  its  death,  imparts  its 
life  to  what  springs  from  it. 

"  As  it  is  needful  for  me  thus  to  die,  to  make  my  work 
triumph,  so,  also,  is  it  for  you,  my  followers,  in  your  own 
case.  He  who  so  loves  his  life  as  not  to  be  willing  to  jaeld 
it  for  my  kingdom,  will  lose  eternal  life  hereafter ;  but  he 
who,  in  this  world,  cheerfully  gives  up  even  his  life  for  me, 
as  if  he  hated  it  in  comparison  with  loyalty  to  me,  ^ndll  gain 
life  everlasting.  If  any  man  wish  really  to  serve  me,  let  him 
imitate  me  in  my  joyful  readiness  even  to  die ;  and  he  wiU 
receive,  as  His  reward,  that  where  I  go,  to  the  right  hand 
of  my  Father  in  heaven,  there,  also,  will  he  follow,  and  dwell 
A\ith  me ;  for  if  any  one  thus  truly  and  self-sacrificingly 
serve  me,  my  Father  will  honour  him  by  giving  him  the 
glory  of  the  life  hereafter." 

The  awful  vision  of  the  immediate  future,  meanwhile,  for 
a  moment,  raised  a  shrinking  of  human  weakness.  It  was 
the  foreshadowing  of  Gethsemane. 

"  Now,  is  my  soul  troubled,"  cried  He,  with  a  voice  of 
infinite  sadness.*  In  his  a^onv  of  soul.  He  hesitated  for  a<  joimi2. 2rff. 
moment,  before  all  through  which  He  had  so  soon  to  pass, 
and  it  seemed  as  if  He  were  even  now  enduring  it.  "  Wliat 
shall  I  say?"  He  added,  as  if  communing  with  Himself; 
"  Shall  I  pray — Father,  save  me  from  the  hour  of  darkness: 
take  this  cup  from  me  ?  No,  let  it  not  be :  all  the  past  has 
been  only  a  progress  towards  it,  that  by  it  I  might  glorify 


436  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lvn.  Thy  name  I"  The  momentary  human  shrinking  from  the 
Cross  had  passed  away  as  soon  as  it  had  risen.  The  cloud 
that  dimmed  the  clear  heaven  of  His  soul  had  disappeared. 
His  trouble  of  soul  gave  place,  on  the  instant,  to  the 
victorious  consciousness  of  the  great  future  to  flow  from  His 
accomplishment  of  the  purpose  of  God  for  the  salvation  of 
the  world.  Then,  as  if  He  were  repeating  aloud  His  inward 
thought,  He  burst  forth  into  the  words — "  Father,  glorify 
Thy  name,  as  Thou  hast  purposed,  through  my  death  for 
man.  I  come  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God,  and  I  give  myself  up 
to  Thee!" 

Forthwith  came  a  wondrous  attestation,  sealing  the  divine 
authority  of  our  Saviour's  mission  with  the  stamp  of  august 
and  transcendent  glory.  Suddenly  there  sounded  a  voice 
from  the  cloudless  April  sky,  with  a'  volume  that  filled  the 
heavens,  so  that  some,  overpowered  by  its  grandeur,  could 
not  think  of  it  as  an  utterance  of  articulate  words,  but 
fancied  that  it  thundered — "  I  have  glorified  My  name, 
abeady,  in  having  sent  Thee,  and  in  all  Thy  sinless  and 
gracious  life,  tiU  now ;  and  I  shall  glorify  it  again,  by  Thine 
entrance  on  Thy  heavenly  glory  through  the  gates  of  death  ! " 

"  It  thunders,"  muttered  some,  whose  souls  wx're  least 
quick  to  reahze  what  had  happened.  "No,"  said  others, 
with  truer  religious  sensibility — "  It  was  an  angel  speaking 
to  Him.  He  is  a  prophet,  at  least;  if  not  the  Messiah  Him- 
self, and  God  speaks,  thus,  to  Him,  by  a  heavenly  messenger." 
But  the  disciples  around,  and  Jesus  Himself,  knew  whence 
it  came,  and  what  were  the  precise  Avords  from  the  excellent 
glory. 

"You  may  not  understand,"  said  Jesus  to  the  disciples 
and  the  crowd,  "  whence  this  voice  comes,  and  why  it  is 
sent.  It  is  the  voice  of  My  Father  in  heaven,  and  comes, 
not  for  my  sake,  but  for  yours,  to  take  away  your  unbelief, 
and  to  strengthen  your  faith.  The  time  presses  for  your 
decision  regai'ding  me.  Even  now,  the  judgment  of  my 
Father  is  being  given  forth,  against  those  who  have  re- 
jected me  as  the  Messiah.  Through  the  victory  of  my 
kingdom,  which  my  death  will  secure,  and  the  spread  of 
my  name  over  the  earth  proclaim,  the  impotence  of  my 


DISCOURSE   OP  JEStrS.  437 

enemies  will  be  shown,  and  their  guilt  before  God  be  ch.^.p.  lvh. 
made  clear.  He,  especially,  whom  even  you  call  the  ruler 
of  this  world,  and  the  great  enemy  of  the  kingdom  of  God — 
the  prince  of  evil — will  feel  the  gi'eatness  of  my  triumph, 
for  his  kingdom  must  yield  to  mine.^  My  death,  as  the » Eisenmenger, 
atonement  between  God  and  man,  will  deliver  from  his 
power  and  place  under  my  protection,  as  the  glorified  Shep- 
herd of  the  sheep,  aU  who  believe  in  my  name.  Nor  wUl 
that  triumph  cease  as  time  rolls  on :  age  after  age,  till  the 
last  day,  in  ever  ^\^der  sweep,  it  will  sul^due  all  things  under 
me,  and  drive  the  kingdom  of  darkness  from  the  world. 

"  So  it  shall  be ;  for  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth  by 
the  death  of  the  cross,  as  I  know  I  shall  be,  and  thus  pass 
away  from  the  world  and  return  to  my  Father,  shall  draw 
all  men  to  me ;  for  the  power  of  my  cross  will  be  uni- 
versally felt,  and 'the  Holy  Spirit,  whom  I  shall  send  from 
the  Father,  Avill  turn  men's  hearts  to  love  and  serve  me. 
The  prince  of  this  world  has,  in  Me,  his  conqueror ;  for  I 
must  reign  till  all  things  are  put  under  my  feet,  and  the 
world  be  won  back  to  God." 

The  people  round,  accustomed  to  speak  freely  with  the 
Rabbis  on  the  subject  of  their  addresses,  had  listened  to  Him 
respectfully,  but  were  at  a  loss  to  reconcile  His  words  with 
their  preconceived  ideas  of  the  ilessiah.^     In  the  Synagogue, « johni2.34. 
they  had  heard  passages  read  from  the  Scriptures,  describing 
Him  as  a  priest  for  ever,  and  His  dominion  as  one  which 
should  never  pass  away  or  be  destroyed,  but  stand  for  ever 
and  ever,^  and  had  come  to  expect,  in  consequence,  an  ever- '  Ps.no.  4. 
lasting  reign  of  the  Messiah  upon  earth.     They  were  at  a    214. 
loss,  therefore,  to  reconcile  Christ's  use  of  the  name.  Son  of 
]\Ian,  Avhich  they  applied  to  the  Messiah,  with  the  statement 
that,  instead  of  dwelling  on  eaith  for  ever,  as  a  king  over  all 
nations,  He  should  sufter  the  shameful  death  of  crucifixion. 
The  cross  was  already  the  stumbling-block  to  them  it  after- 
wards became  so  widely  to  their  nation. 

"  We  have  heard  out  of  the  Law,"  said  they,  "  that  the 
Christ  is  to  live  for  ever,  on  earth.  What  dost  Thou  mean, 
then,  by  saying  that  the  Son  of  Man — a  name  by  which  we 
understand,  the  Christ — must  be  crucified?      Who  is  this 


438  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

Son  of  Man  to  whom  Thou  referrest?  What  dost  Thou 
mean  by  using  this  name,  when  Thou  speakest  so  contrary 
to  Scripture  ?  " 

His  time  was  too  short  to  give  a  formal  explanation.  Nor 
would  it  have  been  of  any  effect  in  minds  so  prejudiced,  for 
the  fullest  explanations  of  after  days  made  no  im2iression. 
He  chose  rather  to  urge  on  them,  once  more,  the  one  course 
in  which  lay  their  eternal  safety.  Standing  at  the  very  close 
of  His  pubhc  ministrations,  He  threw  into  these  last  words  of 
warning  the  whole  intensity  and  earnestness  of  His  soul. 

"  If  you  wish  to  comprehend  what  I  have  said  about  my 
being  lifted  up,^  let  me  tell  you  how  all  your  questions  and 
difficulties  about  it  may  be  resolved.  I  shall  be  Avith  you 
only  a  very  little  longer ;  make  right  use  of  that  time  to 
believe  in  me,  the  Light  of  the  World,  as  the  traveller  makes 
use  of  the  last  moments  of  day,  to  reach  safety,  before  dark- 
ness overtake  him.  With  me,  the  light  of  truth,  which  noAV 
lights  you,  will  be  gone,  and  you  know  that  he  who  walks 
in  darkness  knows  not  what  way  to  go.  While  ye  still  have 
me,  the  Light  of  Men,  believe  in  the  light,  that  ye  may 
receive  illumination  from  it." 

It  was  still  early  in  the  afternoon,  and  He  might  have 
stayed  in  the  Temple  till  it  shut  at  sunset,  then  a  few  minutes 
after  six  in  the  evening.  But  these  were  almost  the  last 
words  He  was  to  speak  as  a  public  teacher.  His  mission  to 
His  nation  was  ended.  There  remained  only  a  brief  interval 
of  communion  with  the  loved  ones  round  Him,  and,  then, 
would  come  the  consummation  of  Calvary.  His  work  was 
over,  except  the  final  and  greatest  act  of  aU.  Casting  a  last 
sad  look  of  quenchless  pity  on  all.  He  turned  away  to  Bethany, 
to  seek  seclusion,  till  the  time  came  for  His  self-sacrifice. 

It  must  have  been  a  solemn  and  well-nigh  overj^owering 
moment,  thus  to  bid  farewell,  for  ever,  to  the  Temple  of  His 
nation, — the  centre  of  the  old  kingdom  of  God; — for  the 
retrospect  of  His  public  life,  and  the  vision  of  the  future, 
must  have  risen,  hke  a  dream,  before  Him.  So  far  as 
apparent  results  went,  He  had  had  little  success,  for,  though 
even  His  bitterest  enemies  were  forced  to  own  His  super- 
natural power,  and  the  greatness  and  number  of  the  instances 


THE   LAST   APPEAL.  439 

in  which  it  had  been  shown :  though  they  had  seen  His  ohap.  lvil 
gi'and  self-restraint  which  always  exerted  it  for  others,  and 
habitually  ignored  any  personal  end,  either  of  ambition, 
defence,  or  retaliation,  tiU  they  had  come  to  treat  Him,  not 
only  with  disrespect,  but  even  with  open  violence ;  secure,  in 
His  infinite  j^atience  and  humility;  their  prejudices  had 
utterly  blinded  them,  and  they  steadfastly  refused,  as  a  class, 
to  accept,  in  His  jDci'son,  a  ]\Iessiah  so  contrary  to  their  gross 
and  ambitious  expectations.  There  were,  indeed,  even  among 
the  chief  rulers  and  priests,  many  who  believed  in  Him,  but 
it  was  only  a  secret  conviction  which  they  had  not  the  courage 
to  own. 

The  threat  of  excommunication  had  been  too  terrible  to 
brave,  and  they  preferred  to  cling  to  their  social  and  civil 
interests,  at  the  cost  of  repressing  their  better  thoughts. 

Once  more,  only,  was  the  pleading  voice  raised.  A  num- 
ber of  those  near  apparently  followed  Him  as  He  retired, 
and  He  could  not  tear  Himself  from  them,  without  a  final 
outburst  of  yearning  desire  for  their  salvation.  Turning 
round,  and  raising  His  voice  till  the  sound  rang  far  and  wide, 
He  cried — 

"Think  not  that  the  faith  I  demand  in  myself  in  any 
way  lessens  or  takes  from  the  faith  that  is  due  to  God.^  To  « johnia. 
believe  in  me,  and  to  believe  in  God,  are  the  same  thing. 
He  who  has  that  faith  in  me,  which  the  proofs  I  have  given 
of  my  being  sent  from  God  demand,  believes  not  so  much 
in  me  as  in  Him  who  sent  me.  And  thus,  also,  he  who 
looks  on  me  as  that  which  I  have  shown  myself  to  be,  looks 
not  so  much  on  me  as  on  Him  who  sent  me — on  the  Godhead 
of  my  Father  revealed  in  me.  In  ]\Ie  ye  have  a  Light.  I 
came  into  the  world  to  enlighten  men,  that  every  one  who 
yields  himself  to  my  guidance,  may  be  as  when  one  walks 
after  a  light,  and  may  no  longer  remain  in  the  darkness 
of  ignorance,  superstition,  and  sin. 

"  Yet  if  any  one  who  hears  my  words,  refuses  to  believe 
in  Me — let  him  not  think  that  /  shall  inflict  judgment 
on  him  for  his  refusal.  The  end  of  my  coming  is  not  to 
judge  the  world,  but,  rather,  to  save  it  from  eternal  ruin. 
He  who  rejects  Me,  Jly  words,  and  ]\Iy  deeds,  has  in  his 


440  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP. Lvn.  own  breast  a  judge  that  will  condemn  him  hereafter.  The 
truth  I  have  spoken,  in  the  name  of  God,  which  he 
has  refused  to  receive,  will  condemn  him  in  his  own 
conscience  at  the  last  day,  and  will  condemn  him  also  from 
the  lij^ts  of  the  Great  Judge.  For  the  words  1  have  spoken 
have  been  no  mere  utterances  of  my  own  ;  I  have  taught 
only  that  which  I  was  commissioned  by  my  Father  to  speak, 
and  I  know  that  my  teaching,  if  obeyed  and  followed,  secures 
everlasting  life  to  men.  All  that  I  say  is  only  what  my 
Father  has  told  me  to  speak  in  His  name.  Therefore,  let  no 
man  think  that  I  speak  anything  but  that  which  my  Father 
has  given  me  to  proclaim.  I  am  He  whom  God  hath  sent, 
and  my  words  are  the  words  of  God." 

Nothing  in  these  last  discourses  of  Jesus  had  seemed  more 
strange  and  inexplicable  to  the  Apostles,  than  His  prediction 

« Matt. 24.       of  the  early  destruction  of  Jerusalem,^"  and  of  the  Temple 

1—14.    Mark  •'  i       •   i     tt-  i  i       i        p 

LukSiVis  itself  As  they  now  passed  with  Hnn,  through  the  forecourts, 
to  the  outer  gate,  and  down  the  eastern  steps,  to  the  Kedron 
valley  ;  overpowered  by  the  vast  magnificence,  -wrhich  seemed 
grand  enough  even  for  the  times  of  the  Messiah,  they  could 
not  refrain  from  speaking  to  Him  respecting  His  strange 
and  mysterious  words. 

"  Master,"  said  they,  "  see  what  a  wondrous  structure  this 
is.  What  stones !  what  buildings  !  what  splendour !  what 
wealth  !  How  the  whole  Temple  rises,  terrace  above  terrace, 
from  the  great  white  walls,  to  the  Holy  Place,  shining  with 
gold  !  and  it  is  not  finished  even  yet !  " 

The  Temple,  says  Josephus,  was  built  of  white  stones  of 

great  size — the  length  of  each  about  thirty-seven  and  a  half 

feet,  some  even  forty-five  feet, — the  thickness  twelve  feet, 

I  jos.BciLT.    and  the  breadth  eighteen." 

6^6.^  Ant.  xy.      -g^^  Jesus  lookcd  at  all  this  strength,  wealth,  and  magni- 

cubit  to  be     ficence,  with  very  difierent  eyes.     To  Him  the  Jewish  theo- 

onlylSinches.  1  J  •> 

lumrwan-  cracy  had  outlived  its  day,  and  had  sunk  into  moral  decre- 
derangen,34.  pj^^j^-^g  ^^^  approachiug  death,  which  the  mere  outward 
splendour  of  its  Temple  could  not  hide.  Israel,  in  rejecting 
Him,  the  Voice  of  God,  calling  it  to  rise  to  new  spiritual 
life,  had  shown  itself  ripe  for  divine  judgment.  His  own 
death,  already  determined  by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities, 


DOOM   OF  THE   TEMPLE,  441 

and  now  close  at  hand,  wovdd  seal  the  fate  of  the  nation  chap.lvii. 
and  its  religion.     It  wonld   be   the  proclamation    of  the 
passing  away  of  the  lungdom  of  God  on  earth  from  Judaism, 
now  dead  in  forms  and  rites,  to  the  heathen  nations  willing 
to  receive  its  spirit  and  liberty. 

He  knew  that  the  Theocracy  would  cling  to  their  dream  of 
national  independence,  and  the  erection  of  a  mighty  political 
empire  of  the  Messiah,  and  that  this  involved  a  struggle 
between  them  and  Rome,  in  which  their  petty  weakness  must 
inevitably  be  crushed.  Strange  fate !  the  moment  when 
they  fancied  they  had  secured  themselves  even  from  reform, 
by  the  resolution  to  put  Jesus  to  death,  was  that  in  which 
He  whose  death  was  to  ensure  permanence  and  prosperity, 
predicted  their  utter  destruction !  ^-  n  schenkci,255. 

"Yes,"  said  Jesus,  in  utter  sadness,  "I  see  all :  they  are 
very  great  buildings,  but  I  tell  you  solemnly,  the  day  will 
come  when  there  will  not  be  one  stone  of  them  all  left  on 
another,  not  thrown  down."^^  «  Matt.  24. 3. 

He  said  nothing  more,  but  went  out  of  the  city  by  the 
blossoming  Kedron  Valley,  with  its  gardens  and  stately 
mansions,  a  picture  of  peace  and  prosperity,  to  the  ]\Iount 
of  Olives.  Sitting  down  on  a  knoll,  to  enjoy  the  magnificent 
view,  so  full  of  unutterable  thoughts  to  the  Rejected  One, 
the  Apostles  had  ^Moriah  once  more  before  them  in  its  whole 
glory,  crowned  by  the  maj-ble  Temple,  like  a  mountain  with 
snow. 

In  the  group  around,  Peter  and  James,  and  John  and 
Andrew,  sat  nearest  their  Master,  and,  as  they  looked  at 
all  the  splendour  before  them — splendour  so  great  that  it 
was  often  said  that  he  who  had  not  seen  it  had  missed  one 
of  the  wonders  of  the  world — their  thoughts  still  ran  on  the 
words  in  which  He  had  doomed  it  to  destruction. ^^  They  «  jia^,  54  3 
had  heard  Him  say  that  the  nation  would  not  see  Him  again, 
tiU  they  showed  themselves  ready  to  receive  Him  as  the 
Messiah,  and  that,  in  the  meantime,  the  city  and  Temple 
should  be  utterly  destroyed.  Their  only  idea  of  the  Messiah, 
even  yet,  however,  was  that  of  a  deUverer  of  the  nation,  who, 
besides  any  spiritual  benefits  He  might  confer,  would  raise 
Israel  to  world-wide  supremacy.     They  could  not  imagine 


442  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lvg  that  the  holy  city,  and  its  Teinplo,  would  perish  before  the 
end  of  the  world,  and  He  must  surely  come  sooner  than 
that,  to  free  Israel  from  subjection  and  inaugurate  its  glorj'. 
The  destruction  of  the  city,  therefore,  could  not,  they  fancied, 
be  before  the  destruction  of  all  things.  They  would  fain 
know  what  sign,  after  this  catastrophe,  would  precede  His 
glorious  coming  and  the  final  consummation,  if  it  were  to  be 
so;  that  they  might  recognize  His  advent  when  it  took  place. 
Their  ideas,  in  truth,  were  in  a  hopeless  confusion. 

"Tell  us.  Master,"  said  one  of  the  four  favoured  ones, 
"  when  shall  these  things,  of  which  Thou  hast  spoken,  take 
place  ?  And  what  sign  will  there  be  of  Thy  coming,  and  of 
the  end  of  the  world  ?  " 

It  was  impossible  to  explain  fully,  to  minds  so  filled  Avitli 
preconceived  ideas.  Much  must  hapi)en — His  death,  resur- 
rection, and  departure  from  the  earth,  before  they  could 
acquire  just  conceptions  of  His  kingdom.  Till  then,  it  was 
hopeless  to  remove  their  prejudices.  He,  therefore,  con- 
fined Himself,  as  usual,  to  the  practical,  that  He  might  rouse 
them  to  watchfulness  over  themselves,  and  remove  the  illu- 
sion that  the  holiness  of  Jerusalem  would  preserve  it,  and 
that  the  Messiah  must  appear  first,  to  deliver  the  nation  from 
the  hand  of  the  Romans. 

He  fitly  began  by  warning  tliem  against  false  Messiahs. 
"Take  heed,"  said  He,  "that  no  impostor  deceive  you,  by 
persuading  you  that  he  is  the  Messiah,  come,  as  you  expect, 
to  free  the  nation,  and  subdue  the  world,  and  to  spread  the 
Jewish  religion  over  the  earth.  Many  deceivers  will  rise, 
calHng  themselves  the  Messiah — sent  from  God  to  deliver 
Israel — and  saying  that  the  time  of  this  deliverance  has 
come.  They  will  mislead  many.  Take  care  that  you  go 
not  out  after  them. 

"But,  to  turn  to  your  question — before  the  Temple  is 
destroyed,  you  will  hear  the  terrors  of  wars  near  at  hand, 
and  the  distant  tumult  of  others,  and  you  may  think  that 
they  will  bring  the  end.  But  be  not  alarmed.  They  are 
divinely  appointed,  and  this  may  serve  to  calm  your  minds  ; 
but  the  destruction  of  the  city  and  Temple  will  not  take 
place  so  soon.     Nor  must  you  think  that  these  wars  will 


DISCOURSE   TO   THE   APOSTLES.  443 

herald  national  deliverance :  instead  of  proclaiming  an  inter-  chap^vh 
ference  of  God  for  the  restoration  of  Israel,  they  mark  the 
beginning  of  His  judgments.  For  nation  will  rise  against 
nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom,  and  there  will  be 
famines,  and  pestilences,  and  earthquakes,  and  fearful  sights 
in  the  heavens,  here  and  there,  over  the  earth.  Yet,  do  not 
think,  from  these,  that  God  is  about  to  appear  for  the  Jews, 
and  to  send  them  an  earthly  Messiah.  No ;  all  these  are 
only  the  first  pangs  of  the  coming  sorrow.  Your  Rabbis 
have  told  you  that  such  things  are  signs  of  the  speedy 
advent  of  the  Messiah,^  but  be  not  deceived. 

"Instead  of  peace,  these  things  will  bring  you  evil. 
Once  more,  be  on  your  guard.  I  shall  soon  leave  you,  and 
would  again  warn  you  of  the  dangers  to  you  which  shall 
precede  the  last  catastrophe.  I  have  told  you  often,  what 
perils  and  heavy  trials  await  you,  in  your  founding  and 
spreading  my  Kingdom,  so  different  in  its  spiritual  and  moral 
unworldliness,  from  all  others.  Before  the  end  comes,  men 
will  proceed  to  violence  against  you,  for  my  name's  sake. 
Your  countrymen  will  lay  hands  on  you,  accuse  you,  and 
bring  you  before  the  local  authorities ;  you  will  be  scourged 
in  the  synagogues  and  thrown  into  dungeons,  and  even 
di-agged  before  kings  and  Roman  governors,  that  you  may 
witness  for  ]\Ie,  my  Person,  and  my  Work,  before  them.  ^ 

"But  let  me  comfort  you,  in  prospect  of  such  trials. 
Never  forget  that  I  Avill  not  forsake  you  when  you  thus 
suffer  for  my  sake,  and  shall,  myself,  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
whom  I  shall  send  to  your  aid,  give  you  words  and  wisdom 
for  your  defence,  when  you  are  before  tribunals.  Be  not 
therefore  anxious,  when  such  persecutions  rise,  for,  in  the 
hour  of  your  trial,  it  will  not  be  you  who  speak,  but  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

"  Yet,  let  me  not  conceal  from  you  that  they  will  deliver 
you  up  to  every  form  of  suffering,  and  even  kill  you,  and  that 
you  will  be  hated  not  only  by  your  own  nation,  because  you 
proclaim  me  as  the  JMessiah,  but  by  all  the  heathen  nations 
as  well.     In  this  world  you  can  look  only  for  tribulation. 

"  But  a  greater  trial  awaits  you  than  mere  persecution 
from  without.     The  strife  of  creeds  will   enter   even   the 


444 


THE  LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 


CHAP.  LYn  sacred  circle  of  the  family ;  the  father  -nill  give  e\ndence 
before  the  Courts  against  his  own  child,  the  brother  against 
the  brother,  the  child  against  its  parent,  the  friend  against 
the  friend.  The  fury  of  heathen  and  Jewish  fanaticism  will 
feel  no  pity :  the  nearest  blood  will  rage  against  its  own,  and 
will  deliver  them  up  to  the  executioner.  And  even  in,  your 
own  number,  many  will  renounce  their  faith,  under  the 
pressure  of  persecution  and  trial,  and  will  even  betray  and 
deliver  up  their  felloAv-Christians  to  the  magistrate,  and  Avill 
hate  those  from  whom  the}'  have  thus  apostatized.  My  name 
will  indeed  become  a  symbol  of  hatred  and  scorn,  against 
every  one  who  confesses  it.  Still  worse,  many  false  Christian 
teachers  will  rise  in  your  own  bosom,  and  will  mislead 
numbers.  And  all  this  spiritual  corruption  will  sap  the 
brotherly  love  and  religious  zeal  of  great  numbers  of  my 
followers,  for  true  Christian  life  cannot  thrive  Avhere  there  is 
moral  decay. 

"  But  he  who  neither  renounces  my  name,  nor  lets  himself 
be  led  astray  by  false  teachers,  but  remains  true  and  loyal  to 
me,  till  the  evil  days  are  over,  wiU  receive  everlasting  honour 
at  my  final  coming.  Such  good  and  faithful  servants  need 
have  no  fear  of  losing  their  reward,  for  nothing  can  befall 
them,  to  hurt  or  lessen,  in  tlie  least,  their  share  in  the  salva- 
tion my  eternal  Kingdom  will  bring.  As  regards  that,  they 
are  perfectly  safe.  Not  a  hair  of  their  head,  if  I  may  so 
speak,  will  perish,  so  far  as  their  heavenly  hopes  are  con- 
cerned. Their  faithfulness  will  gain  for  them  the  eternal 
life  of  their  souls,  even  should  they  die  as  martyrs  here. 

"  Meanwhile  the  Gospel  of  the  new  Kingdom  of  God  will 
be  preached  throughout  the  whole  world,  that  a  testimony 
res23ecting  me  may  be  given  to  all  nations,  however  they 
may  hate  you.  Then,  but  not  till  then,  shall  come  the  end 
of  this  present  state  of  things — the  old  will  then  pass  away, 
and  the  new  begin.  The  reign  of  the  kingdom  of  God  will 
begin  when  Judaism  has  fallen,  and  heathenism  has  heard 
its  doom. 

"  The  full  spread  of  my  Kingdom  cannot  come  so  long  as 
that  which  it  is  to  displace  still  stands  in  Jerusalem.  The 
Gospel  needs  new  soil,  new  means,  new  powers.      The  old 


THE   DOOM   OF  JEEUSALEM.  445 

religions  are  so  identified  witli  the  old  civil  and  political   ohap.lvh. 

life  of  men,  Avith  their  customs   and  modes  of  thought, 

that  my  Kingdom  can  hope  to  found  its  peaceful  reign  only 

after  great  and  terrible  revolutions  and  disturbances. ^^     The  «  mn.M. 

wa}^  -will  be  opened  for  it  by  war,  with  all  its  horrors,  and    i3- 1*-^^. '' 

■^  •/  7  7  Luke  21. 

by  the  widespread  judgments  of  God  on  the  world  at  large.     -'^*- 

"  When,  therefore,  ye  see  Jerusalem  compassed  with  armies, 
it  will  mark  the  beginning  of  the  end.  When  you  see  the 
holy  place  in  ruins,  and  desolation  reigning  there  in  its 
hatefulness,  as  is  spoken  of  in  Daniel,^''  let  him  who  is  in  «  Dan. 9.27. 
Judea  flee  to  the  hills  of  Gilead,  where  he  will  be  safe ;  let 
him  who  is  on  the  house-top  not  come  down  to  take  away  his 
things  from  the  house,  but  let  him  flee  along  the  flat  roof,  to 
the  town  wall,  and  thus  escape  ;  and  let  him  who  is  working 
in  the  field,  Avhere  he  has  no  outer  garment,  not  come  back 
to  his  house  to  get  it,  but  let  him  flee  for  his  fife.  But  woe 
to  those  who  are  with  child  in  those  days,  and  cannot  flee, 
and  to  those  who  have  children  at  the  breast,  and  are  kept 
from  escaping  by  vainly  trjdng  to  save  them  also.  Pray 
that  your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter,  with  its  rains  and 
storms  and  swollen  torrents,  nor  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
when  he  who  still  clings  to  Jewish  law  will  think  it  un- 
lawful to  travel  more  than  two  thousand  cubits.  What- 
ever hinders  your  swift  flight  will,  indeed,  be  cause  of  re- 
gret, for  the  troubles  of  those  days  will  be  great  beyond 
example. 

"  There  wiU  be  great  distress  in  the  land,  and  the  fierce 
wrath  wiU  be  let  loose  on  this  nation.  Its  sons  will  fall 
by  the  sword,  and  be  led  off,  to  be  sold  as  slaves,  over  the 
whole  earth,  and  Jerusalem  will  be  trodden  under  foot  of  the 
heathen,  as  a  captive  is  by  his  conqueror,  till  the  times 
allowed  by  God  to  the  Gentiles,  to  carry  out  thus  His 
avenging  wrath,  be  fulfilled. 

"  And,  indeed,  if  the  number  of  these  evil  days  had  not 
been  shortened,  in  God's  pitying  mercy,  no  flesh  Avould  be 
saved.  But  for  the  sake  of  the  chosen  ones  of  the  Iving- 
dom  of  the  Messiah,  whom  God  has  determined  to  save 
from  the  calamities  of  these  days  and  preserve  alive,  they 
have  been  shortened. 


446 


THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


1'  Jog.  Ant.  XX. 
8.6.  BcU.Jud. 
ii.  13.  4,  5. 


"  But  Avlicn  the  Temple  has  been  laid  waste,  and  you  have 
fled  for  youi'  lives,  false  Messiahs,  and  men  pretending  to  be 
prophets,  and  to  speak  in  the  name  of  God  to  the  nation 
in  its  affliction,  will  rise,  once  more,  taking  advantage  of 
the  commotion  and  anxiety  of  those  days,  and  will  be  so 
much  the  more  dangerous.  AVhen  men  say  to  you,  of  any 
of  these,  '  The  Messiah  has  appeared  here,'  or  '  He  has  ap- 
peared there,'  do  not  believe  it."  They  will  j^retend  to  per- 
form such  gi*eat  signs  and  wonders,  that  even  the  chosen 
ones  of  my  Kingdom — my  disciples — would  be  deceived,  if 
it  were  possible.  I  have  warned  you  of  this  ab'eady,  but 
press  on  you  once  more  to  take  heed  to  it.  If,  therefore, 
any  one  say  to  you,  '  Behold,  the  Messiah  is  in  the  wilder- 
ness,' do  not  go  out  with  him,  for  they  draw  their  dupes  to 
the  wilderness  as  a  safe  place  for  mustering  them.  If  any 
say,  '  Behold,  he  is  in  such  and  such  a  house,  shut  up  in  his 
secret  chambers,'  do  not  believe  it.^^  My  visible  and  final 
coming,  i-especting  which  you  ask  me,  Avill  not  be  such  that 
men  need  point  to  this  place,  or  to  that,  to  see  me ;  it  will 
be  like  the  lightning,  which  shines  with  instant  splendour 
through  all  the  sky,  and  announces  itself  beyond  mistake. 
For,  from  east  to  west,  the  earth  Avill,  in  that  day,  be  ripe 
for  the  judgments  of  the  Messiah,  and,  as  the  eagles  gather 
wherever  the  carcase  is,  so  the  Son  of  Man,  then  the  minister 
of  divine  wrath,  will  reveal  Himself  to  all  Avho  have  fallen 
under  His  condemnation. 

"  Then,  in  a  future  age — when  the  time  of  the  Gentiles, 
of  which  I  have  spoken,  is  fulfilled — when  He  who  has 
prayed  long  and  unfaintingly,  like  the  importunate  widow, 
shall  begin  to  wonder  if  ever  he  Avill  be  heard  ^* — I  do  not 
say  whether  in  the  second  watch,  or  in  the  third,  or  even  in 
the  morning :  ^^  when  the  bridegroom  has  tarried  while  his 
attendants  wait  longingly  for  him^** — when  the  unfaithful 
servant  has  encouraged  himself  by  the  thought  that  his  lord 
delays  his  coming  -^ — when  the  Gospel  has  been  preached  to 
all  the  Gentiles  ^^ — and  when  the  king  may  be  expected,  at 

»  Luke  19. 12.   last,  from  the  far  country  to  which  he  has  gone  -^ — then, 
suddenly,  like  the  flood  in  the  days  of  Noah,  or  the  destruc- 

"  isaiahi3.9,io.  tiou  of  Sodoui,  shall  the  words  of  the  prophets  -*  be  verified, 

.Tool  3    l.'i  '  J-  J. 


19  Luke  12.  38. 

Mark  13.  3-5. 

»»  Matt.  25.  6. 


»'  Matt.  24.  4S. 
«  Mark  IG.  15. 


THE   GRAXD   CONSUMMATION.  447 

and  earth  and  heaven  be  veiled,  and  darkened,  and  tremble,   cmvp.xvn. 
before  the  great  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  to  judgment.        "" 
And  then  shall  they  see  the  sign  of  His  coming,  respecting 
which  you  have  asked— the  far-shining  splendour  around 
Him,  like  the  sun  in  its  strength— when  He  descends  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven,  with  power  and  with  great  glory.     And 
He  shall  send  forth  His  angels,  from  the  midst  of  the  un- 
utterable light ;  and  the  great  trumpet  of  God,  which  Avill 
Avake  the  dead,  shall  sound,^^  and  the  angels  will  gather «  i  cor.  w.  51 
together  around  Him  all  who  are  His— chosen   of  God  to    ^^^t'''*' 
be  heirs  of  the  heavenly  kingdom  of  the  Messiah— from 
north,  and  south,  and  east,  and  west — over  the  whole  round 
of  the  world.     And  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  who  have 
rejected  me  shall  mourn,  when  they  see  me  thus  come  in 
divine  majesty.    And  when  these  wondrous  signs  begin,  then 
lift  up  your  heads,  for  your  eternal  redemption  from  all  the 
afflictions  of  time,  is  at  hand. 

"  When,  therefore,  soon  after  my  departure  from  you,  ye 
see  all  these  wars,  and  hear  all  these  rumours  of  wars  of 
which  I  have  told  you,  know  that  I,  the  Messiah,  am  near 
in  my  first  coming,  as  ye  know  that  the  summer  is  close, 
Avhen  ye  see  the  branches  of  the  fig-tree,  and  all  other  trees 
swell,  and  put  forth  their  buds  and  tender  leaves.     For  it  is 
I  who  come,  unseen,  to  judge  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple,  as 
I  shall,  in  the  end,  come  visibly  to  judge  all  mankind.'^^    '       ^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^ 
"  Verily  I  say  to  you,  This  generation  of  living  men  shall    ^^Jiiio- 
not  have  passed  away,  before  the  beginning  of  the  aire  of 
the  Messiah,  to  be  ushered  in  by  the  fall  of  Israel,  and  to  be 
closed  by  all  these  signs,  has  come;  when  the  old  Avorld  shall 
have  drawn  to  an  end,  and  my  Kingdom — the  new  age  of  the 
world— shall  take  its  place  till  the  consummation    of  all 
things.     Heaven  and  earth  shall  one  day  pass  away,  but  my 
words  shall  not,  for  all  I  have  told  you  must  happen.     All 
the  signs  I  have  predicted,  as  heralds  of  my  coming  to 
judge  Jerusalem  and  Israel,  will  assuredly  be  seen  by  s°ome 
of  you  now  round  me.     And  my  coming  then,  will  be  the 
revelation  of  my   Kingdom  before   the  world,   and  of  its 
triumph  over  its  Jewish   enemies,  for   my    Kingdom   can 
only,  then,  truly  rise,  when  the  Temple  has  been  destroyed. 


448  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST, 

CHAP.  LTn.  When  it  shall  lie  streAvn  in  ruins,  and  desecrated  for  ever  by 
heathen  soldiery,  the  ^vorld  that  is  will  be  seen  to  have 
passed  away.  There  will  be  an  end  of  the  old  priesthood 
and  sacrifice,  and  the  earth  Avill  be  opened  to  the  victory  of 
my  spiritual  reign. 

"  But  the  exact  time  of  the  last  period  of  all,  of  which  I 
have  spoken — the  destruction  of  all  things  visible — the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  my  return  in  glory,  to  judge 
the  nations,  I  cannot  tell  you.  Even  the  angels  do  not 
know  it,  nor  even  does  the  Son :  it  is  known  to  my  Father 
alone.  This  uncertainty  of  the  time  of  my  coming  will 
make  men  secure  and  careless,  as  they  were  in  the  days  of 
Noah.  For  they  went  on,  dreading  no  catastrophe,  eating 
and  drinking,  man-ying  and  giving  in  marriage,  and  neither 
beUeved  nor  dreamed  that  the  flood  would  really  happen, 
till  it  came,  and  SAvept  them  all  away.  Like  it,  my  coming 
will  be  so  sudden,  that,  of  two  men  in  the  field,  one  shall  be 
taken,  by  the  angels  sent  forth  to  gather  the  saints,  and  the 
other  left — for  they  will  have  no  time  to  flee — and,  of  two 
slave-girls  at  the  household  mill,  while  they  are  still  grind- 
ing, the  one  shall  be  taken,  in  like  manner,  to  be  with  me, 
and  the  other  left. 

"  Take  heed  to  yourselves,  and  watch,  lest  at  any  time, 
like  the  people  before  the  flood,  you  give  way  to  sinful 
pleasures  or  indulgences,  or  be  engrossed  in  the  anxieties  of 
life,  so  as  to  be  careless,  and  unprepared  for  my  return,  and 
that  day  come  on  you,  as  the  flood  did  on  them,  unawares. 
For  it  wiU  burst  on  all  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth,  as  suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  as  the  snare  flies  over 

"  Matt.  24. 42.   the  creature  caught  in  its  toils.-'' 

Mark  13.  .3').  '^ 

Luke 21. 36.  "Take  heed,  I  repeat,  and  watch  :  for  ye  know  not  when 
the  hour  may  strike.  It  will  be  like  the  coming  of  a  man 
who  has  taken  his  journey  into  a  far  country,  and  has  left 
his  house  in  the  hands  of  his  servants,  and  given  authority 
a  Matt.  24. 45.  over  it  to  them — to  each  his  own  special  work  ^^—  and 
has  commanded  the  keeper  of  the  gate  to  watch  for  his 
return.  Watch,  therefore,  like  faithful,  diUgent  servants,  for 
ye  know  not  the  hour  when  I,  the  Master  of  the  House, 
shall  come,  whether  it  will  be  in  the  evening,  or  at  mid- 


THE   TEN  VIRGIXS.  449 

night,  or  at  cock-crowing,  or  in  the  morning ;  lost,  if  I  come  chap,  lyu. 

suddenly,  I  find  you  asleep.     And  what  I  say  to  you,  my 

apostles,  I  say  to  all.  Be  awake  and  watchful  at  all  times, 

that  ye  may  be  able  to  escape  all  the  terrors  of  my  coming, 

by  being  found  faithful,  and  thus  may  be  set  before  me  by 

the  holy  angels,  to  enter  into  my  glory,  and  stand  before 

me,  as  my  servants,  in  my  heavenly  kingdom. 

"  You  know  how  a  householder  would  have  acted  had  he 
known  beforehand  at  what  watch  of  the  night  the  thief 
would  come,  to  plunder  his  goods.  He  would  have  watched, 
and  not  have  suffered  his  house  to  be  broken  into.  There- 
fore, be  ready  at  all  times,  for  the  Sou  of  Man  will  come, 
when,  perhaps,  ye  least  expect  Him. 

"  Who  among  you  will  prove  himself  a  good  and  faithful 
sei'vant  ?  He  will  be  like  a  servant  of  him  of  whom  I  have 
spoken,  who  took  his  journey  to  a  far  country — a  servant 
set  over  the  household  to  give  them  their  food  in  due  season, 
during  his  absence ;  who  faithfully  did  it.  Blessed  will  be 
that  servant,  whom  his  lord,  when  he  returns,  shall  find  so 
doing !  Verily  I  say  to  you,  he  will  advance  him  to  a  far 
higher  post,  for  he  will  set  him  not  only  over  the  food  of 
his  household,  but  over  all  his  substance.  And  blessed, 
in  like  manner,  will  he  be  whom  I,  on  my  return,  will  find 
faithful  to  the  charge  committed  to  him  in  my  kingdom  ! 

"  But,  if,  instead  of  being  faithful,  you  fail  in  your  duty, 
you  will  be  like  a  servant  of  the  same  master  who  should 
say  in  his  heart,  '  My  Lord  delaj'S  his  coming,'  and  bejrin 
to  beat  his  fellow-servants,  and  to  eat  and  drink  with  the 
drunken,  at  his  master's  cost.  The  lord  of  that  servant  will 
come  in  a  day  when  he  does  not  look  for  him,  and  in  an 
hour  when  he  does  not  expect  him,  and  will  punish  him  to 
the  uttermost,  and  make  him  bear  the  just  fate  of  a  hypocrite. 
Even  so,  the  hypocrite,  in  my  kingdom,  shall  be  cast  out 
into  outer  darkness.  And,  oh  !  what  weeping  and  gnashing 
of  teeth  will  be  there  !  '^^  »  siatt.  u.  si. 

"  In  that  day  of  my  final  coming  it  will  be  as  when,  at  a 
marriage,^"  the  maidens  invited    to  play  and  sing  in  the »  Matt.  ss. 
marriage  procession,  prepare  to  go  out  to  meet  the  bride- 
groom, to  lead  Him  to  the  house  of  the  bride,  where  the 

VOL.  II.  68 


450  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lvn.  marriage  is  to  be  celebrated.  Let  me  suppose  there  were 
ten  such  maidens, — five  wise,  five  foolish.  The  five  foolish 
ones  took  their  lamps  with  them,  to  help  the  display,  and 
lighten  the  path  of  the  bridegroom,  but  they  foi-got  to  take 
oil  with  them,  besides,  to  refill  the  lamps,  when  they  had 
burned  out.  But  the  wise  not  only  took  their  lamps,  but 
oil  in  their  oil  flasks  as  well.  All  the  ten,  thus  difterently 
prepared,  went  forth  from  the  home  of  the  bride,  and  waited 
in  a  house,  on  the  way  by  which  the  bridegroom  must 
come,  to  be  ready  to  go  out  and  escort  him,  when  he 
passed  by. 

"  But  he  delayed  so  long  that  they  all  grew  hea'V'y,  and  fell 
asleep.  At  last,  at  midnight,  they  were  suddenly  roused  ; 
for  the  people  in  the  streets  had  heard  the  loud  music  and 
shouts,  and  had  seen  the  light  of  the  lamps  and  torches  of 
the  procession,  afar,  and  raised  the  cry  at  the  doors — '  The 
bridegroom  is  coming,  go  ye  out  to  meet  him.'  Then  they 
all  arose,  and  trimmed  each  her  own  lamp,  to  have  it  ready. 
The  foolish  ones  now  found  that  their  lamps  were  going  out, 
because  the  oil  was  all  burned,  and  asked  the  wise  ones  to 
give  them  of  theirs.  But  they  answered,  'We  cannot 
possibly  do  so,  for  our  oil  would  assuredly  not  suffice  both 
for  ourselves  and  you ;  go,  rather,  to  the  sellers,  and  buy 
for  yourselves.' 

'"While  they  were  away  buying  it,  however,  the  bridegroom 
came,  and  the  five  who  were  ready,  joined  the  procession, 
and  went  in  with  the  bridegroom  to  the  marriage  and  the 
marriage-feast,  and  the  door  was  shut.  After  a  time,  the 
other  five  came,  and  knocked  at  the  gate  with  anxious  en- 
treaty— 'Lord,  lord,  open  to  us.'  But  he  answered,  "I  do 
not  know  you.  You  were  not  among  the  other  maids  of  the 
bride  in  the  jjrocession,  and,  therefore,  you  are  strangers  to 
me,  and  as  such  have  nothing  to  do  at  my  marriage.' 

"  Learn  from  this  parable  that  they  who  patiently  watch 
and  wait,  doing  the  duty  I  have  assigned  them,  till  I  come, 
though  they  know  neither  the  day  nor  the  hour  when  I 
shall  do  so ;  will  have  a  part  in  the  jo}s  of  my  heavenly 
kingdom.  All  my  followers  will  then  be,  as  it  were,  my 
bride,  and  I  their  bridegroom;  but  those  who  are  not  faithful 


THE   GREAT  ASSIZE.  451 

and  true  to  the  end,  -will  be  shut  out  from  the  marriage-  chap.  vra. 
feast." 

The  Apostles  and  the  others  who  followed  Jesus  had  been 
sitting  long  in  the  cool  of  the  evening  on  the  pleasant  slope 
of  Olivet,  listening  to  this  wondrous  discourse,  but  their 
Master's  stay  with  them  was  now  nearly  over,  and  He  was 
as  loath  to  end,  as  they  that  He  should.  He  still  Avent  on, 
therefore,  and,  next,  repeated  to  them  the  panible  He  bad 
before  delivered  near  Jericho— of  the  talents  lent  by  the  Lord 
to  his  servants.  Its  avrt\i\  close,  however,  which  represents 
the  unprofitable  serv^ant  as  cast  into  the  outer  darkness,  with 
its  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  brought  before  Him  all 
the  terrors  of  the  last  judgment,  and  led  Him  to  close  by  a 
picture  of  that  awful  day  unequalled  for  subUmity  by  any 
other,  even  of  His  o-wm  utterances. 

"  The  parable  of  the  talents,  my  beloved,"  said  He,  "shows 
that  every  one  of  you  must  needs  make  the  utmost  possible 
use,  for  the  interests  of  my  kingdom  in  your  own  own  hearts 
and  among  men,  of  all  the  different  gifts  entrusted  to  you 
by  me,  for  my  service,  according  to  your  respective  abihties. 
For,  at  my  coming,  I  shall  reckon  with  you  all,  and  those  who 
have  been  faithful  to  me  shall  receive  high  rewards  in 
heaven,  but  those  who  have  left  their  gifts,  however  small, 
unused,  vnB.  have  those  gifts  taken  from  them,  and  they 
themselves  will  be  thrust  out  of  my  kingdom." 

He  then  proceeded — in  words  such  as  no  mere  man  could 
ever  dream  of  using — words  which  we  seem  to  hear  spoken 
mth  the  light  as  of  other  worlds  shining  from  the  speakers 
eyes,  and  a  transfiguration  of  His  Avhole  appearance  to  more 
than  human  majesty. 

"  I  have  told  you  how  I  shall  return  invisibly,  to  earth, 
before  this  generation  shall  have  passed  away,  to  judge 
Jerusalem  and  Israel,  when  the  cup  of  their  iniquity  shall 
be  fuU ;  and  how,  also,  I  shall  come  again,  in  spiritual  unseen 
presence,  to  be  with  my  servants  in  their  warfare  with  the 
powers  of  darkness,  till  my  kingdom  passes  from  victory  to 
victory,  through  succeeding  ages,  and  the  prince  of  this  world 
be  finally  cast  down  from  his  usurped  throne,  and  the  world 
become  the  kingdom  of  God  and  of  me,  His  Messiah.^^  "  Eev.n.ia 


452  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lvii.  "  Then  shall  come  that  clay  which  I  have  warned  and 
"  Matt.  25.  urged  you  so  earnestly  to  keep  ever  in  mind^- — the  day 
when,  like  the  lord  who  returned  from  the  far  country  to 
reckon  with  his  servants — I,  the  Son  of  Man,  now  poor, 
despised,  with  none  round  me  but  you ;  rejected  by  my 
brethren  of  Israel,  and  in  a  few  hours  to  be  nailed  on  a  cross 
like  the  meanest  slave ;  will  come  again  as  Head  of  the 
great  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  which  will  then  embrace  all 
nations. 

"The  Father  has  committed  all  judgment  in  this  kingdom, 

n  Johns. 22, 27.  to  me,  His  Son,^^  and  has  given  me  all  power  in  it,  in  heaven 

M  Matt.  28. 18.    and  in  earth.^*     And  at  that  day  I  shall  come  in  my  glory, 

as  its  Prince  and  Head,  amidst  the  splendours  of  heaven, 

and  with  aU  the  angels  of  God. 

"Then  will  I  sit  on  the  throne  of  my  glory  ;  as  kings  of 
the  earth  when  they  sit  to  judge;  and  all  nations  shall  be 
"  Matt.2i.3i,&c.  gathered  together  before  me,  by  my  ministering  angels,^^ 
and  I  will  separate  them,  one  from  another,  as  you  have 
seen  a  shepherd  separate  the  Avhite  sheep  from  the  black 
goats,  and  I  will  set  the  sheep  on  my  right  hand,  but  the 
goats  on  my  left."* 

"  Then,  as  King,  coming  in  the  majesty  of  my  assembled 
Kingdom,  shall  I  say  to  them  on  my  right  hand — '  Come, 
ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for 
you  from  the  foundation  of  the  earth — that  kingdom  which 
=•  Matte. 8.  I  promised  as  the  inheritance  of  the  meek.^''  For  ye  have 
proved  that  ye  have  truly  believed  in  my  name,  by  the  love 
towards  me  and  mine,  which  only  true  faith  can  yield.  For 
I  was  hungry,  and  ye  gave  me  to  eat :  I  was  thirsty,  and 
ye  gave  me  to  drink  :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  gave  me 
welcome :  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me :  I  was  sick,  and  ye 
visited  me :   I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me.' 

"  Then  shall  the  righteous,  feeling  only  their  shortcomings, 
and  forgetting  their  good  deeds,  think  it  cannot  be  as  I 
have  said.  '  When,  Lord,'  they  shall  ask  me,  '  saw  we  Thee 
hungiy,  and  gave  Thee  maintenance ;  or  thirsty,  and  gave 
Thee  to  drink  ?  When  saw  we  Thee  a  stranger,  and  gave 
Thee  welcome  ;  or  naked,  and  clothed  Thee  ?  Or  when  saw 
we  Thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto  Thee  ?  ' 


THE   LAST   JUDGMENT.  453 

"  And  I,  the  King,  will  answer  them — '  Verily  I  say  to  chap,  lto. 
you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it,  for  my  sake,  to  one  of  these  my 
brethren,  even  the  least  of  them;  the  poor,  the  lowly,  the 
outcast,  the  persecuted,  the  wretched,  who  believed  in  me, 
and  are  now  round  my  throne — or  to  one  of  the  least  of  all 
my  lirethren  of  mankind ;  for  the  love  ye  bore  ]\Ie,  who  died 
for  them — ye  did  it  unto  me.' 

"Then  shall  I  also  say  to  those  on  my  left  hand — 'Depart 
from  me,  accursed,  into  the  everlasting  fire ;  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels,  but  now  to  be  shared  by  you,  his  ser- 
vants. For  I  was  hungry,  and  ye  did  not  give  me  to  eat :  I 
was  thirsty,  and  ye  did  not  give  me  to  drink :  I  was  a 
stranger,  and  ye  would  not  receive  me :  naked,  and  ye  did 
not  clothe  me :  sick,  and  in  prison,  and  ye  did  not  visit  me.' 

"Then  they  Avill  try,  vainly,  to  justify  themselves,  by 
pleading  innocence.  '  Lord,'  they  will  say,  '  when  did  we 
see  Thee  hungry,  or  thirsty,  or  a  stranger,  or  naked,  or  sick, 
or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister  to  Thee  ?  Lord,  we  never 
saw  Thee  thus,  and,  therefore,  have  never  refused  Thee  our 
service.' 

"But  I  will  answer  them — 'Verily  I  say  to  you.  Inasmuch 
as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these,  my  brethren ; 
whom  you  had  with  you  and  might  have  helped  ;  ye  did  it 
not  to  me.  Had  ye  truly,  and  not  in  name  only,  believed  in 
me,  ye  would  have  shown  fruits  of  your  faith,  in  deeds  of 
love  for  my  sake.' 

"  And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment : 
but  the  rio;hteous  into  life  eternal." 


454  THE  LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


I 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 

FAREWELL    TO    FRIENDS. 

T  was  the  twelfth  day  of  the  new  moon,^  now  rounding  to 
fuhiess,  when  the  last  words  had  been  spoken  in  the 
BpfAprii's™"  Temple,  and  farewell  taken  of  it  for  ever.   Jesus  had  hitherto 

(ISthNisan.)      ,.  ,     .         .  -n       i  i  i  r. 

lingered  in  its  courts  till  the  gates  closed,  at  sunset,  after 
the  evening  sacrifice,  but  His  soul  this  day  was  filled  with 
immeasurable  sadness.  Israel  would  not  hear  the  words 
which  alone  could  save  it,  and,  by  its  representatives,  had 
not  only  rejected  and  blasphemed  Him,  but  was,  even  now, 
I  Generaiautho-  plotting  His  death. '"^     He  had  left  the  Temple  courts,  there- 

ilties  for  the  .  "  '■  \ 

kSSobV"  ^oyq,  in  the  early  afternoon,  to  spend  some  hours  with  the 
i^sSln'ufier  little  band  of  followers  He  was  so  soon  to  leave.  They  had 
LightfoSt",'      sat  on  the  slope  of  the  Mount  of  OHves,  facino;  the  Temple  and 

Schottgen,  ^  •■  . 

"PaR°o°er"    ^^  ^^ty-     Hc  had  passcd  quietly  and  unheeded  through  the 
wtol""^'      stream  of  pilgrims  and  citizens,  and  had  been  resting,  during 
smithrand     His  loug  discoursc,  in  the  privacy  of  His  own  circle,  beneath 
wetto,  Paaius,  one  of  the  fig-trees  of  Olivet,  gazing,  with  full  soul,  at  all  He 
J'he  vado'ur'  had  left  for  ever.     Had  they  known  it,  the  high  priests  and 
'  rulers  would  have  seen,  in  His  final  abandonment  of  "  His 
Father's   House,"  a  portent    more  awful  than    any   their 
superstitious  fears  were  even  then  noting.     For,  forty  years 
before  the  destruction  of  the  Temple,  and,  therefore,  in  the 
very  days  of  our  Lord's  pubhc  life,  it  had  been  seen,  with  un- 
speakable alarm, — if  we  may  trust  the  Talmud — that  the 
hindmost  lamp  of  the  sacred  seven-branched  candlestick,  in 
the  Holy  Place,  one  night  went  out ;  and,  that  the  crimson 
wool  tied  to  the  horns  of  the  scape-goat ;  which  ought  to 
have  turned  white  when  the  atonement  was  made,  had  re- 
mained red  ;    and  "the  lot  of  the  Lord,"  for  the  goat  to  be 
offered  on  the  Day  of  Expiation,  had  come  out  on  the  left 


THE    CONSPIRACY   AT   WORK.  455 

hand;  and  the  gates  of  the  Temple,  duly  shut  overnight,  had  oHAP.Lvm. 
been  found  open  in  the  morning.^  A  generation  later,  it  =  Lightfoot,Hor. 
was  to  be  told,  with  pale  lips,  among  the  heathen,  that  when 
the  Temple  was  near  its  fall,  a  more  than  human  voice  had 
been  heard  from  the  Holy  of  HoHes,  crying  "  The  gods  have 
departed,"  and  that  presently,  a  great  sound,  as  of  their 
issuing  forth,  had  been  heard.*  4  Tscit.Hut. 

But  the  true  hour  of  Jehovah's  leaving  it,  and  that  for 
ever,  was  when  His  Son  passed  that  afternoon  through  its 
gates,  to  re-enter  them  no  more. 

Rising  after  He  had  ended  His  discourse  on  the  near  and 
distant  future.  He,  who,  a  breath  before,  had  anticipated  the 
hour  when  He  should  come  amidst  the  clouds  of  Heaven,  to 
judge  all  nations ;  attended  by  all  the  angels,  and  robed  in 
the  splendours  of  the  Godliead  ;  was  once  more  the  calm, 
lowly  Teacher  and  Friend,  climbing  the  slope  with  His 
handful  of  followers,  on  the  way  to  the  well-loved  cottage  at 
Bethany. 

As  they  went.  He  once  more  broke  to  those  around  Him 
His  approaching  fate.  "You  know,"  said  He,  "that  after 
two  days  is  the  Passover,  and  that  the  Son  of  ]\Ian  is  ap- 
pointed, by  the  eternal  counsels  of  God,  to  be  delivered 
over  to  His  enemies,  to  be  crucified."  It  was  the  second 
time  He  had  expressly  used  that  word  of  unspeakable  degra- 
dation and  infamy,  to  men  of  His  day — The  Cross.  But 
though  they  heard  it  again,  they  could  not  even  yet  realize 
so  disastrous  an  eclipse  of  their  cherished  dreams. 

Meanwhile,  His  enemies  were  not  idle.  It  was  now 
Tuesday  evening,  and  nothing  alarming  had  followed  the 
popular  demonstration  of  the  preceding  Sunday.  The  mul- 
titude, indeed,  disappointed'  by  seeing  no  signs  of  the  na- 
tional movement  they  had  expected  that  day  to  inaugurate, 
had  lost  their  enthusiasm,  and,  in  many  cases,  grown  even 
hostile.  There  was  less  to  fear  than  the  authorities  had 
apprehended.  Yet,  the  crowd  was  fickle,  and  thousands  of 
Galileans,  the  countrymen  of  Jesus,  were  at  the  feast, 
Avhich  was  always  so  restless  a  time  that  the  Roman  Procu- 
rator kept  a  double  garrison  in  Antonia  while  it  lasted,  and 
himself   exchanged  the  congenial  society  of  Cajsarea  for 


456 


THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


CHAP.  Lvm.  Jerusalem,   with   its  hated  bigotry   and  muffled   treason. 
Even   the    governor-general    of    the   Province   sometimes 

"i^tit^m.^'"'-  iJitleed  thought  it  worth  his  while  to  be  present.^     The  fiery 

jud^ii.!.^""  Galila?ans  might  rise  if  Jesus  were  apprehended  during  the 

feast-week,  and  any  tumult  would  be  certain  to  bring  severe 

measures,  at  the  hand  of  the  Romans,  on  the  conununity  at 

large. 

The  heads  of  the  priesthood  and  of  the  Rabbis,  were 
hence  in  a  difficulty,  and  met  to  consult  on  the  wisest 
couree.     The  acting  high  j^riest,  Joseph,  known  among  the 

'  5;5°'^''-'  people  as  "  Caiaphas,"  "the  Oppressor,"''  was  the  soul  of  the 
gSju.^*^'  movement  against  Jesus — for  his  memorable  Avords,  "  Why 
n/s'^'BML  not  this  one  man  die,  rather  than  the  nation  perish '?"  had 
first  given  definite  expression  and  formal  sanction,  to  the 
idea  of  putting  him  to  death.  ThroAving  all  his  official 
dignity  into  the  plot,  he  put  the  upper  court  of  his  palace, 
in  the  upper  city,  at  the  disposal  of  those  engaged  in  it, 
and  there  they  and  he  met,  to  consult  how  they  might  get 
the  Hated  One  into  their  power  Avithout  the  knoAvledge  of 
the  people,  in  order  to  hand  Him  over  to  the  Romans  for 
crucifixion,  without  fear  of  a  rescue.  The  meeting  could 
not,  hoAvever,  come  to  any  fixed  plan,  for  fear  of  a  popular 
rising.  No  more  could  be  done  than  Avatch,  and  take 
adA^antage  of  the  course  of  events. 

While  murder  was  thus  being  discussed  in  the  halls  of 
the  primate,   peace   and   sacred   friendship  reigned  in  the 

'  Ma?ki4.tii'.  pleasant  home  at  Bethany.^  The  house  of  Simon,  once  a 
f^n'A^:  leper,  but  cured  by  Jesus ;  noAv  the  abode  of  Martha,  per- 
haps his  Avidow,  perhaps  his  daughter ;  of  Mary,  her  sister, 
and  of  Lazarus,  so  strangely  brought  back  from  the  unseen 
Avorld — the  one  man  raised  from  the  dead  of  Avhose  second 
earthly  life  Ave  know  any  incident — Avas  a  scene  of  tender 
respect  and  loving  homage.  To  do  Jesus  honour,  the  family 
had  made  a  supper  for  Him,  with  invited  guests,  and 
Lazarus  reclined  Avith  Him  on  the  table-couch.  The  com- 
pany consisted,  doubtless,  as  in  the  case  of  the  little  house- 
hold itself,  of  such  as  oAved  their  health,  perhaj^s  their  life, 
or  that  of  some  friend,  to  the  Great  Healer,  and  of  His 
immediate  folloAvers. 


MARY  ANOINTS   JESUS.  457 

It  was,  in  itself,  a  tender  proof  of  reverent  love,  that,  at  chap,  lyiii. 
such  a  time,  when  the  life  of  their  guest  was  sought  by  the 
Authorities  of  the  Temple  and  Schools,  and  every  one  was 
required,  on  pain  of  high  displeasure,  to  help  them  to  arrest 
Him,  He  should  have  been  thus  honoured ;  for  Bethany 
was  close  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  act  might  have  brought 
disaster  on  a  household,  known,  like  that  of  Martha  and 
Mary,  to  the  dominant  class.'^  But  a  still  higlier  tribute  « John u. 33. 
was  paid  Him;  touching  and  delicate,  beyond  expression, 
under  the  circumstances.  The  sisters  had  often  pondered 
how  they  could  show  their  gratitude  for  all  He  had  been, 
and  all  that  He  had  done  for  them.  He  had  healed  Simon, 
and  had  given  not  only  him,  but  the  sisters  and  their 
brother,  the  hope  of  Heaven,  by  winning  their  souls  to  Him- 
self, and,  but  now.  He  had  shown  how  truly  He  was  the 
Messiah,''  by  bringing  back  Lazarus  from  the  grave.  They »  John  u.  27. 
knew  that  the  shadows  of  death  were  gathering  over 
their  Mighty  Benefactor  Himself,  for  the  disciples,  doubt- 
less, repeated  to  them  the  depressing  intimations  He  had 
given  them.  Mary  was  left  to  give  their  love  and  gratitude 
expression. 

It  was  common  to  anoint  the  heads  of  the  Rabbis  who 
attended  marriage  feasts,  with  fragrant  oil,  and  special  guests 
were  sometimes  similarly  honoured.  Jesus  Himself,  at  an 
earher  date,  had  had  even  His  feet  anointed  by  a  grateful 
penitent,  who  had,  besides,  washed  them  with  her  tears, 
and  wiped  them  with  her  hair,  flowing  loose,  in  self-forget- 
fulness.  But  now,  Mary  outdid  all  former  honour  paid 
Him.  The  costliest  anointing  oil  of  antiquity  was  the 
pure  spikenard,  drawn  from  an  Indian  plant,  and  exposed 
in  flasks  of  alabaster  for  sale  throughout  the  Roman 
Empire,  where  it  fetched  a  price  that  put  it  beyond  any  but 
the  wealthy. 

Of  this  !Mary  had  bought  a  flask,  containing  about 
twelve  ounces  Aveight,  and  now,  coming  behind  the  guests 
as  they  reclined,  opened  the  seal,  and  poured  some  of  the 
perfume,  first  on  the  head  and  then  on  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
drying  them,  presently,  with  the  hair  of  her  head,  like  her 
predecessor.      She  had  rendered  a  tribute  than  which   she 


458  THE   LIFE    OP  CHniST. 

CHAP.  Lvm.  could  have  given  no  higher  to  a  King ;  but  it  was  a  worthy 
symbol  of  the  rightful  devotion  of  all  we  have  and 
are,  to  Christ,  and,  as  such,  was  lovingly  accepted  by 
Him.  The  act,  however,  raised  different  thoughts  in  some 
of  the  narrow  minds  around.  As  the  fragrant  odours 
fiUed  the  room,  voices  were  heard  muttering  that  such 
lavish  expense  for  such  an  object  was  wrong.  "This 
ointment,"  said  one,  "  should  have  been  sold  for  three 
hundred  pence,  "•  and  given  to  the  poor.  That  would  have 
been  a  worthy  act ;  but  this !"  '  It  was  Judas  Iscariot. 

With  that  perfect  gentleness  and  repose  which  He  always 
showed  in  such  circumstances,  the  answer  of  Jesus  showed 
no  resentment,  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  any,  but  yet  must 
have  carried  joy  to  the  tender  heart  that  had  felt  her 
highest  offering  too  little  to  bestow  on  such  a  guest. 

"Why  do  j-ou  blame  and  trouble  her?"  said  He  to  the 
company,  especially  to  Judas.  "  Let  her  alone.  It  is  a 
good  deed  she  has  done  in  my  honour.  You  have  the  poor 
with  you  always,  and  you  can  never  want  an  opportunity  of 
showing  kindness  to  them,  if  you  wish.  But  you  have  not 
me  always  with  you.  Mary,  as  if  she  knew  I  was  soon  to 
die,  has  chosen  the  strongest  way  she  could  of  showing  how 
much  she  loved  me.  She  has  done  for  me,  as  her  Teacher, 
Messiah,  and  Friend,  while  I  still  live,  what  she  would 
soon  have  had  to  do  to  my  dead  body — she  has  embalmed 
me  for  the  grave.  AVhat  remains  will  do  for  the  day  of  my 
burial.  I  tell  you,  wherever  the  gospel  shall  be  preached  in 
the  whole  world,  what  she  has  done  will  also  be  told  for  a 
memorial  of  her." 

Judas,  the  only  southern  Jew  among  the  Twelve — the 
only  man  brought  ujd,  as  it  were,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Temple — must  have  listened  to  such  praise  of  an  act  so 
hateful  to  him  with  the  bitterest  feelings.  He  had  been 
with  Jesus  at  least  from  the  first  appointm.ent  of  the 
Apostles,  and  must,  even  then,  have  been  conspicuous  as  a 
disciple.  The  good  seed  of  Christ's  words  had  sprung  up 
in  those  early  days  in  .his  heart,  as  in  those  of  the  others; 
but  the  evil,  also,  small  and  unnoticed,  perhaps,  at  first,  had 
been   let   spring   up  erelong,    and   it   had   grown   to   rank 


JUDAS   ISCAEIOT. 


459 


strength  that  slowly  choked  all  else.  Like  all  his  brethren,  chap.lyiii. 
he  had  cherished  gross  and  selfish  views  of  the  prospects  to 
be  opened  for  them  by  their  Master.  If  some  of  them  were 
to  be  the  high  officials  in  the  expected  World-Monarchy, 
he  had  trusted  to  get,  at  least,  some  post ;  profitable,  if 
less  splendid.  Indeed,  the  lowest  dignity  promised  incon- 
ceivable honour,  for  were  not  all  the  Twelve  to  sit  on  thrones 
to  judge  the  Twelve  Tribes  of  Israel?  In  the  minds  of  the 
others,  the  dream  was  loyally  subordinated  to  love  and  duty 
to  the  Master :  in  his,  self  seized  and  held,  abidingly,  the 
first  place.  The  mildew  of  his  soul  had  spread  apace. 
Trusted  with  the  common  purse  of  the  brotherhood,  into 
which  passed  the  gifts  of  friends,  to  meet  the  humble 
expenses  of  each  day,  the  honour,  sought  at  first,  perhaps  in 
all  uprightness,  became  a  fatal  snare.  His  religion  withered 
apace.  Once  a  disciple  from  honest  anxiety,  he  continued 
one,  in  outward  form,  as  an  adventurer.  Gain  became  a 
passion  with  him,  till,  under  the  very  eyes  of  his  Master, 
he  embezzled,  as  treasurer,  the  petty  funds  in  his  hands. 

The  entry  to  Jerusalem  had  kindled  his  hopes,  after  many 
chagrins  and  disappointments,  for  the  popular  excitement 
promised  to  force  on  Jesus  the  part  of  a  National  ^lessiah. 
But,  bhnd,'as  he  must  have  thought  Him,  to  His  own 
interest,  He  had  made  no  use  of  the  splendid  opportunity. 
Instead  of  allying  Himself  with  the  dignitaries  of  Judaism, 
and  inaugurating  a  might}'  Jewish  uprising,  with  high 
priests  and  chief  Rabbis  as  His  supporters,  He  had  assailed 
both  Temple  and  School,  and  proceeded  to  open  rupture 
with  them.  Instead  of  a  crown.  He  had  spoken  of  a  cross : 
instead  of  honours  for  His  followers,  He  had  foretold 
persecutions  and  martyrdom.  To  the  mean  and  sordid 
heart  of  Judas,  the  bounty  of  ]\Iary  had  sufficed  to  kindle 
smouldering  resentment  and  disloyalty  to  a  flame.  If  ruin 
were  certain,  he  would  profit,  if  he  could,  before  all  was 
over.  If  Jesus  must  fall  into  the  hands  of  His  enemies, 
he  might  as  well  get  money  by  what  was  unavoidable.  Had 
not  He,  argued  the  diseased  spirit,  disappointed  him :  led 
him  about,  for  years,  in  hopes  of  gain  in  the  end :  and  had 
He  not,  now,  told  him  that  the  only  inheritance  he  could 


460  THE   LITE   OF   CHRIST. 

cH.\p. Lvm.   expect  was  poverty  and  suffering?     He  would  go  to  tlie 
high  priests,  and  see  what  could  be  done. 

Stealing  out,  therefore,  with  guilty  thoughts,  from  the 
quiet  cottage,  perhaps  when  they  and  Bethany  had  sunk 
in  sleep : — unnaovcd  by  the  divine  love  and  j^urity  of  his 
Master ;  forgetful,  in  the  blindness  of  his  evil  excitement,  of 
all  he  had  seen  and  heard,  through  the  last  three  eventful 
years,  he  made  his  way,  in  the  darkness  of  night,  to  the 
Temple.  The  watch  was  at  its  post  at  the  gates,  and  on  its 
rounds,  but  Judas  found  means  to  reveal  his  object  to  the 
ca2:)tain  in  charge,  and  was  admitted.  The  officers  hastily 
gathered  round  to  learn  why  the  stranger  thus  disturbed  the 
night.  "  I  come  to  betray  Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  muttered 
Judas.  "He  had  better  be  taken  to  the  chief  priests," 
replied  those  round.  Some  of  the  council  were  hastily 
summoned  forthwith,  and  received  his  overtures  with  a 
joy  that  brightened  their  faces,  even  by  the  dull  light  of  the 
night-lamps, — for  it  was  clear  that  a  cause  so  righteous  as 
as  that  of  the  Galilajan,  could  never  give  them  open  and 
honest  gi-ounds  for  His  arrest.  Treason  must  come  to  their 
aid,  from  within.  So  they  bargained  with  him ;  meanly 
enough,  indeed ;  for  they  offered  for  his  villany,  if  successful, 

0  jo3.Ajit.iii.   only  thirty  shekels  of  the  Sanctuarv,^" — the  price  of  a  slave. 

8.  2.    About  J  J  .-  '  I 

2s.  6d.  each,    g^^^  ^j^g  covetousucss  of  au  Oriental  was  fascinated  even  by 

so  paltry  a  bribe.     He  sold  himself  as  their  tool,  and  from 

that  time  sought  a  good  opportunity  to  betray  Jesus,  when 

the  people  were  not  round  Him. 

■  Wednesday        The  ucxt   day,^'^  our  Thursday,  was   the  fourteenth  of 

Thursday  at   Nisau — tlic  day  on  which  all  labour  ceased.    All  leaven  had 

sunset.  ^ 

cliSnT«ii.)  been  removed  from  every  house  before  noon,  in  preparation 
for  the  Passover  in  the  evening.  Towards  sunset,  the  Pass- 
over lamb  was  killed  in  the  forecourts  of  the  Temple,  by  any 
one  chosen  to  do  so,  and  the  blood  and  fat  burned  on  the 
altar  as  an  offering  to  God.  The  rest  supplied  the  materials 
for  the  feast,  an  hour  or  two  later,  after  the  beginning  of  the 
fifteenth  day,  at  sunset.  The  fourteenth  was,  therefore,  very 
busy  for  the  whole  of  Jerusalem ;  for  both  it ;  the  villages 
round  it,  and  the  open  country,  were  filled  with  countless 
thousands,  all  intent  on  the  same  observances. 


THE   EVE    OF   THE   PASSOVER.  461 

The  Passover^-  had  been  founded  to  commemorate  the  chap.lvhi. 
departure  from    Egypt,   but  its   time  permitted  the  union "  ^^{i^'ia^y, 
with  it  of  the  feast  of  first-fruits,  to  celebrate  the  opening    "ukeTi.*' 
harvest,  and  it  was  also  called,  from  rites  connected  with  it, 
the  feast  of  unleavened  bread.  ^^  "  Buxtorf, 

^  1,765, 2nd 

We  are  not  told  how  Jesus   spent  Wednesda)',  for  the    <"'• 
supper  in  the  home  at  Bethany  was  on  Tuesday  evening. 
He  apparently  stayed  in  privacy,  awaiting  the  coming  day. 

On  Thui'sday  morning  the  disciples,  taking  it  for  granted 
that  He  would  celebrate  the  feast  with  them,  came  to  Him 
early  to  receive  instructions.  Would  He  keep  it,  as  He  legally 
might,  in  Bethany,  for  the  village  was  counted  by  the 
Rabbis  part  of  Jerusalem,  for  religious  usages ;  and  the  lamb 
might  be  eaten  in  Bethany,  though  it  must  be  killed  at 
the  Temple.^*  It  had  already  been  bought  on  the  tenth  »  Lighttoot, 
Nisan,  according  to  the  rule  of  the  Law,^^  for  though  the  '^  Eiod.12.3. 
strict  enforcement  of  this  command  Avas  not  maintained, 
Jesus  "was  careful  to  fulfil  all  the  innocent  duties  jjre- 
scribed. 

No  doubt  the  disciples  expected  that  Bethany  would  be 
chosen,  for  He  had  solemnly  turned  away  from  Jerusalem, 
two  days  before,  and  to  go  thither  again  would  be  to  put 
Himself  in  the  power  of  His  enemies.  But  He  had  resolved 
to  visit  the  city  so  dear  to  Him  once  more.  It  was  the 
place  appointed  by  the  Law  for  the  feast,  and  He  Avould  there 
be  in  the  midst  of  the  rejoicing  multitudes,  as  Himself  a  son 
of  Israel.  He  wished,  also,  to  throw  a  greater  sacredness 
over  the  institution  He  designed  to  inaugurate  that  night,  as 
the  equivalent  in  the  New  Kingdom  of  God,  of  the  Passover 
in  the  Old.  It  was  well  to  link  it  in  the  minds  of  the 
Apostles  with  the  sacredness  of  the  Temple,  under  whose 
shadow;  the  City  of  the  Great  King,  in  whose  bounds ;  and 
the  gathering  of  Israel,  in  whose  midst,  it  was  founded. 

Turning,  therefore,  to  Peter  and  John,  His  usual  messen- 
gers, He  told  them  to  go  and  prepare  the  Passover,  that  He 
and  the  Twelve  might  eat  it  together.  "  On  entering  the 
city,"  said  He,  "  you  will  meet  a  man  bearing  an  earthen 
jar  of  water ;  follow  him  into  the  house  he  enters,  ask  for  the 
master,  and  say,  '  The  Teacher  told  us  to  ask  you  "  Where 


462  THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

cHAP.Lvm.  is  tlie  room  intended  for  nie,  in  which  to  eat  the  Passover 
with  my  discij^les  ?" '  And  he  will  himself  shoAv  you  his  guest- 
chamber,  on  the  upper  floor,  provided  with  couches,  ready 
for  lis.     Get  the  supper  pi'epared  for  us  there." 

The  two  started  at  once,  and  found  everything  as  Jesus 

had  said,  and  by  evening  all  was  in  readiness  to  receive  Him 

and  the  Ten.     Who  it  was   that  thus   entertained  Him  is 

"Acts  12. 12.    not  told  us.     It  may  have  been  John  Mark,^*'   or,  perhaps, 

i^en  jesu, '  Joscph  of  Arimathca.  the  early  scholar,  and  the  friend  after 

Ewaid,  t-B  (<K.  death.     The  Gospels  do  not  say,  and  even  tradition  is  silent. 

Universal  hospitality  prevailed  in  this  matter,  and  the  only 

recompense  that  could  be  given  was  the  skin  of  the  paschal 

"  Bab.jom.     lamb,  and  the  earthen  dishes  used  at  the  meal.^''     Not  fewer 

!■-•.  1.    Megill.     11,.  ,         . 

26- 1-  than  ten,   but  otten  as  many  as  twenty — enough,  in  any 

case,  to  consume  the  entire  lamb — could  sit  down  together, 
but  Jesus  wished  to  have  none  but  His  closest  circle  with 
Him,  tliat  He  might  bid  them  a  final,  tender  farewell. 
«  Lightfoot,  Women  were  not  commonly  present,^^  and,  indeed,  were 
excluded  by  many ;  but,  apart  from  this,  the  evening  was 
designed  as  a  time  of  deepest  communion  with  the  trusted 
Twelve  alone,  and,  hence,  neither  the  outer  circle  of  disciples, 
nor  the  ministering  women  who  had  lovingly  followed  Him 
from  Gahlee,  were  invited. 

Peter  and  John  had  had  much  to  do  beforehand.  It  may 
be,  the  lamb  was  yet  to  be  bought,  that  morning,  for  its 
purchase  on  the  tenth  had  fiillen  rather  out  of  use.  They 
had  to  choose,  from  the  countless  pens  in  which  the  victims 
were  offered  for  sale,  a  male  lamb,  of  a  year  old,  without 
blemish  of  any  kind.  In  Gahlee,  no  secular  work  was  done 
all  day,  but,  at  Jerusalem,  it  ceased  only  at  noon.  About 
two,  the  blast  of  horns  announced  that  the  priests  and 
Levites  in  the  Temple  were  ready,  and  the  gates  of  the 
inner  courts  were  opened,  that  all  might  bring  their  lambs 
for  examination,  and  might  satisfy  the  priests  as  to  the 
number  intending  to  consume  each.  Forthwith,  the  long 
lines  of  household  fathers,  servants,  disciples  of  the  Rabbis, 
and,  among  the  rest,  the  two  deputed  by  Jesus,  pressed 
across  the  court  of  the  men,  which  was  gaily  tapestried 
and  adorned,  to   the    gate  of  the   priests'   court ;   the  lamb 


THE    SLAYING   OF   THE   PASSOVER   LAJfB.  463 

on  their  shoulders,  with  a  knife  stuck  in  the  wool,  or  tied  chap.  Lvm 
to  the  horn. 

About  half-past  two,  the  evening  offering  was  killed,  and 
about  an  hour  after,  it  was  laid  on  the  great  altar.  Forth- 
with, three  blasts  of  the  trumpets  of  the  priests,  and  the 
choral  singing  of  the  great  Hallel  by  the  Levites,  gave  the 
signal  for  the  slaughter  of  the  Passover  lambs,  which  had  to 
be  finished  between  the  hours  of  three  and  five.  As  many 
offerers  were  admitted  as  the  courts  would  hold,  and  then 
the  gates  were  shut.  Heads  of  families,  or  servants  deputed 
by  them,  killed  the  lambs,  and  the  priests,  in  two  long  rows, 
with  great  silver  and  gold  vessels  of  curious  shape,  caught 
the  blood,  and  passed  it  to  others  behind,  till  it  reached  the 
altar,  at  the  foot  of  which  it  was  poured  out.^^  The  victims,  ""  Lighttoot,  u. 
hung  on  the  iron  hooks  of  the  ■walls  and  pillars  of  the  courts, 
or  on  a  stick  between  the  shoulders  of  two  men,  were  then 
skinned,  and  cut  open  ;  the  tail,  the  fat,  the  kidneys,  and 
liver,  set  apart  for  the  altar ;  the  rest  wrapped  in  the  skin, 
and  carried  home  from  the  Temple,  towards  evening.  As 
the  new  day  opened,  at  sunset,  the  carcass  was  trussed  for 
roasting,  with  two  skewers  of  pomegranate  wood,  so  that 
they  formed  a  cross  in  the  lamb.  It  was  then  put  in  an 
earthen  oven  of  a  special  kind,  resting,  without  bottom,  on 
the  ground,  and  was  roasted  in  the  earth.  The  feast  could 
begin  immediately  after  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  the 
appearing  of  the  stars,  on  the  opening  of  the  fifteenth  of 
Nisan,  which  was  proclaimed  by  new  trumpet  blasts  from 
theTemple.2o  .  "  £££. 

Judas  had  stolen  back  to   Bethany  before  daylifrht,  that    ""at'th^'*' 

,  •'  J      O       ^  jay^  see  g^n. 

his  absence  might  not  be  missed,  and,  after  another  day's  cJ^^^fj'ia 
bitter  hj^pocrisy,  undfcr  the  burning  eyes  of  his  Master,  fol- 
lowed Him,  with  the  other  Apostles,  to  Jerusalem,  in  the 
evening.  They  must  have  breathed  heavily  in  the  troubled 
air,  for  presentiments  of  unknown  dangers  filled  every  heart. 
They  still  clung  to  their  old  dream  of  a  visible  earthly  king- 
dom of  God,  under  their  Master,  but  their  spirits  must  have 
sunk  within  them  as  they  passed  through  the  vast  multi- 
tudes, wholly  absorbed  in  tlie  approaching  feast,  Avith  no 
sign  of  preparation  for  a  national  Messianic  movement ;   and 


464  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lvni.  along  tlie  illuminated  streets,  in  which  no  one  took  notice 
of  them.  That  the  hierarchy  had  denounced  Jesus,  was, 
itself,  enough  to  fill  their  simple  minds  Avith  dismay,  for  its 
splendour  and  power  seemed  reflected  in  the  millions  assem- 
bled from  the  whole  world,  to  honour  the  faith  and  the 
Temple,  of  which  they  were  the  public  representatives.  And 
Avas  not  the  tiara  worn  by  a  fierce  Sadducee  ?  were  not  the 
governing  families  exclusively  of  this  cruel  and  inhuman 
party  ?  As  they  passed  under  the  shadow  of  the  Temple, 
with  its  gleaming  lights,  its  marble  bastions,  and  its  imme- 
morial traditions,  they  must  have  felt,  that,  unless  Jesus 
chose  at  last  to  do  what  He  had  never  yet  done,  even  for 
a  moment — unless  He  used  His  supernatural  power  in  self- 
defence,  and  for  self-aggrandisement,  they  were  hopelessly 
lost. 

To  Jesus  Himself  the  moment  was  unspeakably  solemn. 
His  scarcely  founded  Kingdom  was  about  to  pass  through 
the  severest  trial.  The  temporary  and  earthly  in  it  were  to 
be  violently  separated,  for  ever,  from  the  heavenly  and 
eternal.  All  hopes  of  a  worldly  kingdom,  so  deeply  rooted 
in  the  minds  of  His  followers,  were  to  be  destroyed,  and  He, 
the  visible  Head  of  the  Kingdom,  to  be  ajiprehended,  dis- 
honoured, and  crucified.  The  thoughts  of  His  disciples  were 
to  be  raised  from  the  idea  of  a  present,  incarnate  Messiah, 
to  a  Jlessiah  in  heaven  ;  to  appear,  henceforth,  no  more,  but 
by  His  return  from  the  invisible  world.  To  be  true  to  Him, 
meant,  from  this  time,  the  realization  of  a  spiritual  concep- 
tion as  yet  unattained  by  even  the  most  enhghtened  of  the 
Twelve. 

But  Christ  was  in  no  degree  turned  aside,  or  j^aralyzed 
in  His  resolution,  bj^  such  dangers.  '  While  in  no  sense 
courting  death,  and  even  Avishful,  if  it  pleased  His  Father, 
to  escape  its  attendant  horrors.  He  moved  towards  the 
appointed  and  foreseen  end,  with  sublime  self-possession,  and 
holy  peace  of  soul,  recognizing  all  that  yet  remained  for 
Him  to  do,  aftd  doing  it  Avith  a  divine  serenity.  His  bear- 
ing to  the  great  world,  to  the  last ;  His  action  and  His  self- 
restraint,  are,  alike,  wonderful;  but  it  must  strike  us  still 
more,  as  we  observe  it  closel}-,   how  He  bore  Himself  in 


THE   LAST   STJPPER. 


465 


the  circle  of  His  chosen   ones  as  the  catastrophe  pressed  chap,  lyiu. 
nearer  and  nearer. 

When  the  T^yelve,  with  their  jMaster,  had  entered  the 
room,  to  take  their  places  on  the  cushions,  for  the  meal,'^^!'  Matt.  2b.  20. 

Mark  14.  17 

the  greatness  of  the  change  yet  to  be  wrought  on  their 
minds  was  once  more  strikingly  shown.  In  spite  of  all  He 
had  said,  the  question  of  precedence  was  uppermost  in  their 
thoughts. 

As  the  head  of  the  group,  Jesus  naturally  took  the  first 
place  on  the  highest  couch — the  outermost,  on  the  right 
of  the  iiollow  square ; — His  face  towards  the  second  place ; 


Luke  22. 
14—18.24—30. 
John  13. 1—20, 


Middle  Couch. 


^ 

% 

■gj 

i 

Pillows  or  Cushion. 

s 

Highest. 

9       8        7        6        5 

Lowest. 

ri 

10 

v**" *^ 

4 

.3 

•i 

y^     X 

ja 

s 

/          \ 

0 

n 

/            \ 

3 

Q 

/             \ 

S 

s 

12 

1             Table.            1 

2 

3 

b 

V         J 

2 

Lowest. 

13 

^ — y 

Highest. 

Triclinil-m.  22 


His  feet  outwards.  Resting  His  left  elbow  and  side  on  a 
cushion  the  whole  breadth  of  the  couch,  His  right  hand 
was  thus  free,  while  the  Apostle  next  Him  reclined  so  that 
His  head  lay,  as  it  were,  in  His  blaster's  bosom.  It  had 
been  the  custom,  in  ancient  times,  to  eat  the  Passover  stand- 
ing, but  the  Rabbis  had  changed  it  for  the  Gentile  practice 
of  reclining.  It  Avas  like  slaves,  they  said,  to  eat  standing, 
and  as  Israel  was  not  a  race  of  slaves  but  of  free  men,  they 
should  cat  the  feast  reclining;  a  flattery  so  pleasing  to  Jewish 
pride  that  even  the  poorest  adopted  the  new  mode.-^  = 

But  this  Jewish  pride  in  the  Apostles,  made  still  more 
fierce  by  selfish  ambition,  in  prospect  of  the  political  glory 
they  stiU  perversely  hoped  for,  could  ill  brook  to  take  a 
lower  place  than  others.     It  was  a  grave  matter  for  them, 

VOL.  u.  69 


'  Diet,  of 
Antiquitiea, 
All.  ■•Tri- 
clinium." 


ITier.  Pes.  37. 
s^xvii.2;  1,1, 
Wetstein,  517. 


466  THE   LIFE   OF    CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LYui.  as  for  the  Pharisees,  who  should  have  the  higher  seats,  for, 
in  their  delusion,  they  assumed  that  it  might  affect  their 
future  position  in  the  jMessianic  State,  to  be  founded,  as 
they  dreamed,  presently.  So  the  strife  that  had  broken  out 
on  the  other  side  of  Jericho,  once  more  distressed  their 
Master,  and  He  could  only  still  it  by  repeating  the  keen 
rebuke  He  then  gave  them.  "  In  my  kingdom,"  said  He, 
"  to  be  humble  is  to  be  great :  the  lowliest  is,  in  it,  the 
highest."  No  more  was  needed ;  the  struggle,  now,  would 
rather  be  for  the  lowest  place. 

But  He  did  not  confine  Himself  to  words.  Risii>g  from 
the  couch,  when  the  supper  was  just  about  to  begin,''  and 
girding  Himself  with  a  towel,  like  a  slave,  after  laying  a^de 
His  upper  garments.  He  poured  water  into  a  basin,  and 
began  to  wash  the  feet  of  His  disciples.  Pride  and  selfish 
ambition  could  not  be  more  strikingly  and  touchingly 
reproved,  than  by  such  an  act  on  the  part  of  one  who  knew 
that  He  had  had  all  things  given  into  His  hands  by  God 
His  Father,  and  that  He  had  come  forth  from  Him,  and  was 
about  to  return  to  Him.  No  greater  proof  could  be  shown 
of  His  love,  than  that  such  an  act  of  humility  should  be  its 
natural  expression.  Had  they  all  been  true-hearted,  it  avouIcI 
have  been  amazing  in  one  so  transcendently  above  them, 
but  it  was  still  more  so,  when  He  knew  that  one  of  them 
was  already  a  traitor.  He  had  proclaimed  Himself  the  Son 
of  God,  the  future  judge  of  the  world,  the  Messiah  in  whose 
gift  were  the  honours  of  heaven,  and  whose  voice  was  to 
raise  the  dead,  and  they  were  simple  Galila^an  fishermen. 
There  could  be  no  commentary  on  His  demand  for  lowliness, 
as  the  true  ground  of  advancement  in  His  kingdom,  more 
vivid  than  His  voluntarily  pei'forming  the  lowliest  act  of 
personal  service  to  them  all. 

He  seems  to  have  begun  with  Simon  Peter,  His  chief 
Apostle,  but  the  warm  heart  and  the  impulsive  nature  of  the 
rock-like  man  shrank  from  letting  his  Master  humble  Him- 
self thus.  "  Lord,"  said  he,  "  dost  Thou  wash  ???y  feet !"  He 
had  not  realized  the  meaning  of  an  act  intended  as  symbo- 
lical. "What  I  do,"  replied  Jesus,  "thou  understandcst not 
now,  but  wilt  know  hereafter."    "  Thou  shalt  never  wash  my 


THE   FOOT-WASniNG.  467 

feet,  Lord,"  reiterated  the  Ajjostle.     "  If  I  do  not  wash  thee,"  oHAP^m. 

said  Jesus,  "thou  hast  no  part  with  me."     "  Lord,  if  that  be 

the  case,"  broke  out  Peter,   "wash  not  my  feet  only,  but 

my   hands  and   my   head."      "  It    is  not   necessary,"  said 

Jesus.       "  He   who,   according  to  Jewish  ways,  has  taken 

a  bath  before  his  meal,  needs  no  more  than  to  cleanse  the 

dust  from  his  feet,  which  has  clung  to  them  on  the  way 

from  the  bath.     Except  this,  he  is  clean,  and  it  is  the  same 

with  you,  except  him  who  intends  to  betray  me.     By  my 

Avord,  which  I  have  spoken  to  you,  and  the  faith  waked  in 

you  by  it,-*  you  are  already  clean  in  the  sense  I  mean — 2icii.i6.3;3.i& 

right  in  the  desire  of  your  heart  towards  me.     Yet,  though 

thus  clean,  the  dust  of  earth  still  clings  to  you  in  part,  and 

makes  a  last  washing  needful."     The  hour  was  at  hand  for 

this  last  crowning  act  of  love — the  shedding  His  blood  for 

them  for  the  remission  of  their  sins — and  He  would  now 

prepare  them  for  it  by  this  tender  symbol, ^^  for  it  taught  not  ^  An.  -foss- 

only  humility,  but  that  He  alone  could  take  away  sin.  BibeiLel' 

Having  washed  their  feet  and  resumed  His  garments,  He 
once  more  took  His  place  on  the  couch. 

"  Do  you  know,"  He  asked,  as  He  did  so,  "  the  meaning  of 
what  I  have  noAV  done  to  you  ?  You  call  me  Teacher  and 
Lord,  and  you  are  right,  for  I  am  both.  Learn,  then,  that, 
if  I,  your  Master  and  Lord,  wash  your  feet,  you,  also,  ought 
to  wash  one  another's  feet,  for  I  have  done  this  as  an  example 
to  you,  that  you  should  do  to  each  other  as  I  have  done  to 
you.  You  know,  and  I  would  have  you  remember  it,  that 
a  sei'A'ant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord,  nor  an  apostle  than 
He  who  sent  him  forth,  so  that  you  may  well  imitate  me, 
your  superior,  in  my  humility.  If  you  understand  what  I 
say,  it  will  be  well  for  you  if  you  act  on  my  teaching.  I  do 
not,  indeed,  speak  of  you  aU.  I  know  your  characters  and 
hearts,  but  all  has  hajjpened  in  fulfilment  of  the  divine  will, 
for  the  Scripture  must  needs  be  fulfilled,  which  says,  '  He 
that  eats  bi*ead  with  me,  craftily  lifts  up  his  heel  against  me ;' 
to  trip  and  overthrow  me.-^  I  tell  you  before  it  happen,  a  ps.  41. 9. 
that,  when  it  does  take  place,  you  may  believe  that  I  am 
indeed  the  Messiah,  and  that  no  other  is  to  be  expected. 
That  I  should  be  betrayed  by  one  of  om'selves  might  have 


468  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LYin.  shaken  your  fiiith  in  me,  but  it  cannot  do  so  when  I  have 
foreseen  and  foretold  it,  as  part  of  the  counsel  of  God.  But 
to  cheer  and  encourage  you  in  your  faithfulness,  let  me  tell 
you  that  you  may  go  forth  to  the  mission  on  "which  I  have 
sent  you,  with  joyful  hearts.  Your  high  position,  as  my 
apostles,  remains  imaffected  by  the  treachery  of  one  of  your 
number.  For,  as  I  have  said  before,  I  now  solemnly  repeat 
— he  who  receives  you  is  accounted  by  me  as  if  he  had 
received  myself,  and  he  who  receives  me  receives  God  the 

"  13 W*'^''^"'  Father  who  sent  me,  for  He  dwells  in  me,  and  I  in  Ilim.'"-'' 
The  supper  now  began,  but  the  spirit  of  Jesus  was  still 

2«  Mfttt^2e.^^^  clouded  and  troubled  by  the  presence  of  the  traitor.^*  At 
Luke'if''  last  His  feelings  broke  out  into  irrepressible  words.  "  Verily, 
13721-05°  verily,"  said  He,  "  One  of  you,  who  eat  with  me,  will  betray 
me.  His  hand  is  with  me  on  the  table."  They  had  never 
hitherto  realized  His  hints,  and  the  very  thought  of  treason, 
to  their  honest  and  faithful  hearts,  was  almost  beyond  be- 
lief They  could  not  think  who  was  meant,  for  Judas  had 
managed,  by  his  hypocrisy,  to  hide  his  character  from  them 
all.  One  by  one,  they  began  to  ask,  "  Lord,  is  it  I  ?"  "  It 
is  one,"  replied  Jesus,  "  who  dips  with  me  into  the  dish. 
The  Son  of  Man,  indeed,  goes  in  this  way  by  the  counsels 
of  God,  from  this  world,  but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  He 
is  betrayed  !  It  would  have  been  well  for  him  if  he  had  not 
been  born  !  "  Words  thus  general  only  increased  the  pain 
and  emotion  of  all.  At  last,  Peter,  not  venturing  to  ask 
directly  who  it  could  be,  but  conscious  of  his  own  integrity, 
beckoned  to  John,  who  lay  next  our  Lord,  to  ask  Him  who 
could  be  so  base.  "  It  is  he,"  whispered  Jesus,  "who  is  just 
about  to  dip  the  bitter  herbs  into  this  charoseth  with  me, 
and  to  whom  I  shall  give  some  of  it  presently."'' 

He  then  dipped  the  piece  of  bread  into  the  charoseth,  and 
handed  it  to  Judas.  "Is  it  I?  "  asked  the  guilty  man,  con- 
science-stricken, and  yet  unmelted.  He  had  not  heard  the 
words  of  John,  but  his  guilty  soul  could  not  help  stammer- 
ing out  the  question,  in  a  vain  attempt  to  keep  up  the 
mockery  of  true-heartedness  he  had  acted  so  long.  The 
awful  reply — that  "it  was" — tore  away  the  mask  at  once, 
and  unveiled  his  heart.    That  all  was  known  would  have 


JUDAS   LEAVES.  469 

ovGrwlielmed  some,  in  shame  and  contrition,  but  it  only  chap,  lyui. 
hardened  the  betrayer.  The  "wild  madness  of  evil  Avas  on 
hiin  for  the  time.  He  could  think  only  of  himself:  his 
fancied  Avrongs ;  his  full  resolve.  Satan  had  entered  his 
soul,  and  bent  his  whole  nature  to  his  own  dark  ends.  It 
may  be  that  the  exposure  roused  him  to  the  heedlessness  of 
despair,  as  when  the  arch  enemy  bade  hope  farewell, 
"  and,  with  hope,  farewell  fear, 

Farewell  remorse  :  all  good  to  me  is  lost ; 

Evil,  be  thou  my  good !  "-^  ^  p„.  ^^^  ,^ 

T  •  .  .  .  .  108—110. 

It  was  vam  for  him  to  seek  to  hide  the  workings  of  his  soul 
by  an  affected  outward  calm.      He  had  long  veiled  false- 

'^*^°*^  "  imder  saintly  show, 

Deep  maUce  to  conceal,  couch'd  with  revenge." 

But  the  eyes  of  his  Master  shone  into  the  depths  of  his  being, 
and  saw  the  tunault  of  his  worst  passions,  in  their  mastery, 
"  What  you  have  to  do,"  said  Jesus,  "  do  quickly."  He 
could  not  breathe  freely  till  the  miserable  man  had  left,  and 
besides.  He  would  fain  meet  the  inevitable  as  soon  as  might 
be,  for  the  slow  ad\-ance  of  a  catastrophe  is  harder  to  bear 
than  the  catastrophe  itself.  Judas  knew  the  meaning  of  the 
command  at  once,  and,  having  received  the  piece  of  bread, 
dipped  in  the  charoseth,  moodily  took  it,  and  silently  with- 
di'ew  into  the  outer  night.  The  Eleven  were  too  much 
confused  to  realize  the  end  as  at  all  so  near.  Betrayal 
might  come,  but  at  some  future,  perhaps  distant,  time. 
They  only  fancied,  therefore,  that  Judas  had  left  either  to 
buy  what  might  be  needed  during  the  week  of  the  feast,  or 
for  that  special  night ;  or  that  Jesus  had  bethought  Himself 
of  some  deed  of  mercy  to  the  poor,  and  sent  him  to  carry 
it  out.  The  traitor  gone,  Christ  felt  free  to  speak,  and,  as  if 
relieved  of  a  load,  broke  out  into  a  joyful  anticipation  of 
His  fust-coming  triumph.  lu  the  near  vision  of  the  Cross, 
His  work  seemed  already  finished;^"  His  glory,  as  conqueror  30  johnis. 
of  Death  and  Hell,  and  Redeemer  of  Mankind,  attained,  and 
that  of  God  the  Father  illustrated. 

"  Xow,"  said  He,  in  effect,  "the  Son  of  Man  is  already 
glorified.  All  things  are  hastening  to  His  triumph,  and,  in 
that  triumph,  God  Himself  will  also  be  glorified,  for  it  is 


470  THE  LIl'E   OF   CHRIST. 

onARtvui.  His  -n-ork  which  I  shall  jirescntly  complete.  And,  if  God 
be  thus  glorified  in  my  death  for  the  salvation  of  man,  He 
will  assuredly  crown  me  with  His  own  heavenly  gloiy, 
when  I  return  to  Him  :  the  glory  that  I  had  with  Him,  liefore 
I  came  to  earth  to  become  man,  and  that,  even  now,  is  close 
at   hand,  through  my  death,  which  will  usher  me  into  it. 

»'  ch.17.6.      The  betrayer  has  gone  to  accomplish  it !  ^^ 

"My  children,  for  I  call  jou  so  in  love,  I  shall  be  only 
a  little  while  longer  with  you,  and  you  will  feel  the  want  of 
my  presence,  and  wish  for  me ;  but,  as  I  once  said  to  my 
enemies,  I  shall  be  where  you  cannot  follow  and  find  me. 
For  a  parting  word,  let  me  give  you  a  last  command, — 
my  very  last :  a  new  command,  to  be  kept,  as  such,  so  much 
the  more ; — that,  henceforth,  ye  love  each  other  because  I 
have  loved  you  all,  and  because  you  all  love  me.  I  have 
often,  before,  told  you  to  love  all  men,  and  so  be  like  God, 
but  I  now  tell  you  to  do  so,  for  the  love  I  bear  to  you,  and 
for  that  which  you  bear  to  me.  You  must,  henceforth,  be 
known  as  members  of  my  kingdom,  by  the  love  you  show 
to  each  other,  as  such.  And  the  love  you  have,  as  brethren, 
must  be  such,  and  as  great,  as  mine  has  been  towards 
you  all." 

As  He  thus  spoke,  Peter  still  dwelt,  in  his  thoughts,  on 
the  sad  words  which  seemed  to  foreshadow  a  lasting  separa- 
tion between  him  and  His  Master.  "  Lord,"  said  he,  in  his 
bold,  impetuous  Avay,  "  You  speak  of  going  away;  pray  tell 
us  -whither  j'ou  are  going  ?  Will  you  leave  us  and  go  to 
the  Gentiles?  "  "  I  go  to  a  place,"  replied  Jesus,  "  where 
you  cannot  follow  me  at  present,  however  willing  you  may 
be  to  do  so.  Yet,  do  not  fear.  We  shall  not  be  separated 
for  ever.  You  will,  one  day,  follow  me,  in  the  same  way, 
and  then  you  will  come  to  me."  Peter's  heart  could  not 
be  silent.  "  I  shall  be  glad  to  come  to  Thee,  Lord,"  said  he, 
"even  after  a  time,  but  why  can  I  not  go  with  Thee  now? 
Thou  knowest  me.  I  am  ready  to  lay  down  my  life  for 
Thee." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  "   repUed  Jesus,  with  a  look  full  of 

B  Matt. 26.       friendship   and  yet  also  of  earnest  sadness.^^     "You  little 

31—35.   Mark  '^  •' 

Liik"^.''     know  your   own    heart.      All   of    you    will    forsake    me, 

81—38." 


PETER   WARNED.  471 

and  leave  me  to  my  enemies  this  very  night,  as  Zechariah,  chap,  lviii. 

the  prophet,  has  foretold — '  I  will  smite  the  shepherd,  and 

the  sheep  of  the  flock  will  be  scattered  abroad.'^*     But  be  »  oh.13.7. 

not  cast  doAvn  with  too  much  sorrow.     After  I  Jiave  risen 

from  the  dead,  I  will  go  into  Galilee,  and  gather  you  round 

me  once  more."'     The  idea  of  forsaking  his  Master,  whom 

he  loved  so  dearly,  was  too  inconceivable,  however,  to  Peter, 

in  the  self-confidence  of  his  affection,  to  allow  him  to  accept 

it  as  possible.      "  Other  men  may,  perhaps,  be  offended  on 

account  of  Thee,  Lord,"  said  he,   "  but  if  all  the  world  were 

to  be  so,  there  is  no  fear  of  my  failing.     I,  at  any  rate,  will 

never  leare  Thee." 

"  Simon,  Simon,"  replied  Jesus,  using  the  old  name  by 
which  he  had  known  him  long  ago — "take  care.  Self- 
confidence  will  be  your  undoing.  Satan  has  seen  it,  and  has 
sought  to  get  God  to  give  you  over  into  his  power,  as  he 
once  did  Job,  and  he  has  got  you  for  the  time,  to  sift  you 
as  wheat  is  sifted.  He  Avould  fain  have  it  that  your  profes- 
sions are  only  chaft",  and  he  will  shake  and  test  you  by 
temptations,  dangers,  and  troubles,  to  try  to  make  you  turn 
against  me,  and  thus  prove  that  it  is  so.  But  I  am  mightier 
than  your  enemy,  and  I  have  prayed  for  you  that,  though 
you  fall,  you  may  rise  again,  and  that  your  faith  in  me 
may  not  give  way  altogether,  and  separate  you  entirely 
from  me.  Though  you  will  assuredly  fall,  yet  you  will 
repent,  and  when  you  have  done  so,  see  that  you  streng- 
then the  faith  of  your  fellow-disciples,  and  become  their 
helper,  to  support  and  confirm  thom,  if  they,  like  you, 
waver. ' 

Peter  was  sorely  distressed  at  such  Avords.  Conscious  of 
his  honest  love  and  fidelity,  it  seemed  as  if  Jesus  doubted 
both.  His  warm  Galihuan  heart  was  fuU.  He  felt  as  if 
his  ]\Iaster  spoke  of  his  acting  in  a  way  of  which  he 
could  not  believe  himself  capable.  "  Lord,"  said  he,  "  I 
care  not  what  happens  to  Thee.  I  am  ready  to  go  with 
Thee  to  prison,  or  to  die  with  Thee,  but  I  will  never  leave 
Thee,  nor  be  untrue  to  Thee."  "  Do  you  think  so,  Peter?" 
replied  Jesus,  Avith  a  voice  fuU  of  tenderness — "  I  tell  you 
that  this    very  night,    before    the    cock   crow  the  second 


472  THE   LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

•cHAP^vni.  time,  you  will  thrice  deny  that  you  know  me."  "If  I 
were  to  die  for  it,"  ansAvered  the  Apostle,  "  no  one  will 
ever  hear  me  deny  Thee."  "  I  can  say  the  same,"  added  all 
the  other  Apostles. 

There  Avas  now  a  pause  for  a  short  time  in  the  conversation. 
Presently  Jesus  re-commenced  it.  "  You  may  wonder  at  my 
speaking  as  I  have  done  to-night,"  said  He,   "but  there  are 

«  Luke  22.       good  OTOuiids  for  it.^*     Your  circumstances  will  be  entirely 

35—38.  .  . 

different,  henceforth,  from  what  they  have  been  in  the 
past.  A  time  of  care  and  struggle  lies  before  you.  When 
I  sent  you  to  travel  through  the  country,  preaching  the 
Kingdom,  and  you  had  neither  purse,  nor  bag  for  food, 
nor  sandals, — did  you  miss  any  of  these,  or  want  for  any- 
thing ?"  "  Nothing,  Lord,"  said  all  the  Eleven.  "  It  will 
be  very  different  now,"  replied  Jesus.  "Whoever  has 
money,  let  him  take  it,  and  let  him  take  pro\isions  for  the 
way,  as  well ;  and  let  him  that  has  no  sword  sell  his  coat  to 
buy  one,  to  defend  himself.  He  who  has  money  and  pro- 
visions can  help  himself  on  by  them  in  his  journeys,  but  he 
who  has  none  will  need  to  ask  hospitality,  and,  as  he  needs 
not  hope  to  receive  it,  let  him,  at  least,  have  the  means  of 
protection.  I  speak  in  a  figure,  for  I  do  not  really  mean 
you  to  fight,  or  to  carry  or  use  a  sword,  but  I  msh  to 
impress  on  you  how  hostile  the  world  will,  henceforth,  be  to 
you,  as  you  go  on  your  journeys  as  my  apostles ;  and  what 
earnest  energy  and  struggle  will  be  needful,  on  your  part, 
while  you  are  thus  carrying  the  news  of  the  Kingdom 
through  the  world.  For  I  tell  you,  solemnly,  that  the 
words  of  Isaiah,  '  And  He  was  reckoned  among  trans- 
gressors,' must  be  fulfilled  in  me,  for  that  which  has  been 
a  cii.53.12.  written  of  me  in  Scripture  is  about  to  be  accomplished."^^ 
The  disciples,  always  ready  to  vmderstand  whatever  they 
heard,  in  the  most  material  sense,  had  failed  to  catch  the  real 
meaning  of  Jesus  in  his  reference  to  the  sword.  They 
fancied  that  He  wished  them  to  provide  weapons  to  resist 
approaching  danger.  "  We  have  two  swords,"  said  one  of 
them.  "That  AviU  do,"  replied  Jesus,  gently  avoiding 
further  explanation.  "  You  will  not  need  more  than  the 
two," — a  touch  of  sad  irony  which  sufficed  to  show  even 


THE   INSTITUTION   OF   HOLY   COMMUNION.  473 

tten   that   He  had  thought  of  something  very  different  as  charlvuc. 
their  defence  than  the  purchase  of  arms  ;  for  how  were  the 
nine,  who  had  no  swords  at  all,  to  protect  themselves,  Avhen 
scattered  on  the  apostolic  journeys  of  which  He  had  spoken? 

The  evening  was  now  somewhat  advanced,  according  to 
Eastern  notions,  but  the  Passover  meal,  in  its  different  rites, 
could  not  be  hurried.  The  feast  began  thus,  in  other  circles, 
thouo-h  we  cannot  tell  how  far  the  usual  customs  were 
followed  by  Jesus.  ^^  A  cup  of  red  wine,  mingled  with  a«M^t.|o.^^^ 
•fourth  part  of  water,  to  make  it  a  pleasant  and  temperate  luS'i^so, 
drink,  was  filled  by  one  of  the  company,  and  given  to  the  2i£^25."' 
head  of  the  family,  who  took  it  in  his  right  hand,  as  he 
rested,  supporting  himself  on  his  left  side  and  arm,  and 
thanked  God  in  the  words — "  Blessed  be  Thou,  O  Lord  our 
God,  Thou  King  of  the  world,  who  createdst  the  fruit  of  the 
vine."  He  then  tasted  the  cup,  and  passed  it  round. 
Thanks  for  the  institution  of  the  washing  of  hands  followed, 
and  then  the  washing  itself,  which  was  merely  formal. 
"Bitter"  herbs,  such  as  endives,  lettuce,  and  the  like,  were 
next  set  on  the  table,  to  represent  the  hard  life  of  Egypt. 
Thanks  were  given  for  them  also,  and  then  they  were  passed 
round  and  eaten,  after  dipping  them  in  a  mixture  of  salt 
and  vinegar.    The  unleavened  bread — the  bread  of  aflliction 

-which  gave  one  of  its  names  to  the  feast,  followed  next, 

and  then  the  bowl  of  charoseth  and  the  Passover  lamb. 
After  this,  the  head  of  the  company  once  more  gave  thanks 
to  Him  "  who  created  the  fruit  of  the  earth,"  and  the 
bitter  herbs  were  dipped  by  each  in  the  charoseth,  and  a  piece 
of  it,  "  the  size  of  an  olive,"  eaten,  Avith  them,  by  all.  A 
second  single  cup  of  wine,  mingled  with  water,  was  now 
poured  out,  discourse  on  the  lessons  of  the  feast  Avas  held, 
and  then  the  hundred  and  thirteenth  and  hundred  and 
fourteenth  Psalms,  part  of  the  Hallel,  were  sung.  Another 
short  thanksgiving  foUoAved,  and  the  cup  Avas  once  more 
passed  round  and  tasted. 

The  Household  Father  noAv  Avashed  His  hands  again,  and 
then  took  tAvo  of  the  unleaA^ened  cakes,  broke  one  in  tAVO, 
and  laying  the  pieces  on  the  unbroken  cake,  pronounced  a 
thankso-iving — "  Blessed  be  He  who  makes  bread  to  grow 


474  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lvm.  from  the  earth," — -nTappecl  some  bitter  herbs  round  a  piece 
of  the  broken  bread,  dipped  it  in  the  charoseth,  ate  it,  after 
another  special  thanksgiving,  and,  with  it,  a  part  of  the 
Lamb ;  the  others  following  His  example.  The  supper  had 
only  now  propei'ly  begun.  Each  ate  and  drank  at  his  will ; 
all,  alike,  in  the  patriarchal  way  of  the  East,  lifting  what  they 
wished,  with  their  fingers,  from  the  common  dish.  A  third 
cup  of  wine,  passed  round,  marked  the  close  of  the  feast  as 
a  religious  solemnity. 

The  meal  had  advanced  thus  for,  and  was  now  virtually 
finished,  when  the  warning  had  been  given  of  the  approach- 
ing denial  of  their  Master  b}'  Peter,  and  the  weak-minded 
desertion  of  the  Eleven.  The  solemn  words,  foretelling  the 
dangers  and  trials  before  them,  had  been  added,  when 
Jesus,  noAV  in  the  bosom  of  the  little  band,  nearest  and 
dearest  to  Him  on  earth  ;  His  companions  through  the  past 
years,  since  His  public  work  began — introduced  by  an  act 
befitting  a  spiritual  religion  like  His,  in  its  simplicity,  the 
institution  which,  henceforth,  should  supersede  in  His 
kingdom  on  earth  the  feast  they  had  ended.  Homage  had 
been  paid  for  the  last  time,  as  in  farewell,  to  the  Past :  they 
were,  hereafter,  to  honour  the  new  Sjnnbol  of  the  Future. 

He  was  about  to  leave  them,  and,  as  yet,  they  had  no 
rite,  however  simple,  to  form  a  centre  round  which  they 
might  permanently  gather.  Some  emblem  was  needed,  by 
which  they  might,  hereafter,  be  distinguished  :  some  common 
bond,  which  should  outwardly  link  them  to  each  other,  and 
to  their  common  Master.  The  Passover  had  been  the  symbol 
of  the  theocracy  of  the  past,  and  had  given  the  people  of  God 
an  outward,  ever-recurring,  i-emembrance  of  their  relations 
to  each  other,  and  their  invisible  King.  As  the  founder  of 
the  New  Israel,  Jesus  would  now  institute  a  special  rite  for 
its  members,  in  all  ages  and  countries.  The  Old  Covenant 
of  God  with  the  Jew  had  found  its  vivid  embodiment  in  the 
yearly  festivity  He  had  that  night,  for  the  last  time,  observed. 
The  Kew  Covenant  must,  henceforth,  have  an  outward  em- 
bodiment also ;  more  spiritual,  as  became  it,  but  equally 
vivid. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  touching:  and  beautiful  in 


THE   NEW   SYMBOL.  475 

its  simplicity  than  the  symbol  now  introduced.  The  Third  chap,  lviu 
Cup  was  known  as  "  the  cup  of  blessing,"  and  had  marked 
the  close  of  the  meal,  held  to  do  honour  to  the  economy  now 
passing  away.  The  bread  had  been  handed  round  with  the 
words,  "This  is  the  bread  of  afSiction  :"  and  the  flesh  of  the 
lamb  had  been  distributed  with  the  words,  "This  is  the 
body  of  the  Passover."^"  The  feast  of  the  Ancient  People  "  Mischna 
of  God  having  been  honoured  by  these  strikino;  utterances,^*    chapter,  §  3. 

°  •'  O  _  '       38  iCk)r.  11.2s. 

— Jesus  took  one  of  the  loaves  or  cakes  before  Him,  gave 
thanks,  broke  it,  and  handed  it  to  the  Apostles  with  woi'ds, 
the  repetition,  almost  exactly,  of  those  they  had  heard  a 
moment  before — "  Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body,  which  is  given 
for  you  :  this  do  in  remembrance  of  me."  Then,  taking  the 
cup,  which  had  been  filled  for  the  fourth  and  last  handing 
round.  He  gave  thanks  to  God  once  more,  and  passed  it  to 
the  circle,  with  the  words,  "  Drink  ye  aU  of  it,  for  this 
cup  is  the  New  Covenant "  presently  to  be  made  "  in  my 
blood  j"  instead  of  the  covenant  made  also  in  blood,  by  God, 
with  your  fathers  :  "  it  is,"  in  abiding  spnbol,  "  my  blood 
of  the  Covenant "  of  my  Father,  with  the  New  Israel. 
"  which  is  slied  for  you  and  for  many  for  the  remission  of 
sins.    This  do,  as  often  as  ye  drink,  in  remembrance  of  Me."  ^^  ^  Eioi  24.  s. 

For  Himself,  He  declined  to  taste  it.  "  I  will  not  drink, 
henceforth,"  said  He,  "  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine — for  it  was 
still  only  wine — till  that  day,  Avhen,  at  the  end  of  all  things, 
the  kingdom  of  God,  Avhich  I  have  founded,  shall  finally 
triumph,  and  my  foUowei's  be  gathered  to  the  great  heavenly 
feast.     Then,  I  shall  drink  it  new,  with  you  and  them." 

Such,  and  so  simple,  Avas  the  new  rite  of  the  Spiritual 
Theocracy.  To  those  around  Him,  at  its  institution,  there 
could  be  no  doubt  of  its  meaning  and  nature,  for  it  was,  even 
in  words,  a  counterpart  of  that  which  He  had  superseded, 
with  a  purer  and  more  spiritual  form.  The  cup.  He  told 
them,  was  a  symbol  of  the  New  Covenant,  under  which,  as 
His  followers,  they  had  come  ;  in  distinction  from  that  which 
they  had  left,  for  His  sake.  It  was  to  be  a  memorial  of  Him, 
and  a  constant  recognition  of  their  faith  in  the  virtue  of  His 
atoning  death — that  death,  whose  shed  blood  Avas  the  seal 
of  this  New  Covenant  between  the  subjects  of  His  kingdom, 


476  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST, 

cHAP^viii.  and  God,  His  Father.  It  symbolized  before  all  ages,  to  the 
New  Israel,  the  cardinal  virtue  of  His  death.  The  Apostles 
could  have  had  no  simpler  or  more  unmistakable  intimation 
that  as  the  blood  of  the  Passover  lamb  redeemed  the  people 
of  God,  of  old,  from  the  sword  of  the  angel  of  wrath,  His 
blood  would  be  a  ransom  for  man,  from  far  deadlier  peril.  A 
covenant,  to  them,  implied  a  sacrifice,  and  His  blood,  as  the 
New  Covenant,  was,  therefore,  sacrificial :  the  blood  of  a 
Covenant  which  pledged  His  followers  to  faith,  and  duty ;  the 
blood  of  a  new  paschal  lamb,  mth  which  His  disciples  must, 
in  figure,  be  sprinkled,  that  the  destroying  angel  might  pass 
over  them,  in  the  day  of  judgment.  The  custom  of  the 
nation  to  make  a  common  meal  the  special  occasion  of 
religious  fellowship,  made  the  new  institution  easy  and 
natural  to  the  Apostles,  and  the  constant  use  of  symbols  in 
their  hereditary  religion  prevented  their  misconceiving  the 
meaning  of  those  now  introduced  for  the  first  time.  They 
saw  in  it  an  abiding  memorial  of  their  Lord :  a  vivid  en- 
forcement of  their  dependence  on  the  merits  of  His  death, 
as  a  sacrifice  for  their  salvation :  the  need  of  intimate 
spiritual  communion  with  Him,  as  the  bread  of  life:  and  the 
bond  of  the  new  brotherhood  He  had  established.  The 
joint  commemoration  of  His  broken  body  and  shed  blood,  was, 
henceforth,  to  distinguish  the  assemblies  of  His  followers  from 
the  world  at  large.  Excepting  baptism,  it  was  the  one 
outward  form  in  the  Society,  established  by  their  JMaster. 

From  a  rite  thus  simple,  doctrines  have  been  developed 
by  theological  zeal  and  heated  fancy,  which  would  have 
alike  startled  and  shocked  those  who  first  partook  of  it.  It  has 
been  forgotten  how  Jesus,  Himself,  in  answer  to  the  c,T,-\il — 
"  How  can  He  give  us  His  flesh  to  eat  ?  "  repudiated  the 
literalism  which  cavight  at  sound,  and  missed  the  sense. 
"My  flesh — my  bodily  person,"  said  He,  "  profiteth  nothing 
towards  procuring  eternal  life :  to  talk  of  eating  it  to  gain 
that  hfe  is  unworthy  trifling :  it  is  the  Spirit  who  quickens 
the  soul  to  a  new,  immortal,  and  heavenly  existence,  and  that 
Spirit  acts   through  the   words    of  sacred   truth    which    I 

«  John  c.  68.     speak  to  you.    TIicjj  are  spirit,  and  they  are  hfe."'^'' 


THE   FAHEWELL.  477 


CHAPTER  LIX 

THE  FAREWELL. 

JERUSALEM  was  the  brightest  and  happiest  of  cities  on  ^h^ux. 
this  Passover  night.^  But  though  the  hum  of  universal '  •'°'"  "■  ^~®^ 
rejoicing  rose  on  every  side,  there  was  only  sadness  in  the 
little  band  round  Jesus.  One  of  theii'  number  had  proved 
a  traitor,  and  their  Master  had  told  them,  once  more,  that 
He  would  very  soon  leave  them.  They  were  sore  at  heart 
from  shame  at  the  baseness  of  Iscariot ;  at  the  dread  of  losing 
a  Master  they  passionately  loved ;  and  at  the  utter  miscar- 
riage of  aU  their  half-worldlj-,  half-religious,  expectations  of 
earthly  glory.  Their  Master  had  instituted  a  rite  to  mark  them 
as  apart  from  all  other  men,  but  it  looked  as  if  there  would 
be  little  use  for  it,  in  the  apparently  near  overthrow  of  His 
infant  Kingdom. 

As  they  reclined,  sad  and  silent,  Jesus  read  their  thoughts, 
and  began  to  cheer  them,  by  lifting  their  hearts  from  the 
gloomy  present  to  the  glorious  future. 

"  Let  not  your  hearts  be  troubled  with  care  and  anxiety 
in  such  a  way,"  said  He ;  "  beUeve  in  God,  and  in  me,  His 
Son,  who  speak  in  His  name,  and  let  that  faith  lead  you  to 
trust  confidently  that  the  promises  made  you  will  be  fulfilled. 
I  have,  indeed,  told  you  that  I  must  go  to  my  Father,  but  I 
have  told  you,  also,  that  I  wU  retui'n.  You  have,  assuredly, 
nothing  to  expect  on  earth  except  ti'ial,  but  your  reward  in 
the  world  to  come  may  well  raise  you  above  all  sorrow  on 
that  account.  In  heaven,  my  Father's  house,  are  many 
mansions ;  you  need  not  fear  that  everlasting  habitations  in 
glory  will  fail  you.  If  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told  you, 
for  I  never  deceive  you.  Nay,  more,  I  am  your  forerunner 
thither.     If  I  go  away,  it  is  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.    I  am    . 


478  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

oBAP.utx.    your  friend,  going  home  before  you,  to  get  all  ready  for  your 
glad  reception  when  you  follow  me. 

"Nor  is  this  all;  I  will  return  to  fetch  you  to  my  heavenly 
home,  that,  where  I  am,  you  may  be,  also,  for  ever.  If  you 
remember  what  I  have  said  in  the  past,  you  will  know  not 
only  whither  I  am  going,  but,  since  it  is  I  who  prepare  a 
place  for  you  above,  and  I,  and  no  other,  who  will  come  to 
lead  you  thither,  you  must  also  knoAV  the  way." 

He  alluded  to  His  spiritual  return  at  the  blissful  death  of 
His  servants,  to  guide  them  to  Himself,  above,  and  He  had 
told  them,  not  long  before,  that  He  was  the  door  of  the 
great  fold,  and  that  if  any  man  entered  by  Him,  he  would 

'John  10. 7, 9.  be  saved.-  But  they  had  forgotten  this,  as  they  had  so 
much  else. 

3  John  13. 36.  A  full  and  satisfying  answer  to  the  question  of  Peter,^  lay 
in  these  words.  But  it  was  not  enough  to  still  the  fears 
and  doubts  in  the  minds  of  the  Apostles.  They  still  clung 
fondly  to  their  earthly  hopes  of  the  Messiah's  Kingdom,  and 
though  they,  perhaps,  realized  the  near  departure  of  their 
IMaster,  they  had  not,  even  yet,  come  to  comprehend  that  it 
meant  His  death.  Hence  His  figurative  language  remained 
so  dark  to  them,  that  Thomas,  constitutionally  given,  as  he 
was,  to  seek  clearness  and  certainty,  interrupted  Him  with  a 

'  John  14. 6.      reverent  freedom'* — 

"  Lord,  we  do  not,  as  yet,  know  whither  Thou  art  going, 
and  how  can  we  know  the  way  in  Avhich  to  follow  Thee  ?  " 
The  questioner  wished  to  find  out  the  way  by  learning  the 
goal,  but  Christ,  in  His  answer,  pointed  him  to  the  way  as 
revealing  all  else. 

"  I  myself,  and  no  other,  am  the  way,"  said  He,  "  because 
no  one  comes  to  the  Father,  in  His  heavenly  glory,  but 
through  me.  I  am  the  true  way,  for  I  speak  only  the  truth 
given  me  from  above  to  make  known  ;  the  way  to  life,  for 
He  who  believes  in  me  shall  live  by  me,  and  shall  have  ever- 
lasting life,  and  I  shall  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day.  If  ye 
have  kno^Ti  me — the  Way — jg  will  know  whither  I  am  going 
• — to  ni}'  Father — for,  since  he  who  sees  the  Son,  sees  the 
Father  also,  you  know  Him  from  this  time,  and  have  seen 
Him,  in  seeing  me.     I  am  the  Way,  because  no  one  can 


JESUS    CONTINUES    HIS   DISCOURSE.  479 

reach  my  Father's  presence,  but  through  faith  in  me  as  the 
Saviour :  the  Truth,  because  I  am  the  self-revehition  of  God  ; 
the  Light,  come  into  the  world,  without  following  which,  no 
one  can  gain  salvation :  the  Life,  because  I  am  the  source 
and  spring  of  eternal  life,  so  that  he  who  does  not  receive 
me  into  his  heart,  by  faith,  is  already  condemned." 

Philip  had  listened,^  but  could  not  understand.  He  could  = 
only  think  that  Jesus,  in  speaking  of  seeing  the  Father,  alluded 
to  some  invisible  appearance  of  Jehovah,  for  the  purpose  of 
founding  the  earthly  kingdom  of  the  Messiah.  "With  a  child- 
like simplicity,  therefore,  he  turned  to  Christ — "Lord,  show 
us  the  Father,  and  all  our  wishes  will  be  satisfied." 

No  one  who  had  thought  over  the  words  "  If  ye  have 
known  me,  ye  will  have  known  my  Father  also,"  and  had 
understood  them,  could  have  asked  such  a  question.  It 
marked  an  amazing  want  of  intelligent  appreciation  of  the 
teaching  of  our  Lord,  and  of  His  mode  of  speech.  Hence, 
the  answer  of  Christ  sounds  almost  sad.  "  Have  I  been  so 
long  with  you,  and  do  you  know  so  little  of  me,  Philip  ? 
If  you  really  knew  me,  you  would  not  ask  me  to  show  you 
the  Father.  He  cannot  be  shown  to  the  natural  sight.  But 
he  who  sees  me,  and  rightly  understands  who  I  am,  knows 
the  Father,  in  thus  knowing  me.  Such  an  one  realizes  that, 
in  me,  the  highest  revelation  of  God  that  is  possible  has 
appeared,  and  has  no  wish  to  have  any  higher  or  other  out- 
ward and  material  manifestation  of  Him.  You  speak  as  if 
you  did  not  believe  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father 
in  me,  and  that  hence,  as  I  said,  he  who  sees  me  sees  the 
Father  also.  The  proof  that  it  is  so,  is  in  ni}-  words,  for 
they  are  not  my  own,  but  His.  If  you  doubt  this,  you  do 
not  need  to  believe  merely  because  I  say  so  :  believe  it  on 
the  proof  of  the  works  that  I  do,  for  it  is  not  I,  who  do 
them,  but  the  Father.  Put  away  your  gross  earthly  ideas. 
What  I  mean  is,  that  the  Father  is  revealed  by  the  Son,  as 
His  image  and  likeness,  but  only  in  a  spiritual  sense,  to  the 
eye  of  faith  and  of  the  soul." 

Jesus  now  turned  to  the  Apostles  at  large,  and  resumed 
His  discourse  at  the  point  He  had  left,  when,  first  Thomas, 
and  then  Phihp,  broke  in  with  their  questions.''  e , 


480  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

"  I  have  promised  you  eternal  life,"  said  He,  "if  you  trust 
me  and  my  Father.  Let  me  do  more,  that  you  may  be 
cheered  and  supported  in  your  future  labours  for  my  King- 
dom. I  tell  you,  with  all  solemnity,  that  if  you  have  this 
true  faith  in  me,  and  love  towards  me,  you  will  have  the 
power  to  do  just  such  wonderful  works  as  I  have  done,  and 
even  greater,  for  I  am  going  to  ]\Iy  Father  to  be  raised  to  all 
power  in  heaven  and  earth ;  so  that  you  may  feel  sure  that 
your  prayers,  as  my  Apostles,  offered  in  my  name,  for  the 
advancement  of  my  Kingdom,  will  be  heard  and  answered, 
in  all  their  fulness.  You  will  receive  power  from  above  to 
overcome  the  world  by  your  labours  as  my  Apostles ; — to 
spread  the  Gospel  among  all  nations,  and  to  triumph  over 
all  Jewish  and  Gentile  opposition.  I  mean  this  when  I 
speak  of  your  doing  greater  Avorks  than  my  outward  miracles 
on  one  here  and  one  there.  It  is  I  who  will  give  you  this 
power,  for  I  am  in  my  Father,  and  my  Father  is  in  me, 
and  He  works  through  me,  and  I  shall  give  it  that  my 
Father  may  be  glorified  by  my  triumph  ;  for  His  glory  is 
the  great  end  of  my  work,  now  and  hereafter.  So  mighty, 
indeed,  will  be  your  prayers  in  my  name,  as  my  Apostles, 
that  I  will  do  not  only  what  you  ask,  for  the  spread  of 
my  Kingdom,  but  I  will  do  it  whenever,  and  as  often  as 
ever,  you 'ask  it. 

"  But  if  you  desire  that  so  great  an  honour  should  be 
granted  you,  that  I  should  hear  and  answer  all  your  prayers, 
you  must,  above  all  things,  keep  my  commandments,  for  by 
doing  so  you  best  show  your  love  for  me. 

"I  know  you  feel  sad  at  the  thought  of  losing  my  pre- 
sence and  help,  and  wonder  who  will  stand  by  you,  and  aid 
you,  when  I  am  gone.  Be  not  afraid.  I  will  not  leave 
you  alone,  but  will  see  that  my  place  be  supplied,  so  that 
you  want  for  nothing.''  For  I  will  ask  the  Father,  and 
He  will  give  you  another  Helper  and  Counsellor,  who  will 
not  leave  you,  as  I  must  now  do,  but  Avill  abide  with  you 
for  ever — protecting,  helping,  strengthening  you,  in  all  your 
needs ;  the  S})irit  of  Truth,  who  imparts  the  divine  Truth  to 
the  hearts  of  men,  leads  them  to  know  it,  and  quickens 
them  to  all  spiritual  power.     The  unbelieving  world  can- 


FAREWELL   DISCOURSE    OF   JESUS.  481 

not  receive  Him,  because  they  have  not  the  inward  sight  chap.ux 
to  know  Him,  and  He  is  not  visible  to  the  outward  sense. 
But  they  cannot  compreliend,  and  will  not  receive,  anything 
that  is  not  material,  and  apparent  to  the  bodily  eye.  You, 
however,  who  beheve  in  me,  will  know  Him,  for  He  will 
remain  with  you,  and  will  be  in  you,  and  your  own  expe- 
rience will  make  you  feel  that  He  is  so. 

"  Nor  is  this  all,  my  dear  ones.  I  will  not  leave  you  like 
orphans;^  with  me,  your  spiritual  Father,  gone  from  you  for »  johni4.i8 
ever.  Not  only  will  you  have  the  Spirit  of  Truth  with  you, 
but  I,  myself,  will  shortly  return  to  you.  In  a  very  little 
while  longer  the  world  will  see  me  no  more,  but  you  will 
see  me,  though  not  bodily  present.  You  will  see  me  in 
spirit,  and  feel  that  I  commune  with  you  and  w^ork  in  you, 
through  the  Spirit,  whom  I  will  send.  I  shall  be  alive, 
though  unseen,  for  I  wiU  rise  from  the  dead  and  live  for  ever- 
more, and  shall  make  you  partakers  of  my  heavenly  and 
deathless  life.  By  this  higher  spiritual  life  ye  shall  know, 
in  that  day,  when,  by  the  gift  of  my  Spirit,  I  come  to  you 
in  power,  that  I  am  in  my  Father,  and  you  in  me,  and  I  in 
you.^  When  I  come,  finally,  in  outward  glory,  as  I  have*  John w.  19. 
told  you  already,  at  the  last  day,  you  will  have  no  more 
doubts  or  fears,  as  you  now  have,  in  this  time  of  my  low- 
liness and  humiliation.  You  will  then  know,  when  you  see 
me  descend  in  heavenly  majesty,  as  you  shall  have  already 
felt  when  I  come,  very  soon,  by  the  Spirit ;  that  my  words  are 
true — that  I  am  indeed  in  my  Father,  and  you  in  me,  and  I 
in  you — that  we  are  for  ever  inseparabl}'  one  with  the  Father, 
and  with  each  other. ^'^  ■»  John  14.20. 

"  But  only  he  who  has  my  commandments  in  his  heart,  and 
practises  them  in  his  life,  truly  loves  me,  and  will  be  loved 
by  my  Father  and  by  me.  To  him  yn\l  I  reveal  my  presence 
in  His  soul,  by  the  Spirit  through  whom  I  commune  with 
Him." 

Here,    Judas   Thadda^us,    "  the  brave,"    the   son   of    an 
unknown  James,  interrupted  the  discourse  by  a  reverent 
question.^^     With  the  simple  literal  ideas  of  his  age  and  .•  jchn  u.  22. 
nation,  he  could  not  understand  what  Jesus  had  said  about 
manifesting  Himself  only  to  individual  believers,  and  not  to 

VOL.  II.  70 


482  THE   LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP.Lix.  all  men.  He  still  expected  a  visible  appearance  of  Christ, 
in  glory,  as  the  IMessiah,  to  judge  the  unbelieving  world, 
and  set  up  His  own  Kingdom.  "  What  has  happened. 
Lord,"  asked  he,  "to  make  Thee  determine  to  show  Thyself 
as  the  Messiah  only  to  us,  and  not  to  the  world  at  large? 
How  comes  it  ?  " 

"The  reason,"  replied  Jesus,  "is,  that  the  world,  so  long 
as  it  does  not  believe  in  me  and  love  me,  is  neither  morally 
capable  of  receiving  such  a  manifestation  of  me,  as  I 
mean — a  spiritual  communion  with  the  soul — nor  worthy  of 
it.  Only  believing  and  faithful  hearts  can  become,  or  desire 
to  become,  the  abode  of  my  Father  or  of  myself,  so  that  We 
may  live  in  that  loving  fellowship  -with  them  which  reveals 
Us  to  them.  I  do  not  speak  of  such  an  outward  and  visible 
dwelling  with  men  as  when  the  divine  glory  rested  between 
the  cherubim,  or  over  the  Tabernacle ;  but  an  unseen  abode, 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  soul  as  in  a  Temple.  Only  he 
who  loves  me,  and,  loving  me,  keeps  my  commandments,  can 

u  John  11.23.  have  this  honour  and  blessedness.'"^  Such  an  one  My  Father 
will  love  as  well  as  I,  and  we  will  come  to  Him  and  make 
our  abode  with  him.  He  who  does  not  love  me  will  not 
keep  my  commandments.     I  call  my  commandments  mine, 

"John  14. 21  but,  in  reality,  they  are  those  of  my  Father  who  sent  me.^^ 
With  such  an  one,  therefore,  who  rejects  God's  words 
and  does  not  obey  them,  the  Father  and  I  cannot  make  our 
abode,  and,  thus,  I  cannot  manifest  myself  in  this  spiritual 
way,  of  which  alone  I  speak,  except  to  individual  souls." 

There  was  now  a  short  pause,  but,  after  a  time,  Jesus 
began  again.  Glancing  back  at  all  He  had  said  to  them 
during  the  evening,  and  knowing  that  much  of  it  must  be 
dark  and  enigmatical  to  their  simple  minds,-  He  lovingly 
cheered  them  by  some  further  kind  words. 

"  I  have  said  these  things  to  you,  Avhile  I  am  still  with 
you,  but  I  know  that  you  hardly  understand  some  of  my 
sayings,  and  that  you  will  necessarily  forget  others.  The 
Holy  Spirit,  whom  the  Father  wUl  send  in  my  name,  at  my 
request,  to  be  your  heavenly  Friend  and  Helper,  will,  how- 
ever, throw  light  on  every  point,  and  bring  to  your  vivid 
remembrance  all  that  I  have  now  told  you  ;  giving  you  a 


FARKWELL   DISCOURSE    OF   JESUS.  483 

fuller  and  wider  understanding  of  the  truths  I  have  only   cksf.  ux. 
briefly  opened." 

"  Fear  not,  my  beloved  ones,  all  will  be  well  with  you," 
added  He,  for  they  were  sorely  troubled.  "  You  knoAV 
how  you  wish  your  friends  '  Peace '  when  you  part  from 
them.  My  farewell  greeting  is  '  Peace  be  with  you ' — the- 
peace  of  reconciliation  to  God,  of  eternal  salvation  in  my 
Kingdom,  which  I  have  gained  for  you  as  your  Saviour. 
My  peace,  coming  from  me,  and  by  me,  I  leave  you ;  for  it 
will  be  won  for  you,  as  an  undying  gift,  by  my  death,  now 
so  near.  This  gift — my  peace — is  of  a  wholly  diiferent  kind 
from  that  which  men  wish  each  other  in  their  farewells — 
mere  earthly  joy  and  prosperity,  which  leave  the  soul 
unblessed.  My  peace  carries  with  it  lasting  good,  and  true 
luifading  hajjpiness,  for  it  is  that  of  the  soul. 

"  As  I  began,  therefore,  I  shall  end — Let  not  your  heart 
be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid,  either  now  or  hereafter. 
Why  should  it  be  either  ?  Instead  of  sadness,  you  ought 
to  feel  joy, ^■^  for  I  have  told  you  that,  though  I  go  away  u  joim  14. 27. 
now,  I  shall  come  to  you  again.  Indeed,  if  you  love  me,  as 
I  TkUOw  you  do,  you  will  be  glad  to  hear  me  say  that  I  am 
going  back  to  my  Father,  for  here  my  Father  has  used  my 
human  weakness  to  speak  His  words  and  do  His  works,  for 
the  salvation  of  man.  The  mortal  nature  I  now  wear  has 
been  His  feeble  and  indirect  instrument.  But  when  I  return 
to  Him,  mj'  Kingdom  will  be  under  His  direct  power.  My 
work,  thenceforth,  will  rest  alone,  and  directly,  in  His  hand, 
and  He  will  complete  what  I  have  begun  on  earth,  by  His 
mighty  power,  through  His  Spirit;  without  human  limita- 
tion, such  as  has  been  inevitable  while  He  wrought  through 
me  as  the  Son  of  Man — a  man  like  yourselves.  He,  -^vorking 
with  His  Almighty  power,  directly,  through  His  Spirit,  is 
greater,  as  a  help  to  my  Kingdom,  than  I  can  be  while  I  act 
for  Him  through  this  dying  body. 

"I  have  told  you  now,  while  I  am  still  with  you,  that  I  shall 
presently  leave  you,  that  your  faith  may  not  be   shaken 
when  I  am  gone.^'     The  hour  of  my  departure  approaches :  »  Join  14. 29. 
I  shall  not  speak  much  with  you  after  this.     For  the  prince 
of  this    world — the  evil    one — is  akeady  coming  against 


484 


THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 


CHAP.  LIS,  me.  But  fear  not,  he  has  no  power  over  me.  ^^  There 
i»  John  14. 30,  jg  nothing  in  my  soul  which  he  can  assail;  no  sin  by 
which  he  can  claim  me  as  his.  Nor  do  I  need  to  yield  to 
him  in  anything,  for  I  could,  if  I  chose,  avoid  the  death 
with  which  he  threatens  me.  But,  that  the  world  may 
know  my  love  to  the  Father,  and  that  I  do  what  He  has 
appointed  for  me  as  His  will,  though  it  be  to  die ;  let  us 
rise  now  from  the  table,  and  go  forth  to  meet  the  powers 
of  darkness,  before  whom,  according  to  the  counsels  of 
God,  I  shall  fall." 

The  Avhole  company  hereupon  rose,  and  prepared  to  leave 
"  johnis.i.     the  room.^^     But  Jesus,  full  of  thoughts  which  He  longed, 
even  yet,  to  utter,  before  His  ever  nearer  separation,  stood, 
as  it  were,  fixed  to  the  spot  by  His    love   to   them,  and 
•»  Luckeii.4o:.  once  more  began  to  speak.  ^^     He  could  not  bring  Himself  to 
break  up  this  last  communion  He  should  have  with  them.'' 
He  began  by  the  well-known  and  beautiful  compari.son  of 
u  John  15.1.     Himself  and  the  Apostles  to  a  vine  and  its  branches.  ^^     Per- 
haps the  thought  rose  from  the  sight  of  the  wine-cup  on  the 
table  and  its  recent  use  at  the  evening's  feast,  or,  perhaps, 
the  house  stood  amidst  vines,  and  branches  may  have  been 
trained  round  the  window,  or  the  vineyard  itself  may  have 
lain  below  in  the  bright  moonlight. 

"This  vine,  with  its  brandies  and  fruit,"  said  He,  point- 
ing to  the  wine-cup,  or  to  the  vines  outside,  "  is  a  type,  in 
its  earthly  and  visible  way,  of  a  heavenly  and  divine  truth. 
I  am  the  true  vine,  ye  are  the  branches,  and  my  Father  is 
the  husbandman.  He  sent  me  into  the  world :  He  has  given 
me  such  faithful  souls  as  you,  and  joined  you  with  me,  in 
living  fellowship  and  communion :  He  has  tended  the 
growth  of  the  truth  in  the  past,  for  it  has  been  He  who 
has  been  working  through  me,  and  He  will  continue  to  do 
so  after  I  leave  you,  by  His  Holy  Spirit. 

"  As  in  the  natural  vine  there  are  fruitful  and  unfruitful 
branches,  so,  in  my  fellowship,  there  are  some  who  bear 
fruit  both  in  word  and  in  act,  and  some  who  do  not.  Only 
those  who  are  pure  and  sincere — those  who  truly  love  me 
and  keep  my  commands,  have  the  abiding  communion 
with  me  from  which  such  fruitfulness  springs ;  for,  as  the 


FAREWELL   DISCOURSE    OF   JESUS.  485 

careful  husbandman    cuts    off  the    unfruitful  branch,  and    ohap.lix. 
cleans  away  with  his  pruning-knife  all  that  would  hinder 
the  full  fruitfuhiess    of  the  good  one,  so  does  my  Father, 
with  my  disciples. 

"But  be  ye  comforted.^"  You  have  been  pruned  and -» John  is.  3. 
made  clean  by  your  lo\dng  and  obedient  reception  of  the 
truths  I  have  told  you,  and  by  the  discipline  through  which 
you  have  pa.ssed.  Dismiss  anxious  care  !  You  will  not  be 
cut  off  as  unfruitful  branches.  Jly  Father  will  make  you 
still  more  fruitful ;  will  cleanse  away  all  that  hinders  your 
progress  in  grace,  and  wiU  perfect  you  in  the  end.  But,  to 
secure  this  growing  fruitfulness,  you  must  cherish  fondly 
your  communion  with  me  ;  grafted  into  me,  as  the  branches 
into  the  stem  of  the  vine.  If  you  do  so,  I  will  not  separate 
myself  from  you,  any  more  than  the  vine  tears  itself  from 
its  branches,  but  will  strengthen  you  by  my  spiritual  aid. 
As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself  if  it  do  not  abide  in 
the  vine,  you  cannot  bring  forth  good  fruit  ^^  except  ye  =»  John  14. 4. 
abide  in  me.  I  am  the  vine,  you  are  the  branches  ;  ^'^  the  "^  John  14.  s. 
hving  power  to  bear  fruit  comes  only  from  me.  But  if  you 
abide  in  me,  you  will  bear  much  fruit.  All  true  work  as  my 
disciples — all  spiritual  life — comes  only  from  fellowship  with 
me — fellowship  close  as  that  of  the  vine  and  its  branches — 
each  in  the  other — for  apart  from  me  ye  can  do  nothing. 
As  unfruitful  branches  are  cut  off  by  the  husbandman, 
and  cast  out  of  the  vineyard  and  left  to  dry  up,  and  then 
gathered  and  cast  into  the  fire  and  burned,  so,  those  who 
break  away  from  living  in  union  with  me  will  be  cut  off 
from  me  here,  by  my  Father;  the  religious  life  hence  will 
wither  up  in  them  while  they  hve,  and  at  the  last  day  they 
■will  suffer  the  judgment  of  God.-^  But  if  ye  abide  in  =3  Matt  is. 40. 
loving,  spiritual  union  with  me,  and  hold  fast  my  com- 
mandments and  keep  tliem,  you  may  ask  what  you  will,  and 
it  will  be  done  to  you,  for  j-ou  will,  then,  ask,  in  my  name, 
only  such  things  as  are  in  keeping  with  my  will.-*  And  it^*  John  is.  7. 
is  a  great  motive  for  your  abiding  in  me,  that  your  doing  so 
glorifies  my  Father  by  leading  to  your  bearing  much  fruit, 
through  my  answers  to  your  prayers.  You  will  farther,  by 
this  fulfilment  of  your  prayers,  become  truly,  and  in  the 


486  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lix.   strict  sense,  my  disciples,  for  tlie  enjoyment  of  it  is  the 
sj^ecial  distinguishing  mark  of  my  true  disciples  only. 

"That  you  may  thus    continue  in  living  fellowship  and 

S5  joiinis.9.  spiritual  union  with  me,-''  let  me  remind  you  that  the  unit- 
ing bond  of  this  fellowship  bet^veen  me,  my  Father,  and  you, 
is  love ;  and  that,  on  your  side,  all  depends  on  your  showing 
yourselves  true  and  obedient,  in  this  love  to  me  and  in  the 
practice  of  my  commands,  as  I  have  shown  and  still  show 
myself  towards  my  Father  and  His  commands.  As  He  has 
loved  me,  I  have  loved  j'ou ;  see  that  ye  continue  hence- 
forth, for  ever,  to  love  and  obey  me,  that  I  may  still  for  ever 
be  able  to  love  you.     I  have  spoken  thus,  that  the  same  joy 

^  joiin  15.  n.  which  I  have  in  knowing  that  I  abide  in  my  Father's  love,^® 
may  be  felt  by  you,  from  your  knowing  that  you  abide  in 
my  love,  and  that  this  holy  joy  of  soul  may  increase,  more 
and  more,  to  a  heavenly  fulness." 

The  sound  of  the  Avord  "  love,"  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  Christ, 

»  John  16. 13,  led  Him  back  to  the  new  commandment  -'  He  had  given  a  few 
minutes  before.  That  His  disciples  should  love  one  another 
was  the  true  secret  of  keeping  His  commandments,  and  so 
of  retaining  their  place  in  His  heart,  and  securing  the  holy 
joy  of  soul  He  desired  for  them.  He  now  defined  His  re- 
quirements more  narrowly.  They  were  to  love  each  other, 
as  He  had  loved  them,  and  that  meant.  He  told  them,  self- 
sacrifice,  even  to  death,  for  their  sakes. 

"  You  wish,  I  am  sure,"  said  He,  "  to  retain  my  love  after 
I  leave  you,  and  will  strive  to  keep  my  commandments  that 
you  may  do  so.  These  commandments  are  summed  up  in 
the  one  which  I  gave  you  to-night,  already,  that  ye  love  one 

a  johnw.ii  another."®  I  only  add,  that  that  love  must  be  such  as  I  have 
shown  and  will  presently  sliow  to  you ; — love  so  great,  that, 
in  furtherance  of  the  divine  purpose  for  your  salvation,  I  will- 
ingly lay  down  my  life  for  you.  There  can  be  none  greater 
between  man  and  man,  and  this  highest  example — this  joyful 
sacrifice  of  life  itself  for  each  other — must  be  your  standard. 
Nothing  less  is  the  ideal  I  require  in  my  New  Society.  That 
spirit  alone  which  would  not  shrink  from  this,  makes  true 
and  full  obedience  to  my  command  possible,  Avith  all  the 
blessino-s  it  brings. 


FAREWELL  DISCOURSE    OF   JESTJS.  487 

"  If  you  thus  rise  to  a  love  like  mine,  you  will  bind  me  to 
you  in  closest  undying  affection  ; — affection  not  as  from 
master  to  servant,  or  teacher  to  disciple,  but  as  of  friend 
to  friend.  If,  by  having  this  love,  you  do  the  things  I  com- 
mand you,  I  shall  call  you  my  friends,  my  loved  and  trusted 
ones ;  for  doing  is  the  only  proof  I  accept  of  loving.  I  know, 
indeed,  that  you  will,  and  therefore,  henceforth,  I  call  you 
no  longer  mere  servants,  as  in  the  past,  but  trusted  friends.^'' '' 
For  the  servant  obeys  without  knowing  his  lord's  thoughts 
and  plans,  but  you  have  been  told  all  I  have  heard  from  my 
Father,  so  far  as  you  are  able  to  hear  and  understand  it ; — 
told  it,  not  as  mere  servants  and  messengers, — the  blind 
instruments  of  my  w^ill ;  but  in  the  fulness  of  loving  confi- 
dence, as  sharers  of  my  inmost  thoughts  and  heart. 

"  But  great  though  the  honour  be  I  thus  give  you,  never 
forget  that  you  have  not,  like  the  disciples  of  the  Rabbis, 
with  him  whom  they  follow,  chosen  me  for  your  teacher,^" ' 
master,  and  friend.  On  the  contrary,  I  chose  you,  not  for 
mere  idle  friendship,  but  that  I  might  appoint  you  to  go 
forth  as  my  disciples,  and  work  in  spreading  my  Kingdom, 
and  bear  fruit  in  winning  men  to  the  truth  ; — fruit  that 
would  remain  for  ever,  both  for  yourselves,  and  for  those 
you  led  to  the  light.  Thus  j'ou  owe  all  to  me  ;  your  first 
discipleship,  no  less  than  the  friendship  to  which  I  have  now 
advanced  you ;  and  also  that  amazing  honour  I  have  pro- 
mised you,  that  so  long  as  you  keep  my  commands,  the 
Father  will  give  you  whatever  you  ask  in  my  name.  How 
much  fruit  may  ye  not  bear  with  this  heavenly  help,  and 
how  great  the  reward  before  God  when  ye  have  borne  it ! 

"  Once  more,  never  forget  that  ■without  true  brotherly 
love  all  your  labour  is  valueless,  fo;.  the  spirit  that  prompts 
them  alone  gives  its  w^orth  to  your  acts  or  words. 

"  Wonder  not  that  I  enforce  this  call  to  mutual  love.  Let 
it  reign  within  my  New  Society,^^  for  outside  you  Avill  have  " 
only  hatred.  But  let  me  comfort  you  by  the  thought  that, 
as  you  know,  it  has  hated  me  first.  To  be  hated  by  it,  is 
only  to  share  my  lot.  And  let  it  still  more  console  you, 
to  remember  that  this  very  hatred  by  the  unbelieving 
world,  is  a  proof  that  you  no  longer  belong  to  it.     If  you 


4»»  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

belonged  to  it,  it  would  love  its  own,  for  like  loves  like.  It 
hates  you,  because  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  it,  and  made 
you  mine.  To  be  hated  of  the  ungodly  is  a  testimony  to 
your  worth,  as  to  be  loved  by  them  would  be  of  the  reverse. 
How  ought  tliis  to  cheer  you  in  all  your  future  trials  ! 

"  Remember  what  I  said  to  j'ou  to-night,^^  already,  'A  ser- 
vant is  not  greater  than  his  lord.'  If  they  have  persecuted  me, 
as  you  know  they  have,  they  will  also  persecute  you ;  if 
they  have  received  my  teaching,  as  you  know  they  have  not, 
they  Avill  receive  yours  as  little.  They  will  hate  you  and 
persecute  you,  because  you  come  in  my  name,  confessing  me 
as  the  Messiah  and  Saviour, — fou  they  know  not  Him  who 
sent  me. 

"  This  hatred  of  my  name  has  no  excuse,  for  I  have  dwelt 
among  men,  and  taught  them  the  truth,^^  and  have  done 
works  among  them,  such  as  no  other  messenger  of  God,  or 
prophet,  has  done ; — Avorks  which  should  have  made  them 
feel  that  God  had  sent  me,  for  they  were  such  as  Israel  itself 
had  agreed  to  accept,  as  proof  of  the  presence  of  the  Messiah, 
and  they  proved  that  my  teaching  was  His  divine  word 
to  them.  But  though  they  have  both  heard  my  teaching, 
and  seen  my  mighty  Avorks,  they  have  not  believed.  They 
have,  thus,  I  repeat,  no  excuse.  .Nor  is  their  hatred  of  My 
Name,  hatred  of  me  alone  ;  it  is  hatred  of  God,  my  Father, 
no  less ;  for  my  Avords  and  AA'orks,  Avhich  they  hate  and  reject, 
are  not  mine,  but  His.^*  And  as  these  AA'ords  and  Avorks  are 
thus  the  self-revelation  of  my  Father; — as  He  thus,  by 
them,  had  made  Himself  visible  in  me,  so  far  as  the  invisible 
God  can  do  so,  their  hatred  of  me  invoh'es  the  aAvful 
wickedness  of  a  hatred  of  the  Eternal  Father.  Yet  this 
hatred  of  me  by  the  unbelicAung  Avorld,  is  not  a  mere  accident 
or  chance,  but  A\'as  foreseen  by  God  and  spoken  of  in 
ancient  prophecy,  as  you  read  ; — '  They  hated  me  Avithout  a 
cause.' ^^ 

"You  may,  however,  say  in  your  hearts,  'IfthcyhaA^e 
persecuted  Thee,  and  liave  not  kept  Thy  Avord ;  if,  after 
having  been  taught,  and  having  seen  such  things,  they 
Avould  not  receive  them  ;  if  they  have  hated  Thee,  and  Thy 
Father,  and  if  aa'c  are  to  find  the  same  treatment,  Avhat  good 


FAREWELL   DISCOURSE   OF   JESUS.  489 

is  there  in  your  sending  us  to  tlieni  ?  '  Let  me  encourage  chap^ux. 
you,  and  dissipate  such  thoughts.  For  when  the  Helper 
comes,  whom  I  shall  send  unto  you  from  the  Father — the 
Spirit  of  Truth, — who  goes  forth  from  the  Father,  and 
therefore  is  able  to  help  you  in  all  your  needs, — He  will  bear 
witness  of  me  in  your  souls ;  teaching  you  more  deeply  con- 
cerning me,  and  glorifying  me  to  you  in  doing  so,  that  you 
may  be  able  to  make  right  and  eflfective  use,  in  your  witness 
before  men,  of  all  you  have  seen  and  heard  while  with  me, 
from  the  beginning  of  my  public  work  as  the  Messiah. 

"  I  have  told  you  these  things  about  the  hatred  the  world 
will  show  you,  for  my  sake ;  that  you  may  be  prepared  for 
it,^^  and  not  stumble,  or  be  offended  on  account  of  it;  but  «  joimi6.i. 
may  meet  it  with  so  much  the  more  earnest  zeal  and  fidelity. 
As  I  have  often  told  you,  they  will  put  you  out  of  the  syna- 
gogues;^'  but  this,  hard  though  it  be  in  its  consequences,  is  «  Mati.io.  u; 
not  the  worst  their  fanatical  hatred  -will  do.     You  know    ^^^2112. 
how  the  Rabbis  teach,  that  '  he  who  sheds  the  blood  of  the     ■'"'^^•^^-^^ 
wicked  is  as  if  he  offered  sacrifice.'  ^®     They  will  act  on  this  ^  Jaikm 

•^  Schim.  in 

principle  towards  you,  for  the  hour  comes  when  every  one  BamnSdbar 
who  kills  you  will  think  your  blood  is  an  acceptable  sacrifice  ^''''*' ^-'''- 1- 
offered  to  God.  Nor  will  the  heathen  treat  you  better. 
Israel  knows  neither  the  Father  nor  me ;  and  this  wilful 
ignorance  of  divine  things  makes  them  act  thus.  I  tell  you 
all  this,  that,  when  these  times  of  persecution  come,  you 
may  be  strengthened  in  your  faith  in  me,  and  in  your 
patient  endurance  of  suffeiing  for  my  sake.  I  did  not  speak 
of  these  things  till  now,  because  they  were  still  distant  when 
you  first  followed  me,  and  because  they  might  then  have 
frightened  you  away  from  me.  Besides,  as  long  as  I  live, 
the  hatred  of  men  will  be  directed  against  me,  not  against 

you.'   ^'"^  ^  Jo!inl6. 4. 

It  is  hard  for  even  the  best  to  rise  superior  to  the  present 
or  near,  by  thinking  of  the  distant  or  future.  The  Eleven 
were  thoroughly  cast  down  and  dispirited,  and  stood  silent; 
unable  to  break  the  stillness,  even  by  a  few  of  those  ques- 
tions which  the  disciples  of  Jewish  teachers  were  in  the 
habit  of  putting  to  their  masters.  The  lofty  promises  of 
Jesus  would  one  day  strengthen  their  faithful  souls,  but,  for 


490  THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP^Lix.  the  time,  they  had  no  ear  for  them.  As  He  spoke,  He  saw 
this,  and  gently  reproved  it. 

"Now  that  I  am  on  the  point  of  returning  to  my  Father," 
said  He,  "  how  are  you  so  wholly  engrossed  in  sadness,  that 
while  friends  are  always  wont  to  ask  often  from  one  about 
•  John  16. 5.  to  leave  them,*° — '  where  He  is  going,' — you  have  not  been 
eager  to  do  so  ?  "  He  wished  to  be  asked  more  closely  about 
His  going  away,  for  it  seemed  as  if  His  disciples  had  not 
fully  understood  His  previous  words,  else  they  could  not  be 
so  dejected. 

"You  forget  the  comfort  I  have  given  you,  and  dwell 
only  on  my  near  leaving,  and  the  troubles  to  come  after 
it.  But  I  tell  you  only  the  truth,  when  I  say  that  it  is 
better  for  you  that  I  go  away.  For  if  I  were  not  to  do  so, 
your  great  Helper  would  not  come  to  you,  but,  if  I  go  away, 
I  will  send  Him  to  you." 

The  history  of  the  Church,  after  the  ascension  of  Jesus 
and  the  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  explains  and  confirms 
these  words.  Only  the  once  Crucified  but  now  Risen  One ; 
the  glorified  Son  of  God,  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father,  could  have  been  proclaimed  by  the  Apostles  as 
the  Lord  of  a  new,  eternal,  and  spiritual  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Only  the  Conqueror  of  Death  ; — the  Son  of  God, 
returned  triumphant  to  tlie  glory  of  the  Father,  could 
have  been  announced  to  the  Avorld  as  the  Righteous  One, 
the  Victor  over  the  Prince  of  this  world;  as  He  not  to 
LBoke  a  417.  believe  in  whom  was  sin.*^ 

Jesus  continued — "  You  will  have  to  strive,  even  to 
blood,  with  the  ojjposition  of  the  unbelieving  world  to  me, 
and  their  evil  opinion  of  me;  against  their  illusion  that 
they  are  doing  right  in  their  unbelief  and  in  their  persecu- 
tion of  my  servants ;  and  against  their  belief  in  the  invincible 
power  of  wicked  men,  and  of  the  prince  of  darkness.  All 
these  you  must  oppose  and  overcome.  But  human  eloquence 
is  far  too  Aveak  for  this  great  task.  Without  assistance  and 
help  from  above,  you  will  never  be  able  to  convince  men  of 
their  sin  and  error,  or  to  drive  out  the  reign  of  evil.  But 
when  your  Heavenly  Helper  has  come.  He  will,  through 
you,  show  the  world  their  sin  in  not  believing  in  me,  and  in 


FAREWELL  DISCOURSE    OF   JESUS.  491 

persecuting  you,  my  servants.  He  will  also  convince  them  chap.  le. 
of  my  righteousness — that  is,  that  I  am  not  unrighteous 
and  sinful,  as  they  suppose,*-  but  that  my  righteousness  « John  i«. a. 
and  innocence  have  been  shown  by  my  not  shrinking 
even  from  the  death  of  the  Cross  in  the  fulfilment  of  my 
great  work;  by  my  rising  from  the  grave,  and  thereby 
proving  that  my  death  was  a  voluntary  act  of  love  to  man, 
and  by  my  returning  to  my  Father,  whicli  will  show  that  I 
am  His  Son,  sent  by  Him  as  the  Messiah.  Thus  it  will  be 
seen  that  my  cause  is  righteous,  and  that  I  am  the  righteous 
and  holy  one  of  God.  He  will,  finally,  convince  men  of 
the  utter  weakness  of  all  the  powers  of  evil,  and  of  their 
having  been  judged  and  condemned  of  God,  by  revealing 
to  them  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  reign  of  the  devil, 
and  of  the  works  of  darkness,  b}'  my  life,  my  teaching,  my 
death,  my  resurrection,  my  return  to  my  Father,  and  my 
victorious  help  to  you  my  servants."*^  ,3  iTim.8.i6 

He  had  touched   the  confines  of  great   and   mysterious    acS'2.22^g. 
truths  in  the  future  economy  of  His    kingdom,    but  felt    Heb.7.k 
Himself  forced  to  go  no  farther.     A  wider  field  of  higher 
teaching  lay  before  Him,  but  their  present  weakness  and 
incapacity  to  understand  lofty  spiritual  things,  forced  Him 
to  break  off  further  revelations.     "I  have  yet  many  things," 
He  continued,   "to  say  to  you,  but  you  cannot  hear  them 
now.**      Yet  be  not  cast  down.      When  your  Helper,  the  "John le.  12. 
Spirit  of  Truth,  comes  from  above.  He  will  give  you  fuller 
instructions,  and  will  strengthen  your  minds  to  understand 
them.     He  will  lead  you  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  in  its 
whole  extent,  and  will  illuminate  for  you  all  the  heights  and 
depths  of  my  meaning,  in  all  that  I  have  said  to  you.     Nor 
need  you   fear  to  trust  Him   less   than  you  have  trusted 
me  ;*®  for  just  as  I  have  not  spoken  of  myself,  but  have «  John  is.  w. 
only  repeated  what  I  have   heard  from  my   Father,   He, 
the  Spirit  of  Truth,  will  not  speak  for  Himself,  or  of  His 
own   promptings,  but  will  utter  only  what  He  has  heard 
from  God.   Nor  will  He  simply  explain  my  words,  and  reveal 
higher  aspects  of  the  truth.     He  will  also  announce  to  you 
things  future.      He   -will  give  you,  my  apostles,  the  gift 
of    prophecy,    by  Avhicli   the   future   development   of  my 


492  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CBAF.-Lix.  Kingdom  will  be  revealed  to  you,  to  fill  you  with  comfort 
and  triumph. 

"  You  must  not  think,  however,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  wiU 
teach  you  any  new  or  different  truths,  not  connected  with 
me,  your  Saviour.     He  will  only  purify  and  enlighten  your 

"John  16. u.  hitherto  imperfect  conceptions  concerning  me,'*''  and,  while 
thus  fitting  you  to  spread  my  kingdom,  will  but  develop, 
expand,  and  complete  what  I  have  taught  you,  and  thus 

"  John  16. 15.  increase  my  glory.  All  that  the  Father  has  is  mine,  ^''  as 
the  Son,  consecrated  and  sent  forth  by  Him  to  carry  out 
His  work ;  the  Son,  in  Avhom  the  Father,  for  this  end, 
dwells  and  works  in  closest  communion,  as  He  also  dwells 
in  like  communion  with  the  Father.  Therefore,  as  the 
Holy  Spirit  will  teach  you  only  what  He  hears  from  the 
Father,  He  can  teach  you  no  other  doctrine  than  mine." 

But  all  the  instruction  and  comfort  Jesus  could  admin- 
ister ;  all  the  warnings,  on  the  one  hand,  of  the  difficulties 
and  sufferings  ;  and  all  the  supports,  on  the  other,  in  rich 
promises  of  poAver,  help,  and  blessing  from  above,  could  not 
dispel  the  sadness  of  the  Apostles,  or  bring  them  joy  and 
courage.  The  near  departure  of  their  loved  Master  filled 
their  minds  with  abiding  dejection  and  anxious  fear. 

In  tender  sympathy,  therefore,  Jesus  once  more  sought  to 
cheer  them.     "  I  said,  indeed,"  He  went  on,  "  that  very  soon 

"  John  10. 16.  you  would  see  me  no  longer,''*  but  j'ct,  a  little  while  more, 
and  you  will  see  me  again."  ^ 

The  Apostles  were  more  than  ever  perplexed   by  these 

■s  John  iG.  17.  words.  ■'^  They  thought  only  of  an  earthly  communion 
with  their  ]\Iaster,  such  as  they  still  enjoyed,  and  could  not 
understand  the  sudden  change  of  not  seeing  Him,  and  seeing 
Him  again,  or  the  double  use  of  the  words — "A  little 
while," — or  what  He  meant  by  saying  so  often  that  He 
was  going  to  the  Father.  Wondering  questions  followed 
between  them,  and  they  w^ere  anxious  to  ask  an  explanation, 
when  Jesus,  seeing  their  perplexity,  anticipated  their 
wish. 

"  Do  you  inquire  among  yourselves,"  said  He,  "  what  I 

»  John  10. 19.  mean  by  saying,  'A  little  while,  and  ye  avIII  not  see  me:"*' 
and,  again,  a  little  while,  and  ye  will  see  me;'  and  '  I  am 


FAREWELL   DISCOURSE    OF   JESUS.  493 

going  to  the  Father  ?'     Ye  shall,  indeed,  be  in  great  trouble    chap.lis. 

at  my  death,  for  I  am  presently  to  die,  though  you  seem  as 

if  you  could  not  credit  it.     Indeed,  ye  will  be  sad,  when  the 

world  that  rejects  me  will  rejoice.     But  your  sorrow  will  be 

turned  into  joy,  as  sudden  as  that  of  the  mother  when  she 

bears  a  son,  and  forthwith  forgets  the  past  for  gladness  that 

a  man  is  born  into  the  world ;    for  you  know  that  no  joy  is 

so  great  to  a  woman,  in  our  nation,  as  that  of  having  a  son. 

So,  truly,  you  Avill  have  sorrow  now  at  my  death,  but  it  will 

pass  into  abiding  joy  when  you  see  me  again,  in  my  spiritual 

return. 

"  In  that  day  the  Spirit  of  Truth  will  have  given  you  such 
a  full  and  satisfying  knowledge  of  all  that  concerns  me  and 
my  Kingdom,  that  you  will  have  no  need,  as  now,  to  ask 
me  respecting  any  words  or  matters  you  do  not  ^^nder- 
stand.^^  You  will  no  longer  miss  my  earthly  presence,  but  ^  joim  16.2s. 
be  joyful  in  the  possession  of  fuU  enlightenment.  For  most 
truly  do  I  assure  you,  that  all  you  ask  my  Father  in 
my  name — all  illumination,  all  gifts,  and  joys  of  the  Spirit 
— He  will  give  you.  Hitherto,  from  want  of  insight  and 
experience,  you  have  asked  nothing  in  my  name,  and,  there- 
fore, have,  as  yet,  no  dream  of  the  boundless  gifts  your 
Father  in  Heaven  is  ready  to  give  }'ou — no  dream  of  His 
comforting  and  supporting  grace.  From  this  time,  ask  in 
my  name,  and  you  will  receive  what  you  ask,  that  your  joy 
may  be  complete.  *^  ^=  john  le.  24. 

"  I  have  spoken  of  my  going  away,  and  of  your  seeing 
me  again, *^  and  of  what  would  flow  from  it,  in  figures,  and"  joimie.as. 
darkly.     But  a  time  comes  Avhen  I  will  no  more  speak  to 
you  in  this  way,  but  will  instruct  you  clearly  and  plainly, 
through  the  Spirit,  respecting  the  Father.^*     In  that  day  ye  =<  John  is. 
shall  ask  in  my  name,  because  you  will  then  be  enlightened 
by  the  Spirit  of  Truth,*'  and  you  will  not  need  that  I  inter- «  joimic.28. 
cede  for  you  that  your  prayers,  thus  offered,  may  be  heard ; 
for  the  Father  Himself  loves  you  because  you  have  loved 
me,  and  have  believed  that  I  came  forth  from  Him,^"  and  «  John  le.  27. 
will   therefore    hear   you,    without   my   intercession.     Nor 
must  you  ever  forget  this  great  truth — the  sum  of  my  life 
and  Avork — that  I  came  forth  from  the  Father  to  appear  in 


494  THE   LITE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lix.  the  Avorlcl,  and  now  leave  the  world  to  go  Lack  to  Him 

'' John  16. 28.    again. "^' 

The  disciples,  listening  to  these  words,  fancied  they  now 
understood,  in  part,  at  least,  what  had  before  seemed  so 

w  John  16. 29.  dark.'*  They  had,  at  least,  realized,  from  His  last  sentence, 
that,  as  He  had  come  forth  from  God,  and  was  about  to 
return  to  Him,  He  must  be  going  to  heaven.  Perhaps  they 
thought,  in  their  simple  way,  that  they  also  understood 
better  what  He  had  said  about  their  seeing  Him  again.  It 
seemed  as  if  He  had,  already,  fulfilled  His  promise  to  speak 
clearly,  and  without  metaphor,  to  them.     That  He  should, 

19  John  16. 30.  moreover,  have  known,  without  being  told  them,*^  the 
questions  they  had  in  their  hearts,  so  astonished  them,  that 
they,  further,  felt  sure  He  was  omniscient,  and  did  not  need 
any  one  to  ask  Him,  but  could  answer  their  questions  without 
having  been  told  them.  Awed  and  vividly  impressed,  they 
felt  a  fresh  corroboration  of  their  belief  in  Him,  as  having 
come   forth   from    God,    and   hastened  to   tell   Him   their 

•"John  16.31.    strengthened  conviction.™ 

"  Is  it  so,  that  you  now  feel  sure  you  believe  in  me  ?" 
asked  Jesus.     "  An  hour  is  coming,  and,  indeed,  has  come, 

«i  John  10. 32.  when  your  faith  will  have  a  hard  test.  Will  you  stand  firm  ?''^ 
Alas  !  how  soon  will  you  waver ;  for,  in  that  hour,  you  will 
be  scattered,  each  to  his  own  home,  and  leave  me  alone !" 
"Yet,"  added  He,  after  a  pause,  in  calm  and  clear  assurance 
that,  though  forsaken  of  man.  He  would  have  the  helping 
and  protecting  presence  of  the  Father — "yet  I  am  not 
alone,  for  the  Father  is  with  Me." 

"  I  have  spoken  as  I  have,"  He  continued ; — "  have  given 
you  these  consolations  and  promises,  that  you  might  have 

s2  John  16. 33.  rest  and  peace  in  Me,''^  by  communion  with  Me  as  the  loving 
and  loved.  In  the  world,  indeed,  affliction  is  your  lot,  for 
men  will  hate  and  persecute  you,  as  I  have  said,  for  my  sake ; 
but,  be  of  good  heart,  I  have  conquered  and  broken  the  might 
of  the  Avoi'ld  and  its  prince,  and  they  can  neither  hinder  your 
salvation,  nor  check  the  triumph  of  My  Kingdom." 

The  farewell  discourse  was  ended  Avith  this  note  of 
triumph — "  I  have  conquered  the  world  !"  But  now,  before 
He  went  forth  into  tlie  night,  so  big  with  fate.  He  could  not 


THE  LAST  rNTEECESSORY  PRATER.  495 

break  up  for  ever  the  communion  He  had  had  with  them  so  chap,  lix 
long,  through  joy  and  sorrow,  ^nthout  gathering  them  round 
Him  in  a  parting  prayer.  He  was  about  to  die  for  the 
redemption  of  the  Avorld,  and,  as  the  Great  High  Priest  of 
humanity,  would  make  intercession,  before  yielding  Himself 
the  sacrifice.  I  venture,  reverently,  to  amplify  the  expres- 
sion, that  the  import  may  be  more  easily  caught. 

Lifting  up  His  eyes  to  heaven — the  Apostles  standing,  as 
the  manner  of  their  nation  was,  while  He  prayed — He  began,^^  '^  joimn.  i. 
"  Father,  the  hour  of  my  death  has  now  come.  Glorify  Thy 
Son  on  the  completion  of  the  work  of  salvation,  that  Thy 
Son  may  glorify  Thee  as  its  author,  before  man.  Glorify 
Him,  in  accordance  with  Thy  will,  by  which  Thou  hast 
given  Him  poAver  over  aU  men ;  for  Thou  hast  appointed 
Him  the  only  Saviour  and  Redeemer,  to  caiTy  out  Thy  pur- 
pose of  salvation,  which  regai'ds  the  world  ;  that  He  should 
give  eternal  life  to  all  whom  Thou  hast  given  Him.  And 
this  is  everlasting  life,  that  they  should  know  Thee,  the  only 
true  God,  and  Him  whom  Thou  hast  sent — Me,  Jesus,  the 
Messiah.  I  have  glorified  Thee  on  earth,  for  I  have  made 
known  Thy  name,*'*  Thy  will,  and  Thy  plan  of  salvation  forsi  John  17. 4. 
man,  and  have  thus  completed  the  work  Thou  hast  given 
Me  to  do.  Therefore,  glorify  Me,  now,*'^  0  Father,  when  I«  johnir  5. 
rise  from  my  work  on  earth  into  Thy  presence,  in  heaven, 
with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  Thee,  before  the  world  was. 
Let  me  enter  again  into  that  divine  commvmion  in  Thine 
uncreated  glory,  which  I  had  before  the  creation  of  the 
world !  " 

He  had,  till  now,  prayed  for  Himself  He  passed  next  to 
intercession  for  His  disciples,  urging  His  faithful  obedience 
to  His  divine  mission,  as  a  ground  for  His  being  heard. 

"I  have  made  known  Thy  name  unto  the  men  whom  Thou 
hast  given  me  out  of  the  unbelieving  world.^^  They  were  «  john  17. «. 
Thine  own,  for  they  were  of  Thy  true  Israel,  and  Thou 
gavest  them  to  ]\Ie,  and  faithfully  and  truly  did  they  receive 
my  words  as  Thine,  and  they  have  kept  them.  In  much  they 
may  have  failed  to  understand,  but  they  have  been  true  and 
firm  in  their  belief  in  Me,  as  having  been  sent  by  Thee,  and 
as  speaking  Thy  truth.     Now,  also,  they  have  learned  to 


496  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LIS,    know,  and  do  acknowledge,  that  all  that  Thou  hast  given 

«  John  17. 7, 8.  me'''' — all  that  I  have  said  and  done — is,  as  it  truly  is,  from 
Thee! 

"  I  pray  for  them.     I  pray  not,  now,  for  those  who  know 

CT  John  17. 9.  Thee  not;  the  unbelieving  woi4d,^^  but  for  Thine  own,  now 
in  Thy  presence — Thine  own,  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me. 
My  Avhole  life  and  work  has  been,  and  is,  a  prayer  for  the 

fflMatts.  44.  world  at  large, ^^  from  which  My  people  must  be  gathered, 
but  I  pray,  now,  for  these,  Thy  servants,  because  they  are 
Thine,  though  Thou  hast  given  them  to  'Me.  And  all 
things  that  are  mine  are  also  Thine,  and  Thine  are  Mine  : 
the  work,  the  aim,  the  means,  the  power,  the  grace,  are, 
alike,  Mine  and  Thine,  for  I  am  in  Thee  and  Thou  in  me. 
Neither  I,  nor  Thou,  Eternal  Father,  work,  nor  have,  for 
Himself,  but  each  for  the  other,  and,  thus,  though  they  are 
Thine,  I  am  glorified  in  them.  Great  is  their  need  of  Thy 
help,  for  I,  their  friend  and  helper,  am  about  to  leave 
them,  but  they  remain  in  the  Avorld  that  hates  them  for  my 
sake.  Without  Thy  heavenly  aid  and  protection,  they  will 
not  be  able  to  do  the  work  Thou  hast  appointed  them. 
Therefore,  Holy  Father,  keep  them  true  to  Thy  name,  which 
Thou  gavest  Me  to  make  known  to  them,  that  by  their 
common  faith  and  love  they  may  be  one,  as  Thou  and  I 

"John  17. 11.  are  one.'"  While  I  was  in  the  world,  I  watched  and  pro- 
tected those  whom  Thou  thus  committedst  to  My  care,  and 
kept  them  faithful  to  Thy  name ; — kept  them  from  the  evil 
one,  from  denying  Thee,  from  falling  away  from  Thee ;  and 
none  of  them  has  perished  but  the  son  of  perdition — as 

n  John  17. 12.  could  not  but  be,  for  the  Scripture  must  be  fulfilled.^^ 
Thou  must  watch  and  keep  them,  now  that  I  shall  leave 
them ! 

"But,  now,  I  come  to  Thee,  and  these  things  I  speak,  being 

"  John  17. 13.  yet  in  the  world,"'-  that  they  may  have,  in  their  own  souls, 
the  pei'fect  joy  that  is  in  Mine,  feeling  assured  confidence 
that  the  grave  will  not  have  dominion  over  Me,  and  that 
they  Avill  have  Thee  for  their  helper.  I  have  given  them 
Thy  word,  and  for  their  receiving  it,  the  world  has  hated 
them ;  because  they  do  not  belong  to  it,  as  I  do  not.  There- 
fore, 0  Father,  keep  them !  I  ask  not  that  Thou  shouldest 


LAST    INTERCESSORY   PRATER.  497 

take  them  out  of  the  Avorld  because  it   hates  them ;    for    chap,  us. 

suffering  and  struggle  are  needed  to  perfect  their  spiritual 

life,  and  to  spread   abroad  my  lungdom.      But  I  ask  that 

Thou  shouldest  pi'otect  them  from  the  evil  one,  that  they, 

too,  become  not  sons  of  perdition.     They,  like  Me,  are  not 

of  the  world,  for  it   is    the   kingdom  of  the   evil   one ; ''^ »  John  17.  lo. 

therefore,  they  need  Thy  protecting  care,  and  as  Thine  own 

will  surely  have  it. 

"  Thou  hast  brought  them  out  from  amidst  the  unbelieving 
and  hostile  world,  and  hast  given  them  to  Me,  and  they 
have  received,  and  kept,  Thy  Word,  made  known  to  them 
by  Me.  Thus  they  live  in  the  Truth,  for  Thy  Word  is  Truth ; 
sanctify  them  in  this,  the  sphere  of  their  new  spiritual  life : 
not  only  keep  them  in  it,  but  consecrate  and  prejiare  them 
for  their  great  work,  b}'  giving  them,  through  the  Spirit 
of  holiness  and  truth,  divine  enlightenment,  power,  bold- 
ness, love,  zeal.  Even  as  Thou  didst  send  Me  into  the 
world,^*  but  didst  first  consecrate  ]\Ie  by  the  Spirit,  given  "  joun  17. is. 
without  measure,  that  I  might  accomplish  the  woi'k  Thou 
gavest  ]Me  to  do,  I  have  also  sent  them  into  the  world,  and 
they,  0  Father,  need  a  similar  consecration,  in  Thine  own 
measure,  to  prosper  in  Thj^  work. 

' '  For  their  sakes  I  consecrate  myself  to  Thee,  in  3Iy  death — 
as  a  holy  offering"^ — for  I  am  both  high  priest  and  sacrifice;  "  John  17. 19. 
that  they,  also,  may  be  made  holy  in  the  Truth,  by  Thy 
Spii'it — the  Helper  whom  Thou  wilt  send,  because   I,  the 
Holy  One,  have  thus  died  for  them. 

'"But  I  pray  not  for  these,  Thy  servants  now  before  Thee, 
alone,  but  for  all  them,  also,  who  will  henceforth  believe  in 
Me,  through  their  word — that  they  all,  teachers,  believers, 
and  converts,  may  be  one,  in  mutual  fellowship  and  com- 
munion of  love ;  the  copy  of  that  between  Thee,  Father,  and 
^le  : — communion  so  deep  and  holy  that  Thou  art  in  Me,  and 
I,  in  Thee.  ]\Iay  they  be,  thus,  one  in  each  other,  by  being 
one  in  Us,  by  loving  vital  communion  with  Thee  and  Me, 
that  the  unbelieving  Avorld  may  have  a  visible  proof,  and 
may  believe,  that  Thou  didst  send  Me — the  source — the 
centre — the  stay  of  such  heavenly  love. 

''That  all  who  shall,  now,  or  hereafter,  believe  in  Me,  may 
VOL.  II.  71 


498 


THE  LIFE    OF  CHRIST. 


cHARLix.  be  thus,  OHO,  in  holy  love  and  life,  even  as  We  are  One — I 
have  given  them,  as  their  future  inheritance,  at  My  coming, 
in  My  eternal  Kingdom,  part  in  that  heavenly  glory  which 
Thou  hast  given  Me ;  that  they  may  share  it  with  Me,  for 
ever.     I  have  given  it  them,  that  they  may  be  one,  even  as 

'  joiini7.22.  We  are  one,''^  for  how  strong  must  it  be  as  a  bond  of  unity, 
that  they  are  heirs  together  of  the  same  glory  with  Me  in 
heaven.  I  have  given  it  them  that  they  may  thus  be  per- 
fectly joined  in  one;  I  dwelHng  in  Them  and  Thou  in  Me; 
that  the  world  may  know  that  Thou  hast  sent  Me,  and  hast 
loved  them  with  the  same  Father's  love,  with  which  Thou 
hast  loved  Me ;   and  may  thus  believe  on  Me — the  Saviour 

'  John  4. 42;     of  the  world.'*^ 

10. 16. 

"Father,  I  will  that  they  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me,  from 
all  the  generations  of  men,  be  with  j\Ie  hereafter,  to  enjoy 

'John  17. 24.  eternal  life,"^  and  everlasting  communion  with  Me,  in  that 
heavenly  world  wliither  I  am  now  going.  It  is  the  high 
reward  of  their  faithfulness,  their  supreme  consolation  amidst 
all  earthly  trials,  their  glorious  animating  hope.  I  will 
that  their  joy  may  be  full,  in  seeing  and  sharing  My  heavenly 
glory,  as  they  have  seen  and  shared  My  humiliation  on 
earth — that  glory  with  Thyself,  which  Thou  hast  given  Me 
because  Thou  lovedst  Me  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world. 

"  Righteous  Father,  I  know  that  Thou  wilt  carry  out  this 
My  will,  for,  though  the  world  has  not  known  or  acknow- 

>  johu  17. 25.  ledged  Thee,  as  revealed  in  My  words  and  deeds'" — I  have 
known  Thee,  as  working  in  Me,  and  revealing  Thyself 
through  Me — known  Thee  by  direct  immediate  knowledge — 
and  these.  Thy  servants  before  Thee,  having  opened  their 
hearts,  and  received  My  word,  have  known  and  believed 
that  Thou  hast  sent  Me.  I  have  made  known  unto  them 
Thy  Name,  and  will  make  it  known  through  the  Spirit 
whom  I  will  send ;  that  the  love  wherewith  Thou  hast  loved 
Mq,  Thou  mayest  also  make  dwell  in  their  hearts,  and  that 

•  joimi7.26.    I,  by  the  Spirit,  may  dwell  in  them  for  ever."^" 

How  sublimely  this  prayer  was  realized  in  the  history 
of  the  Apostles,  the  "  Acts"  and  the  Epistles  abundantly 
illustrate.      It  was   their   common    glory  to    believe   that 


THE  GREAT  PROMISE  FDXFILLED.  499 

nothing  could  separate  tliem  from  the  love  of  God  in  Christ ;  chap.  lis. 
that  He,  by  His  Spirit,  was  with  them,  and  that  they 
overcame  all  that  opposed,  through  His  help.  The  contrast 
between  the  dejected,  faint-hearted,  materializing  Galitean 
fishermen  and  peasants  of  the  Gospels,  and  the  heroic, 
spiritual  confessors  of  Pentecost  and  after-times,  is,  itself,  a 
miracle,  great  beyond  all  others.  The  illumination  of  soul, 
the  grandeur  of  conception,  the  loftiness  of  aim,  are  a  trans- 
formation from  a  lower  to  an  indefinitely  higher  mental  and 
moral  condition,  as  complete  as  the  change  from  early 
twilight  to  noon,  and  find  their  only  solution  in  the  admis- 
sion that  they  must  have  received  the  miraculous  spiritual 
enlightenment  from  above  which  Jesus  had  promised  to 
send  them. 


500  THE   LITE   OF   CHEIST. 


CHAPTER  LX. 

THE  ARREST. 

OHAP.Lx.  1  iTJJILE  Jesus  was  tenderly  bidding  farewell  to  His  few 
'  T  followers  in  the  upper  room,  all  was  bustle  and  ex- 
citement among  the  Church  authorities,  now  on  the  track  of 
His  blood  by  the  help  of  Judas. 

It  was  the  great  holiday  of  the  year  at  Jerusalem :  the 
week  in  which,  beyond  any  other  time,  the  whole  population 
gave  themselves  up  to  rejoicing.  The  citizens,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  were  reaping  the  great  gold  harvest  of 
the  year  from  the  myriads  of  pilgrims,  and  they,  on  their 
side,  had  the  excitement  of  numbers,  and  novelty,  and 
religious  enthusiasm.  A  mere  mountain  city,  Jerusalem 
lived  by  the  Temple,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  and  it  was 
now  the  loadstone  that  had  drawn  the  whole  Jewish  Avorld 
around  it. 

A\'ith  the  craft  that  habitually  marked  him,  the  tetrarch 
Antipas  had  come  up  from  Tiberias,  to  show  hoAv  devoutly 
he  honoured  the  Law,  and  had  taken  his  residence  in  the  old 
castle  of  the  Asmoneans,  which  still  remained  in  the  hands  of 
his  family.  It  was  near  the  Xystus,  and  exactly  opposite  the 
Temple,  to  which  he  could  cross  by  the  upper  bridge,  over 
the  Tyropoeon  Valley,  between  Zion  and  Moriah.*^ 

Pilate,  also,  had  arrived  from  Cassarea,  to  secure,  in 
person,  the  preservation  of  order  in  the  dangerous  days  of 
the  feast.  His  quarters  were  in  the  new  palace,  built  by 
Herod  the  Great  on  Zion.  It  was  the  pride  of  Jer-usalem. 
"  The  kinds  of  stone  used  in  its  construction,"  says 
Josephus,  "were  countless.  Whatever  was  rare  abounded 
in  it.  The  roofs  astonished  every  one  by  the  length  of  their 
beams,  and  the  beauty  of  their  adornment.     Vessels,  mostly 


HANNAS   AND    CAIAPHAS. 


501 


of  gold  and  silver,  rich  in  chasing,  shone  on  every  side,  c-hap.  ls: 
The  great  dining-hall  had  been  constructed  to  supply  table- 
couches  for  three  hundred  guests.  Others  ojiened  in  all 
directions,  each  with  a  different  style  of  pillar.  The  open 
space  before  the  palace  was  laid  out  in  bi'oad  walks,  planted 
with  long  avenues  of  different  trees,  and  bordered  by  broad 
deep  canals  and  great  ponds,  flo-wdng  Avith  cool,  clear  water, 
and  set  off  along  the  banks  with  innumerable  works  of  art."^ '  ml  jad.n. 
It  was  the  vast  citadel-palace  in  which  the  tragedies  of  the 
family  of  Herod  has  been  enacted.  Here  Archelaus  had 
reigned,  and  Glaphyra  had  died.  By  right  of  war,  the 
Romans  had  taken  it,  as  the  chief  building  of  the  city,  for 
the  residence  of  the  procurators,  and  had  made  it  the  Prjeto- 
rium,  or  head-quarters.  Its  enclosure — large  enough  to 
permit  almost  an  army  to  be  gathered  in  it,  if  necessary — 
ran  along  the  inner  side  of  the  first  city  wall,  and  was  con- 
nected with  the  great  castles  of  white  stone — j\Iariamne, 
Hippicus,  and  Phasaelus,  which  Herod  had  built;  the  whole 
constituting,  in  fact,  a  vast  fortification. 

The  high  priest  at  the  time  of  the  Passover,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  Caiaphas.  The  real  head  of  the  priesthood, 
however,  was  the  crafty  Hannas,  or  Ananus,  without  Avhona 
nothing  of  moment  was  done  in  the  affairs  of  the  theo- 
cracy. As  father  of  the  greatest  Sadducean  family,  he  was 
fitly  notorious  for  his  harsh  judgments,  and  was  presently 
to  take  the  chief  part  in  the  death  of  Jesus,  as  his  son  after- 
wards did  in  that  of  St.  James.  ^  He  had  been  appointed  high  ^  am.  xx.  s.  i. 
priest  by  Quirinius  in  the  year  a.d.  7,  but  had  been 
deprived  of  the  dignity  seven  years  later  by  Valerius 
Gratus.  The  unique  honour  was  reserved  to  him,  however, 
of  seeing  his  five  sons  successively  pontiffs — one  of  them 
twice — a  distinction  which,  in  later  years,  gained  for  him, 
among  his  countrymen,  the  name  of  the  most  fortunate  of 
men. 

Inti-igue  and  unwearied  plotting  were  the  very  life  of 
Hannas  and  his  house.  The  gliding,  deadly,  snakelike 
smoothness  with  which  they  seized  their  prey  was  a  wonder 
even  to  their  own  generation,  and  had  given  them  a  by-name 
as    hissing    vipers.^      When    Quirinius,    after    the    census,  3  Derenbom-s, 


'  Ant.  xviii.  2. 1 


502  THE  LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

sacrificed  the  high  priest  Joazer,  who  had  brought  on  him- 
self universal  hatred  by  his  services  to  the  Romans, 
Hannas  was  chosen  as  the  one  of  the  Temple  aristocracy 
•  least  displeasing  either  to  the  Romans  or  the  Jews."*  He 
had  managed  to  maintain  his  influence  under  three  procu- 
rators through  difficult  times.  Under  Valerius  Gratus,  he 
had  had  to  give  way  to  Ismael  Ben  Phabi,  but,  after  a 
year,  had  had  him  displaced,  in  favour  of  Eleazar,  one  of 
his  own  sons.  He,  himself,  declined  to  take  the  place 
again,  on  the  same  ground  on  which  Jonathan,  another  of 
his  sons,  afterwards  did  so,  in  the  days  of  Herod  Agrippa, 
when  that  king  wished  him  to  take  it  a  second  time.  The 
family,  though  loose  enough  in  more  serious  matters,  were 
very  strict  as  to  hierarchical  order.  No  one,  they  held, 
should  put  on  again  the  sacred  vestments  after  having  once 
laid  them  off,  and  released  himself  from  the  obligations  under 
whicli  their  wearer  lay.*  Hannas  bowed  to  this  rule,  as 
vital  to  the  theocratic  constitution,  by  the  help  of  which 
his  house  stood  at  the  head  of  Israel.  He  chose,  there- 
fore, henceforth  to  guide  the  reins  in  safe  obscurity,  but 
with  a  firm  hand. 

His  sons,  Eleazar,  Jonathan,  Theophilus,  Matthias,  and 
Hannas,  successively  became  high  priests,  but  when,  at  his 
death,  the  leading  spirit  Avas  gone,  the  brutality  of  the 
Sadducee  came  more  prominently  into  play,  and  speedily  led 
to  tlie  ruin  of  the  house. 

Among  the  high  priests  who  had  interrupted  the  direct 
reign  of  this  family,  Caiaphas,  son-in-law  of  Hannas, 
ruled  longest.  At  the  time  of  the  condemnation  of 
Jesus,  he  had  held  the  high  priesthood  for  seventeen 
years,  having  given  Pilate  no  excuse  for  setting  him  aside, 
in  spite  of  the  conflict  respecting  the  eagles,  the  shields, 
and  the  conduits  of  Jerusalem.  He  even  retained  it  till 
after  the  great  day,  in  the  year  a.d.  36,  when  tlie  sacred 
vestments,  so  long  held  from  them,  were  handed  over 
by  Vitellius  permanently  to  the  Jcavs,  instead  of  being 
given  out  to  thon  from  the  strong  room  of  Antonia,  a 
week  before  each  great  feast,  for  seven  days'  purifications, 
washings,  and  consecrations,    to   free   them   from   heathen 


THE   JEWISH   AUTHORITIES. 


503 


defilement,    before  they   could  be  Avorn.      Caiapbas,  how-     chap,  lx. 
ever,  had  little  to  do  with  procuring  this  great  favour,  and 
Avas  almost  immediately  after  deposed ;  Jonathan,  the  son 
of  Hannas,  being  appointed  in  his  stead. 

Thus,  at  the  time  of  the  condemnation  of  Jesus,  the 
acting  high  priest  AA^as  only  a  puppet  in  the  hands  of  a 
poAA'erful  family,  at  the  head  of  Avhich  stood  Hannas,  his 
father-in-laAA',  sorely  enA'ied  by  the  rest  of  the  priestly  aristo- 
cracy.'' 6  Hausrath,i. 

JcAvish  tradition  describes  the  grades  of  the  ancient  hier- 
archy as  consisting  of  the  high  priest ;  his  deputy,  or  Sagan ; 
two  suffragans  of  the  Sagans ;  seven  priests,  to  whom  Avere 
entrusted  the  keys  of  the  Temple;  and  three  treasurers, 
whose  office  it  was  to  giA'e  out  the  sacred  a' essels.''  Of  those  t  Maimon.Hiicii. 
holding  these  offices  Avhen  Jesus  AA'as  condemned,  Ave  can 
still  darkly  make  out  some.  Beside  Caiaphas,  at  his  right 
hand,  sat  Hannas,  the  titular  second,  but  real  head.  Jochanan 
Ben  Zacchai,  called  John  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and 
one  Alexander,^  seem  to  have  held  the  next  dignities,  and*  Acts 4.6. 
after  them  came  the  fiA^e  sons  of  Hannas,  already  an  old  man, 
Eleazar,  Jonathan,  Theophilus,  Matthias,  and  Hannas — the 
five  apparently  hinted  at  in  the  aAvful  parable  of  DiA^es  and 
his  fiA'e  brothers" — all  to  be  high  priests  hereafter,  and '  sepp.  vis. 
Hannas,  the  younger,  to  stani  his  pontificate  by  the  murder  chap.M. 
of  James,  the  brother  of  Jesus. 

The  names  of  some  other  members  of  what  Ave  may  call 
the  self-constituted  high  ecclesiastical  council,  still  survive. 
Among  these  AA-ere  Joazer  and  Eleazar,  the  sons  of  that 
Simon  Boethus  of  Alexandria,  father  of  the  second  jMariamne, 
the  belle  of  Jerusalem,  married  by  Herod.  The  father, 
though  well-nigh  a  heretic  in  the  ej'es  of  the  national  party, 
had  been  made  high  priest  by  his  royal  son-in-laAv,  and 
his  sons  had  succeeded  him  in  the  dignity,  but  bore  an 
evil  name  for  their  state  and  A'iolence.  Their  guard  of 
spearmen,  indeed,  became  an  object  of  popular  hatred. ^°  ■ 
Simon,  surnamed  Kanthera — the  Quarrelsome — the  murderer 
of  St.  James,  the  son  of  Zabdai, — and  his  son  Elioneus,  after- 
wards high  priest,  had  a  right  to  attend,  and  did  so  with  a 
pomp  AA'hich  brought  on  the  family  the  curse  of  the  people — 


.See  note   to 


504 


THE   LITE   OF   CHRIST. 


CHAPELS.    "  "\Yoe  to  yovir  fine  fefithers,  ye  fmnilj  of  Kanthera  !"  Ismael 

•1  Derenbourg,  Bcii  Pliabi,  tliB  haiidsomest  man  of  his  day,^^  was  another 
mitred  high  counsellor,  to  be  famed  hereafter  for  the  clubs  and 
blows  of  his  serving  men,  the  greed  of  his  bailiffs,  his  shame- 
less nepotism,  and  the  Oriental  luxury  of  his  dress;  one 
outer  tunic  of  which  cost  a  hundred  mina? — equal,  perhaps,  at 

'2  Derenbourg,  tliis  day,  to  eighteen  hundred  pounds.^-  There  were,  also, 
Johanan  Ben  Nebedai — the  persecutor  of  St.  Paul ;  infomous 
in  later  days  as  a  sensual  glutton,  who  seized  even  the  holy 
sacrifices  for  his  feasts  ;  and  Issachar,  of  Kefar  Barkai,  who, 
in  his  pontificate  of  a  later  day,  would  not  sacrifice  excejjt 
in  silk  gloves,  for  fear  of  soiling  his  hands,  and  lived  to  have 

« Derenbonrg,  thosc  liands  barbarously  cut  ofl:'  by  King  Agrippa.^^  Such 
were  the  men  about  to  seize  Jesus.  No  wonder  that  even 
the  Talmud  relates  that  voices  were  heard  from  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  crying — "  Depart  from  the  Temple,  ye  sons  of  Eli ;  ye 
defile  the  house  of  Jehovah  !  " 

The  elders  of  the  people — a  body  equivalent  to  a  Jewish 
Senate — were  in  no  less  agitation  respecting  Jesus ;  for  they, 
also,  were  identified  with  the  preservation  of  things  as  they 
were.  One  or  two  of  them — Xicodemus,  and  Joseph  of 
Arimathea — Avcre  secretly  in  his  favour,  but  they  had  not 
moral  courage  to  take  his  part  openly.  The  names  of  the 
rest  have  perished. 

The  college  of  Rabbis  took  an  equally  vigorous  part,  but 
its  members  at  this  time  can  only  be  guessed,  though  some 
who  had   met  the  boy  Jesus,  twenty  years  before,  in  the 

»  See  page  22G,  Tcmplc  school,^*  doubtlcss,  survivcd. 

It  was  late  in  the  night  of  Thursday  when  Jesus  had 
ended  His  last  discourse  and  farewell  prayer.  According 
to  the  immemorial  custom  of  the  nation  to  mingle  songs 

•  29.  of  praise  to  God  with  their  feasts,^^  the  little  band  had 
already  sung  the  first  two  of  the  six  Psalms — the  one 
hundred  and  thirteenth  to  one  hundred  and  eighteenth — 
which  formed  the  great  Hallelujah  of  the  Passover  and  all 
other  feasts.  The  stillness  of  the  night  had  been  broken  by 
the  sound  at  the  time  when  the  second  cup  had  been  poured 

•  125.  out.^''  Now,  at  the  close,  the  voices  of  the  eldest  of  them 
chanted,  with  slow,  solemn  strains,  the   remainder  of  the 


Isaiah  5 
Matt.  26.  30, 
315— 46. 
Mark  14.  2G, 
32—42. 
Luke  22.   i 
— ie. 
John  IS.  1. 


'  Sepp,  1 


THE    CLOSING   ANTHEJI.  505 

Hallelujah — the  rest  responding  with  the  word,  Hallelujah, 
at  the  close  of  each  verse.  The  anthem  began  fitly — '•  Not 
unto  us,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  Thy  name  give  glory,  for  Thy 
mercy  and  for  Thy  truth's  sake,"  and  closed  with  the  words 
of  the  hundred  and  eighteenth  Psalm — "  Blessed  be  He 
that  Cometh  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  ;"  the  Apostles  respond- 
ing— "in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  Hallelujah!"  And,  now,  all 
was  over,  and  the  Eleven,  following  their  Master,  went  out 
into  the  night.     They  were  on  their  way  to  Gethsemane. 

The  spirit  of  Jesus  had,  hitherto,  been  calm  and  serene 
But  the  final  close  :  the  break  with  all  the  past :  the  shadow, 
deeper  than  that  of  Kedron,  before  Him,  for  the  time 
brought  on  a  reaction,  which,  till  it  passed,  overwhelmed 
Him  with  trouble.  No  wonder  the  Apostles  had  been  cast 
down  when  even  He,  who  had  been  exhorting  them  to  dismiss 
sorrow,  was  Himself  moved.  Behind  Him  lay  life,  before 
Him  death  :  He  was  about  to  leave  friends;  and  the  fair  earth, 
which,  as  a  man,  He  loved  so  Avell;  and  His  infant  Church,  the 
hope  of  the  world  He  had  come  to  save.  Before  Him  lay,  not 
only  natural  death,  but  shame,  derision,  misconception.  He 
whose  whole  soul  was  truth,  was  to  be  crucified  as  a  deceiver  : 
the  one  on  earth  absolutely  loyal  to  God,  He  was  to  die  as  a 
blasphemer.  To  be  misrepresented:  to  feel  the  utter  folseness 
of  charges,  and  to  be  crucified  on  the  ground  of  them!  How 
might  it  affect  the  little  band,  to  Avhom  the  future  of  His 
kingdom  was  entrusted?  He  had  hitherto  restrained  Him- 
self from  using  His  supernatural  power  in  His  own  behalf — 
would  He  still  do  so  ?  He  had  but  to  speak,  and  all  would 
be  changed  ;  for  He  who  could  calm  the  waves  of  the  sea, 
could  still  the  tumult  of  the  people,  and  what  were  Temple 
guards  or  Roman  soldiers  against  legions  of  angels  ?  Would 
He  still  absolutely  subordinate  all  thought  of  self?  Would 
He,  to  the  end,  let  men  do  with  Him  as  they  pleased,  though 
He  had  at  His  command  all  the  powers  of  heaven  ?  The 
temptation  of  the  desert  and  of  the  mountain,  may,  for  a 
moment,  have  returned,  and  who  can  tell  the  struggle  it 
must  have  been  to  overcome  it  ? 

Nor  was  even  this  all.  The  mysteries  of  the  di\'ine 
counsels  must  be  for  ever  vmknown,  but  they  pressed,  in  all 


506  THE   LIFE   OF  CHRIST. 

tlieii"  weight,  on  His  absolutely  sinless  soul.  He  was  to  give 
His  life  a  ransom  for  man :  to  be  made  an  offering  for  sin, 
though  He  knew  none :  to  be  repaid  for  infinite  love  and 
goodness  by  ignominy  and  shame.  Perfect  innocence  freely 
yielding  itself  to  misconception  and  death,  for  the  unworthy 
and  vile,  would  be  transcendent  even  in  a  man,  but  in  the 
Son  of  God.  Who  can  tell  what  it  was  to  have  left  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens  to  stoop  to  Calvary  ! 
— for  Him  wlio  could  raise  the  dead  to  descend  to  the  tomb  ! 
No  wonder  His  human  soul  was  for  the  moment  eclipsed  and 
clouded. 

They  passed,  silent  and  sad,  down  the  steep  side  of  the 
Kedron,  for  the  town  gate  was  open  that  night  as  it  was 
Passover,  and,  crossing  Ijy  the  bi'idge,  were  on  the  road 
which  leads  over  the  Mount  of  Olives  to  Bethany.  The 
noise  of  the  multitude  had  passed  away,  and  the  world  lay 
asleep  under  the  great  Passover-moon.  The  path  lay  among 
stone-walled  orchards  and  gardens,  which  Titus  was,  hereafter, 
to  find  so  many  deadly  battle-grounds,  with  the  walls  for 
ramparts.^''  He  had  gone  out  of  the  city,  each  night,  to 
Bethany,  but  had  no  intention  of  doing  so  now,  for  He 
knew  that  His  hour  had  come.  Always  given  to  solitary 
prayer,  among  the  hills  so  dear  to  Him  as  a  Galilean,  He 
had  often  turned  aside  to  commune  with  His  Father  on  one 
part  or  other  of  Olivet,  and,  this  night,  chose  the  stillness 
and  shade  of  a  spot  which  His  j^resence  made,  henceforth, 
sacred  for  ever.  An  olive  orchard  lay  near — known  by  the 
name  of  the  Oil- Press — or,  as  we  are  accustomed  to  think  of 
it — Gethsemane.^*  It  was  called  so  from  a  rock-hewn  trough 
in  it,  in  which  the  rich  olives  were  trodden  with  the  feet, 
the  oil  floAving  into  a  loAver  vat  at  hand.  The  new  leaves 
were  opening  over  the  branches  as  they  passed,  and  the 
moonlight  fell  through  their  motionless  network,  on  the 
tender  spring  grass.  Stillness,  peace,  solitude,  filled  earth 
and  air :  even  the  birds  slept  safely  on  the  boughs,  under 
the  great  sky ;  for  they,  too,  had  a  Heavenly  Father. 
Moriah  rose  in  richly  wooded  terraces  behind,  croAvned  with 
the  snow-white  Temple  in  its  magnificence,  and,  before 
them,  from  its  border  of  gardens  and  orchards,  the  yellow 


GETHSEMANE.  507 

slopes  of  Olivet  swelled  between  them  and  the  loved  cottage    ch-^lx, 
of  Bethany. 

Amidst  this  quiet  and  beauty  of  nature  Jesus  turned  aside, 
and  etitered  the  enclosure  of  Gethsemane,  to  strengthen  His 
soul  for  the  coming  crisis.  It  was  a  fitting  place — amidst 
olives,  the  emblems  of  peace  ! 

A  square,  stone-walled  spot,  close  by  the  path  to  Bethany, 
on  the  edge  of  the  Kedron  ravine,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Temple  hill,  is  still  shown  as  the  spot.  Venerable  olive-trees, 
tended  with  superstitious  care,  are  claimed  as  the  very 
witnesses  of  our  Saviour's  agony,  but  it  is  fatal  to  the  belief 
in  their  age,  that  Titus  afterwards  cut  down  all  the  trees 
round  Jerusalem,  for  military  use,  and  that  the  same  fate 
has  befallen  the  whole  neighbourhood  even  in  later  sieges. 
But  the  gnarled  trunks,  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high,  the 
broad  branches,  and  the  still  seclusion,  at  least  reproduce  the 
outward  features  of  the  scene. 

When  the  soul  is  overwhelmed  it  seeks  to  be  alone,  and 
yet  not  too  far  from  human  sympathy  and  help.  To  take  all 
the  Eleven  with  Him,  into  the  depths  of  the  garden,  would 
have  invaded  the  sacredness  of  His  retirement.  Only  three, 
the  most  trusted — His  long-tried,  and  early  followers — Peter, 
whose  guest  He  had  been  in  the  bright  Capernaum  days,  and 
James  and  John,  knit  to  Him  by  special  tenderness,  if  not 
even  by  relationship — were  let  follow  Him  beyond  the  first 
few  steps  into  the  enclosure.  The  others  were  to  sit  down 
and  rest,  while  He  went  into  the  deeper  shade,  to  pray. 

Followed  by  the  Three,  He  passed  out  of  hearing  of  the 
rest,  and  presently,  leaving  even  these  three  behind,  with 
the  words,  "  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto 
death — tarry  ye  here,  and  w-atch  with  Me ;"  He  went  on, 
about  a  stone's  cast — alone.  And,  now,  the  great  pent  up 
sorroAV  burst  forth.  It  had  been  gathering,  no  one  knows 
how  long,  but  the  excitement  of  action  had  repressed  it  as 
yet — as  the  wind  keeps  a  heavy  rain  cloud  from  breaking. 
But,  here,  instead  of  the  city  and  its  multitudes  of  men, 
there  was  silence  and  loneliness  :  instead  of  the  distractions 
of  conflict  with  enemies,  or  discourses  with  friends.  He  was 
face  to  face  with  his  own  thoughts,  and  with  the  Past  and  the 


508  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

Future,  and  that  in  tlie  night,  and  in  such  awful  isolation. 
For  it  seemed  as  if  even  heaven  were  as  far  from  Him  as  the 
sympathy  of  earth  :  as  if  even  its  lights  had  gone  out,  and 
He  -was  treading  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  deatK  in  a 
horror  of  thick  darkness.  Must  He  bear  all  ?  Must  the 
cup  be  drunk  to  the  dregs  ?  Was  redemption  possible  only 
at.  the  awful  price  that  so  oppressed  His  soul?  Could  the 
hour  not  2)ass  ?  Was  it  not  possible  for  the  Eternal  Father 
to  save  Him  from  it  ? 

The  sacred  writers  labour  to  describe  the  agony  that  over- 
whelmed Him.  They  tell  us  that  He  first  kneeled,  then  fell 
on  His  face  on  the  earth,  and  prayed  with  strong  crying 
and  tears,  ^^  till  His  sweat  became,  as  it  were,  great  drops  of 
blood,  falling  down  to  the  ground.  He  was  "  exceeding 
sorrowful,"  "  sore  amazed,"  "  very  heavy."  His  soul,  as  it 
were,  sank  under  the  vision  that  rose  before  it.  "  0  my 
Father,"  He  cried,  "  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from 
me :  nevertheless,  not  my  will,  but  Thine,  be  done."  But 
as  long  as  there  was  a  struggle  of  the  frail  human  nature, 
and  a  cry,  however  reverent  and  lowly,  for  change,  if  pos- 
sible, in  the  burden  laid  on  Him,  there  could  be  no  peace. 
Rising  from  the  ground,  in  His  agony  of  spii'it,  even  human 
sympathy  and  presence  seemed  as  if  they  would  be  a  relief. 
He  came  therefore  to  the  Three,  but  only  to  find  that,  in  His 
long,  wrestling  supplications,  even  they.  His  nearest  ones, 
overcome  by  weariness  of  body  and  spirit,  lay  sunk  in  deep 
sleep.  Rousing  Peter — lately  so  boastful — He  gently  re- 
proved and  warned  him,  and  with  him,  the  others.  "What! 
could  you  not  Avatch  with  me  one  hour?  Watch,  and  pray 
as  ye  do  so,  that  ye  may  not  expose  yourselves  to  tempta- 
tion to  be  untrue  to  me,  and  to  be  off'ended  at  me,  as  I  have 
said  you  would.  The  spirit  indeed  is  willing  to  stand  by 
me  faithfully,  but  human  nature,  with  its  instinct  of  self- 
preservation,  is  weak,  and  if  you  heed  not,  Avill  make  you 
fall!" 

Leaving  them  again,  He  once  more  prostrated  Himself  in 
prayer,  but  the  clouds  Avere  alread}'  breaking,  for  His  Avhole 
being  had  returned  to  its  habitual  harmony  with  the  Avill  of 
God.     Every  desire  or  wish  of  His  own,  was  passing  like  a 


i 
si 


^ 


510  THE   LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

CHAPELS,    armed,  in  a  few  cases,  with  wooden  batons  or  clubs.^^    The 

'  Beii.jud.iT.  officers  of  the  watch,  and  even  some  of  the  chief  priests 
and  elders,  in  their  excitement,  accompanied  them.  It  had 
been  thought  unwise,  however,  to  trust  so  grave  a  matter  to 
an  undisciphned  and  weak  force,  and  the  high  priest  had, 
therefore,  communicated  with  Pilate,  representing,  doubtless, 
that  he  proposed  the  arrest  of  a  false  Messiah,  dangerous 
to  the  Roman  power;  and  feared  a  rescue.  A  "band"  had, 
therefore,  been  told  off  from  the  troops  in  Antonia,  and 

John  18.  IS.  these,**  under  the  chiUarch'-''  in  command  of  the  garrison, 
waited  their  orders.  A  rabble  of  the  servants  of  the  high 
priests  and  chief  men,  with  lanterns  and  torches,  to  discover 
Jesus  should  He  attempt  to  hide  himself,  led  the  way,  behind 
Judas,  who  went  foremost  as  guide.  It  was  the  full  moon  of 
April,  but  the  trees  and  recesses  might  aid  an  attempt  at 
escape. 

Jesus  had  just  returned  from  His  third  jiraj^er,  and  was 
rousing  His  disciples;  when  He  heard  the  noise  of  the  soldiers 

John  18.       and  the  crowd,   and  saw  their  li<Thts  approachinfr.-^     The 

2—12.      Matt.  .  '  •  TT-  T      r   •  ^ 

^rkl/"'  disappointment,  even  m  His  most  trusted  friends,  asleej) 
when  they  should  hav6  watched,  and  leaving  it  to  Himself 
to  discover  Judas  and  his  band,  wounded  His  heart.  With 
keen  but  gentle  irony,  therefore,  He  told  them  that  they 
might  sleep  on  now  and  take  their  rest,  if  they  chose ;  their 
watching  was  no  longer  needed.  His  hour  had  come.  Then, 
speaking  in  a  serious  strain,  He  bade  them  "  rise  and  go  out 
witli  Him,  for  the  traitor  was  at  hand." 

Judas  and  his  employers  had  utterly  misjudged  the 
character  of  Jesus.  KnoAving  all  that  was  before  Him,  and, 
now,  calmly  victorious  over  momentary  human  weakness. 
He  did  not  wait  for  His  enemies,  but,  taking  His  disciples 
with  Him,  went  out  of  the  garden  enclosure  to  meet  them. 
"  Whom  seek  ye?"  said  He,  as  they  approached.  "  Jesus  the 
Nazarene,"  answered  the  foremost.  To  their  confusion,  the 
calm,  self-possessed  speaker  presently  told  them  that  He  was 
Jesus.  Not  a  few  in  the  Jewish  crowd  now  gathered  before 
Him,  had  heard  Him  spoken  of  as  a  prophet,  and  had, 
perhaps,  even  accepted  Him  as  such.  They  had  all  heard  of 
His    supernatural  power,  from  whatever    source,  and   He 


43—52.  Luke 
22.  47—63. 


,  THE   BETRAYAL.  511 

might  now  use  it  against  them,  though  hitherto  He  had  never  chap,  ls. 
availed  Himself  of  it  for  personal  ends.  His  kingly  com- 
posure and  dignity,  moreover,  awed  them,  for  grandeur  of 
soul  and  bearing  enforce  acknowledgment.  Withal,  it 
mav  be.  He  revealed  a  momentary  glimpse  of  His  trans- 
figuration splendour,  to  show  that  He  freely  surrendered 
Himself,  because  His  hour  had  come.  From  whatever  cause, 
the  crowd  fell  back  in  confusion,  overturning  each  other  in 
their  alarm.  "Whom  seek  ye?"  asked  Jesus  once  more. 
"  Jesus  the  Xazarene,"  muttered  the  boldest.  "  I  told  you," 
replied  He,  "  that  I  am  He  :  if  you  seek  me,  let  these  men, 
my  disciples,  go  their  way."  He  had  said,  that  of  those  whom 
the  Father  had  given  Him  He  had  lost  none,^''  and  even  in  °-°  J°^j  i^  i^; 
an  earthly  sense.  He  would  now  protect  them. 

Fear,  as  yet,  paralyzed  the  ci'owd.  Jesus  had  calmly 
owned  Himself,  but  no  one  dared  to  lay  hold  of  Him. 
Judas,  still  under  the  weird  spell  of  evil,  might  well  dread 
that  all  would  miscarry.  He  had  given  a  signal  by  which 
to  know  his  late  Master,  reckoning  on  having  to  point  Him 
out,  and  would  now  emljolden  those  with  him,  by  himself 
taking  the  first  step  in  further  action.  He  had  arranged 
that  he  should  mark  Jesus  to  them,  by  going  up  to  Him  and 
giving  Him  the  customary  kiss  of  a  disciple  to  his  teacher. 
Stepjjing  out,  therefore,  from  the  crowd,  into  the  circle  of 
the  disciples,  as  one  of  their  number,  he  approached  with  a 
hypocritical  "Hail,  Rabbi,"  and  kissed  Him  tenderly."^'  He"  KaTtupix^a. 
knew,  by  long  experience,  that  he  might  do  so  safely.  To 
the  calm  and  keen  question  of  Jesus — "  Good  friend,  for 
what  have  you  come  ?  " — he  returned  no  answer :  for  what 
answer  could  he  give.  But  he  had  gained  his  end,  for  those 
behind,  encouraged  by  his  remaining  uninjured  after  such 
treachery,  laid  hold  of  Jesus  and  bound  Him,  without  the 
least  resistance  on  His  part. 

Now  followed  the  only  act  of  violence ;  for  Peter,  im- 
petuous as  he  was  brave,  could  not  see  his  Master  thus 
led  away,  a  prisoner,  without  a  word  or  act  on  the  part  of 
His  friends.  "  Lord,  shall  we  smite  them  with  the  sword?  " 
cried  he ;  and  without  waiting  an  answer,  or  thinking  of 
the  hopelessness  of  a  rescue,  or  of  the  odds  against  himself 


512  THE   LIFE    OF  CHKIST. 

alone,  he  drew  the  sword  he  had  hung  by  his  side,  and  made 
a  fierce  cut  at  one  of  the  servants  of  the  high  priest,  fortu- 
nately only  gi'azing  the  skull,  but  yet  cutting  off  an  ear. 
It  was  a  splendidly  heroic  act,  but  sadly  out  of  place  under 
such  a  Teacher.  Turning  to  the  wounded  man,  and  at  the 
same  moment  rebuking  Peter,  Jesus  deprecated  the  fury  of 
the  crowd  at  the  brave  attack,  by  soft  AA'ords  and  an  elFace- 
ment  of  the  injury  done.  "  Suffer  thus  far,"  said  He,  and 
then  touched  the  ear,  and  healed  it.  Forthwith,  turning  to 
Peter,  He  told  him  to  sheathe  the  sword.  "  He  who  uses 
violence,"  added  He,  "  will  suffer  violence.  If  you  use  the 
swoi'd,  30U  expose  all  your  lives  to  danger.  Shall  I  not 
drink  the  cup  which  mj^  Father  hath  given  me?  Shall  I 
hesitate  to  please  Him  ?  If  I  wished  to  escape  suffering, 
Peter,  dost  thou  not  know  that  I  could  ask  my  Father,  and 
He  would  send  me,  instead  of  your  help,  twelve  legions  of 
angels — a  legion  for  each  of  you — to  protect  me  ?  But, 
then,  that  would  not  happen  which  the  Scriptures  have 
foretold  I  must  undergo." 

The  disciples,  after  the  first  impulsive  thought,  had 
abandoned  all  idea  of  resistance;  and  as  any  attempt  to 
rescue  Jesus  was  clearly  hopeless,  since  He  did  not  put  forth 
His  supernatural  power  on  His  own  behalf,  and  would  not 
let  them  do  anything ;  and  as  they  themselves  seemed  in 
danger,  through  the  impetuosity  of  Peter ;  all  took  to  flight 
fls  soon  as  they  saw  their  Master  fairly  in  the  hands  of  His 
enemies. 

The  intense  excitement  of  the  hierarchy  had  broken 
through  all  restraints  of  official  dignity.  The  proposal  for 
the  arrest  had  been  too  important  a  matter  to  be  trusted  to 
any  underlings,  and  hence,  some  of  the  head  priests,  and  of 
the  "  elders,"  had  joined  the  leaders  of  the  Temple  police  in 
the  wild  march  to  Gethsemane.  Surrounded  on  all  sides, 
and  firmly  bound,  as  if  His  captors  still  feared  that  He 
would  escape  or  be  rescued,  Jesus  now  turned  to  these 
dignitaries,  so  sadly  out  of  their  place  in  such  a  scene,  and 
calmly,  but  keenly,  brought  home  to  them  their  shame. 
"•'You  come  out  against  me,"  said  He,  "as  you  might  against 
a  robber,  or  the  head  of  a  rising,  with  swords  and  clubs.     I 


AN   UXKNOTVN   FRIENt).  513 

sat,  day  by  day,  in  the  Temple,  teaching,  in  the  thick  of  the 
people.  You  had  every  opportunity  for  laying  hold  on  me 
then,  but  you  did  nothing.  The  darkness  of  night  is 
fitted  for  your  designs  :  it  is  your  hour :  the  powers  of  evil 
work  by  choice  in  the  dark.  But,  in  all  this,  there  is  no 
chance  :  it  happens  only  in  accordance  with  the  predictions 
of  the  prophets."  He  said  no  more,  and  let  them  lead  Him 
away.  The  disciples  were  scattered,  but  one  form  hovered 
after  them,  white  in  the  moonlight.  It  was  that  of  a  young 
man,  who  had,  apparently,  been  roused  from  sleep  by  the 
tumult,  and  having  thro-mi  his  white  linen  sleeping  cloth 
round  him  in  his  haste,  was  following  Jesus  towards  the 
city.  Who  he  was  must  remain  for  ever  unknown.  Was 
it  Mark  himself,  who  alone  relates  it?  or  one  from  the 
house  likely  attached  to  Gethsemane?  Some  have  sup- 
posed him  to  have  been  Lazarus  ;  others  have  had  different 
conjectures ;  he  was,  at  least,  some  faithful  heart,  eager  to 
see  what  they  would  do  with  his  Lord.  The  soldiers  had 
let  the  Apostles  flee,  having  no  orders  to  arrest  them ;  but 
this  strange  apparition  attracted  their  attention,  and  they 
sought  to  lay  hold  on  him.  Casting  off  the  cloth  around 
him,  however,  he  escaped  out  of  their  hands. 

Yet  there  were  friendly  eyes  following  the  sad  scene,  in 
the  safe  darkness  of  the  night.  Peter  and  another  of  the 
Apostles,  who  could  only  be  John,  had  fled  no  further  than 
safety  demanded,  and  folloAved  the  crowd,  at  a  distance, 
unable  to  leave  one  they  held  so  dear. 

The  great  object  with  the  authorities  was  to  hurry  forward 
the  proceedings  against  their  prisoner  so  quickly,  that  they 
might  hand  him  over  to  the  Romans  as  one  already  con- 
demned, before  the  people  could  be  roused  on  His  side. 
They  had  gained  their  point,  so  far. 

On  reaching  Jerusalem,  Jesus  was  first  led  to  the  mansion 
of  Hannas,  the  head  of  the  reigning  priestly  family,  either 
in  deference  to  his  recognized  influence,  or  because,  as  the 
oldest  high  priest,  he  was  still  recognized  as  the  rightful,  if 
not  legal,  dignitary.  He  could  see  Jesus,  and  hear  His 
defence,  and  advise  his  son-in-law  how  to  act.  His  "snake- 
like" craft  might  help  the  less  acute  Caiaphas. 

-VOL.  n.  72 


514  THE  UFK  OP  CIIUIST. 

ouAP^Lx.  Wlint  j)aRsed  before  Iliuinas,  or  wliat  hints  lie  sent 
Caiaphiis,  are  not  known.  It  may  be  that  lie  simply  ])assed 
on  the  j)risoner  to  the  lej^al  h\<j;h  priest  at  onee,  hurr}'ing  to 
follow  Him,  and  secure  his  condenuiation. 

The  houses  of  the  <freat,  in  the;  lOast,  are,  rather,  a  pjroup 
of  buildings,  or  chambers,  ofuiiecpial  height,  near  or  above 
each  other,  Avith  passages  between,  and  intervening  open 
8])aces;  the  different  strueturcshaviiig  iii(li'|»iident  entrances, 
and  sej)ai'ate  roofs.  Such  a  house,  ov  rather,  cluster  of 
houses,  has  usually  tiic  inrm  of  a  large  hollow  square,  the 
four  sides  of  which  surround  a  roomy  court;  paved,  in  some 
cases  ;  in  others,  ])lanted  with  trees,  and  ornamented  with  a 
lawn  of  soit  green.  Sometimes,  an  underground  cistern,  a 
spring,  or  a  bath,  offers  the  luxury  of  abundant  water,  and 
makes  the  court  an  agreeable  spot  for  relaxation  or  refresh- 
ment. Porticos  and  galleries  surround  it,  and  furnish 
chambers  for  guests  and  entertainments.  In  some  houses 
there  is  also  a  forecourt,  enclosed  from  the  street  by  walls, 
and,  in  all,  the  inner  court  is  reached  by  an  archway 
through  the  front  building — "the  porch,"  in  the  nai'i'ativo 
of  the  Gospels. 

The  hierarchical  party  were  in  permanent  session  in  the 
mansion  or  "  palace  "  of  Caiaphas.  A  (commission,  consisting 
mainly  of  the  chief  priests,  with  Caiaphas  at  their  head,  had 
been  appointed,  to  await  the  result  of  the  treachery  of  Judas  ; 
for  the  Avhole  l)arty,  in  its  alarm,  had  extemporized  joint 
action,  though  their  taking  any  judicial  steps  at  all  was 
irregular,  for  they  formed  no  legal  court  or  recognized  tri- 
bunal. They  were  simjjly  acting  as  a  self-constituted  body  ; 
jiartisans  of  established  ecclesiastical  order,  and  dcifenders 
of  their  own  vested  rights;  gathered,  at  the  summons  of  the 
high  priest,  in  the  blind  excitement  of  fanaticism  and 
pa.ssion,  without  rules  of  judicial  proceeding,  or  legal  stand- 
ing as  a  court.  The  chief  Rabbis  of  the  school  of  Hillel 
generally  kept  aloof  from  such  tumultuous  and  violent 
proceedings,  which  Avere  already  too  common,  and  left  them 
to  those  of  the  fierce  school  of  Schannnai,  and  to  the 
w  joBi,  1.5-8,  merciless  Sadducees.^*  The  name  Sanhedi'ini  is  given  in  the 
Gospels  to  such  extemporized  assemblies,  simply  as  such  ;  for 


THE   COURT.  515 

the  word  means  "  an  assembly."     But  it  is  not  used  in  them    chap,  ls. 
as  the  title  of  a  lesral  tribunal. ^^     It  was  before  a  mob  of»  j03t,i.28i. 

°  l/-\Ter  in 

dignitaries,  not  a  "  court,"  that  Jesus  was  brought.  Kl^Srlliz, 

The  commission  were  awaiting  the  arrival  of  their  prey  ^^^''jI^hs. 
in  the  house  of  Caiaphas,  who,  as  high  priest,  was  the  only 
representative  of  Judaism  recognized  by  the  Romans,  and, 
therefore,  the  only  one  who  could  hold  official  relations  with 
Pilate,  to  ask  him  to  carry  out  their  predetermined  resolution 
to  put  Jesus  to  death. 


516  "  THE  UFK   OF   CHEIST. 


CHAPTER  LXI. 

THE  JEWISH  TRIAL. 

PASSING  tlirough  the  closed  jiorcli,  or  archway,  into 
the  inner  court,  His  captors  led  Jesus  to  one  of  the 
chambers  opening  from  it,  where  His  judges  sat,  ready  to 
go  thi-ough  the  mockery  of  a  trial.  The  Roman  soldiers 
had  been  halted  outside,  for  their  presence  would  have 
been  a  defilement,  but  the  Jewish  serving  men  went  in 
■with  the  prisoner,  though  only  the  few  required  accompanied 
Him  to  the  inner  chamber.  The  tribunal  about  to  condemn 
Him,  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  was  not  a  legal  "  court,"  but 
simply  a  self-constituted  "  Committee  of  Public  Safety " 
extemporized  by  the  excited  Temple  authorities  and  Rabbis, 
like  the  Vigilance  Committees  of  America ;  A^-ith  a  Jewish 
Fouquier  Tinville  for  President,  in  the  person  of  the  Sadducee 
Caiaphas.  Knowing  the  illegality  of  their  proceedings,  they 
could  only  venture  to  propose  the  framing  an  indictment  to 
lay  before  Pilate,  and  trust  to  their  violence  for  extorting 
a  condemnation  from  him. 

The  hierarchy  were  masters  of  foi'm,  and  knew  how  to 
honour  the  appearance  of  justice  Avhile  mocking  the  reality. 
In  imitation  of  the  traditional  usages  of  the  Sanhedrim, 
while  it  existed,  the  judgo.s  before  whom  Jesus  was  led  sat, 
turbaned,  on  cushions  or  pillows,  in  Oriental  fashion,  with 
crossed  legs,  and  unshod  feet,  in  a  half  circle ;  Caiaphas, 
as  high  priest,  in  the  centre,  and  the  chief  or  oldest,  accord- 
ing to  precedence,  on  each  side.  The  prisoner  was  placed, 
standing,  before  Caiaphas  ;  at  each  end  of  the  semicircle  sat 
a  scribe,  to  write  out  the  sentence  of  acquittal  or  condem- 
nation ;  some  bailiffs,  with  cords  and  thongs,  guarded  the 
Accused,    while   a   few   others   stood  behind,  to   call  wit- 


RIGHTS   OF   A   PRISONER, 


517 


nesses,  and,  at  the  close,  to  cany  out  the  decision  of  the 
judges.^  ' 

Like  most  other  matters  in  the  Judaism  of  the  time, 
nothing  could  be  fairer,  or  more  attractive,  on  paper,  but 
on  paper  alone,  than  the  rules  for  the  trial  of  prisoners. 
The  accused  was,  in  all  cases,  to  be  held  innocent,  till  proved 
guilty.  It  was  an  axiom,  that  "  the  Sanhedrim  Avas  to  save, 
not  to  destroy  life."  No  one  could  be  tried  and  condemned 
in  his  absence,^  and  when  a  person  accused  Avas  brought  = 
before  the  court,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  president,  at  the 
outset,  to  admonish  the  witnesses  to  remember  the  value  of 
human  life,  and  to  take  care  that  they  forgot  nothing  that 
would  tell  in  the  prisonei''s  favour.  JS'^or  was  he  left  unde- 
fended ;  a  Baal-Rib  or  counsel  was  appointed,  to  see  that  all 
possible  was  done,  for  his  acquittal.  Whatever  evidence 
tended  to  aid  him  was  to  be  freely  admitted,  and  no 
member  of  the  court  who  had  once  spoken  in  favour  of 
acquittal  could  afterwards  vote  for  condemnation.  The 
votes  of  the  youngest  of  the  judges  were  taken  first,  that  they 
might  not  be  influenced  by  their  seniors.  In  ca^^ital  charges, 
it  required  a  majority  of  at  least  two  to  condemn,  and 
while  the  verdict  of  acquittal  could  be  given  at  once,  that 
of  guilty  could  only  be  pronounced  the  day  after.  Hence, 
capital  trials  could  not  begin  on  the  day  preceding  a 
Sabbath,  or  public  feast.  No  criminal  trial  could  be  carried 
through  in  the  night ;  the  judges  who  condemned  any  one 
to  death  had  to  fast  all  the  day  before,  and  no  one  could  be 
executed  on  the  same  day  on  Avhich  the  sentence  was 
pronounced.^  ' 

Rules  so  precise  and  so  humane  condemn  the  whole  trial 
of  Jesus,  before  Caiaphas,  as  an  outrage.  It  Avas,  in  fact,  an 
anticipation  of  the  prostitution  of  justice  which  Josephus 
records  as  common  in  the  later  days  of  Jerusalem.  "  Ficti- 
tious tribunals  and  judicatures,"  he  tells  us,  "Avere  set  up, 
and  men  called  together  to  act  as  judges  though  they  had  no 
real  authority,  Avhcn  it  Avas  desired  to  secure  the  death  of  an 
opponent."*  As  in  those  later  instances,  so,  noAv,  in  the  case  « 
of  Jesus,  they  kept  up  the  form  and  mockery  of  a  tribunal 
to  the  close.     No  accuser  appeared,  and  the  judge  himself 


Talmud, 
quoted  in 


GinsbnTff.  Art. 
"  Sanhedrim." 
Kitto's  Bib. 
CycJo.    Keim, 
iii.  345,  346. 


518  THE   LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lxi.  took  the  office,  in  utter  violation  of  all  propriety.  Witnesses 
against  the  jirisoner  alone  appeared,  and  were,  indeed, 
eagerly  brought  forward  by  the  judge;  but  not  a  single 
witness  in  His  defence  was  called,  though  the  law  gave  such 
■witnesses  the  preference.  No  Baal-Rib — or  counsel — was 
assigned  Him,  nor  were  any  facilities  provided,  or  even  the 
possibility  offered,  for  His  calling  Avitnesses  in  His  favour. 
The  "  court,"  from  the  first,  sought  to  condemn  ;  not  as  the 
law  required,  to  acquit.  There  was  no  attempt,  as  was 
usual,  to  ascertain  the  trustworthiness  of  the  hostile  evidence, 
nor  any  warning,  beforehand,  to  those  who  gave  it,  of  the 

s  Keim,  iiL  330.  moral  and  legal  otFence  of  untruthfulness.^  So  keenly, 
indeed,  has  the  judicial  murder  of  Jesus  been  felt  by  the 
Jewish  nation,  in  later  times,  that  the  doctrine  was 
afterwards  invented  in  the  Talmud,  that  any  one  who  gave 
Himself  out  as  a  false  Messiah,  or  who  led  the  people  astray 

i  TosfTihta  from  the  doctrines  of  their  fathers,''  could  be  tried  and  con- 
demned the  same  day,  or  in  the  night.  Yet  in  contradic- 
tion to  this  the  monstrous  fable  was,  also,  coined,  that  a 
crier  called  aloud,  for  forty  days,  before  Christ's  condemna- 

■  Toiedoth       tion,  for  witnesses  in  His  favour  to  come  forward.'^ 

Jeshu,  V  an  ' 

der Aim (1841).  If  we  try  to  discovBr  by  what  law  it  was  possible  to  con- 
demn Jesus  legally,  it  will  be  found,  that,  proAdded  He 
could  not  be  proved  guilty  of  some  civil  crime,  there  were 
no  written  laws  Av^hatever  to  which  Caiaphas  and  His 
assessors  could  appeal  against  Him.  The  Old  Testament 
had  not  anticipated  the  case  of  any  one  calling  Himself  the 
Messiah,  whether  in  a  national  or  spiritual  sense,  and  the 
charges  so  often  made  against  Jesus,  of  having  broken  the 
laws  of  the  Sabbath,  even  if  He  could  not  have  defended 
Himself  against  them,  were  not  punishable,  by  the  laws  of 
the  day,  with  death.  The  grounds  on  which  the  theocracy 
could  press  for  a  capital  conviction  lay  wholly  outside  the 
law  of  Moses,  and  even  of  those  expansions  and  modifica- 
tions of  it  which  formed  the  current  law.  A  pretext  had  to 
be  invented  for  the  course  taken.  His  real  offence  was  that 
the  Church  authorities  felt  He  was  diffusing  a  spiritual  in- 
fluence, which,  if  left  to  develop  and  spread,  would  inevit- 
ably undermine  the  corrupt  theocracy,  and  Avith  it,  their 


BEFORE    CAIAPHAS.  519 

o^\^l  power  and  worldly  interests.  To  gain  a  brief  respite, 
they  were  bent  on  putting  Him  to  death,  though  His  lofty 
purity  of  life  and  morals  far  transcended  the  highest  ideals 
hitherto  known,  and  His  divine  goodness  was  alto<Tether 
unique.  They  did  not  see  that,  to  kill  Him,  was  only  to 
hasten  the  ruin  of  the  cause  they  sought  to  uphold. 

But  His  spiritual  glory  remained  hidden  to  theu'  wilful 
blindness,  and  the  shadow  into  which  it  threw  their  own 
shortcomings  roused  only  fanatical  rage.  There  remained 
nothing,  therefore,  since  they  could  bring  no  capital  charo-e 
recognized  in  the  Law,  against  Him,  except  to  feign  horror 
as  Jews,  at  the  presumption  of  one  so  much  below  them  in 
worldly  station,  raising  Himself  above  the  divinely  revealed 
laws  of  Moses,  and  even  claiming  equality  with  God  ;  and  as 
hypocritical  friends  of  the  Roman,  whom  they  in  reality 
hated  intensely,  to  pretend  indignation  and  fear  at  the 
popular  disturbance  and  disloyalty  to  the  Emperor,  which 
they  affected  to  believe  would  result  from  His  claim  as 
Messiah  King.  Only  on  this  last  ground  could  they  secure 
the  indispensable  assistance  of  Roman  power,  to  put  Him 
to  death. 

Caiaphas  now,  at  last,  had  his  enemy  face  to  face.  He 
would  let  Him  feel  what  it  was  to  denounce  the  priesthood 
as  He  had  done,  and  to  hold  them  up  to  the  obloquy  of  the 
nation,  as  careless  of  the  charge  entrusted  to  them,  by  His 
taking  it  on  Himself  to  interfere  with  their  Temple  jurisdic- 
tion, in  His  puritanical  "  cleansing"  of  the  sacred  enclosures. 
He  had  brought  no  end  of  odium  on  them,  by  the  contrast 
between  His  zeal  in  this  matter,  and  their  alleged  neglect,  in 
allowing  so  called  abuses.  The  fanatical  reformer  Avho  would 
turn  the  world  upside  down,  was  now  standing,  bound,  be- 
fore him,  and  he  had  Him  at  his  mercy.  The  rest  of  the 
self-constituted  judges  had  their  own  injuries  to  avenge,  for 
had  not  they,  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees, — teachers  of  the 
nation,  been  held  up  to  contempt,  as  luisparingly  as  the 
knot  of  high  caste  Sadducecs  ?  Caiaphas  had  long  made  up 
his  mind  what  to  do.  The  form  of  a  trial  might  be  necessary, 
but  the  result  was  determined  beforehand.  He  had  already 
counselled  both  Sadducecs  and  Pharisees,  to  lay  aside  mutual 


520  THE   LITE   OF   CHRIST. 

disputes,  and  unite  against  Jesus,  as  one  who  endangered 
their  common  interests,  and  to  sacrificG  Him  without  hesita- 
tion. PoHcy,  He  had  urged,  demanded  that  He  be  at  once 
put  to  death,  to  prevent  His  overthrowing  the  whole  ecclesi- 
astical constitution,  with  which  their  welfare  and  dignity 
•were  identified.  The  sentence  was  thus  proclaimed  before 
Caiaphas  took  his  seat  that  night;  the  judge  had  already 
openly  said  that  he  intended  to  condemn.  The  whole 
proceedings  were  in  fact,  simply  a  smooth  hypocrisy,  to 
secure  the  necessary  aid  of  the  Roman  executioner. 

Deadly  enemies  at  other  times,  the  "  court "  were  now 
on  the  most  amiable  terms  with  each  other,  in  their  anxiety 
to  hunt  down  the  common  foe.  The  proceedings  began  by 
Caiaphas,  as  he  glanced  fiercely  at  his  prisoner,  asking  Him 
various  questions  respecting  His  disciples  and  His  teaching : 
Why  He  gathered  so  many  followers?  What  He  had  meant 
by  sending  them  through  Galilee  and  Judea,  announcing  the 
coming  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  ?  Why,  a  few  days  before, 
at  His  entrance  to  the  city.  He  had  allowed  the  crowds  to  . 
hail  Him  as  the  ]\Iessiah  ?  What  he  meant  by  the  kingdom 
of  the  Messiah,  and  why  He  did  not  formally  and  publicly 
proclaim  Himself  as  such  ? 

Jesus  carefully  avoided  any  allusion  to  His  disciples  in 
His  answer,  for  to  have  referred  to  them,  might  have  brought 
them  into  danger.  As  to  Himself,  the  questions  needed  no 
inquir}' ;  the  matter  spoke  for  itself.  "  I  have  taught  frankly 
and  without  reserve,"  said  He  ;  "  I  have  no  secret  doctrines  ; 
I  have  spoken  everything  I  had  to  teach,  publicly,  in  the 
synagogues  and  schools  of  the  land,  before  friends  and 
enemies ;  and  here  in  Jerusalem,  in  the  Temple,  where  I  had 
for  hearers  the  people  assembled  from  all  parts.  I  have 
taught  nothing  secretly, — nothing  except  in  these  public 
places.  AVhy  do  you  ask  me?  ask  some  of  the  multitudes 
who  have  heard  me.  They  know  what  I  have  said  to  them, 
and  what  they  say  will  seem  to  you  more  impartial  than 
any  words  of  mine.  The  Law  requires  that  witnesses  should 
first  be  examined  in  any  trial." 

But  an  honest  and  formal  inquiry  of  this  kind,  though 
necessajy  by  the  Law,  was  no  part  of  the  plan  of  Caiaphas 


ILLEGAL  VIOLENCE.  521 

and  his  assessors.  They  souoht  only  to  get  Jesus  handed  chap.lxi. 
over  to  the  Romans,  as  soon  as  possible ;  that  He  might  be 
beyond  the  hope  of  rescue,  when  the  people,  among  whom 
He  had  so  many  suj^porters,  awoke  in  the  morning.  Tliat 
He  should  dare  to  direct  the  high  priest  as  to  his  duty,  and 
should  presume  to  throw  on  the  court  the  rightful  task  of 
proving  His  guilt,  was  a  fresh  offence,  and  provoked  fierce 
looks  and  angry  words,  from  the  bench.  The  defence  was 
at  once  rudely  interrupted,  for  one  of  the  turnkeys  standing 
by,  whether  of  his  own  accord,  because  he  saw  the  feeling 
of  the  judges,  or  at  a  hint  from  Hannas  or  Caiaphas ;  in  utter 
violation  of  judicial  rules,  or  common  decency,  forthwith 
struck  the  prisoner  on  the  mouth,  with  his  hand,  to  silence 
Him.  "  Answerest  thou  the  high  priest  thus  boldly  ?  "  said 
he.  Nothing  could  have  pleased  the  bench  better,  and  they 
did  not  attempt  to  rebuke  the  offender.  It  failed,  however, 
to  disturb  the  calm  self-possession  and  dignity  of  flesus.  "  If 
I  have  spoken  what  is  false,"  He  replied,  "  prove  that  I  have 
done  so,  but  if  what  I  say  be  right,  why  do  you  strike  me 
violently  thus  ?  No  one  has  a  right  to  take  the  law  in  his 
o^vn  hands,  much  less  a  servant  of  the  court." 

The  appeal  to  the  known  and  established  forms  of  ti'ial  had 
not  been  lost.  Hostile  witnesses  had  already  been  sought 
to  bring  home  to  Jesus,  if  possible,  some  charge  of  false  doc- 
trine, or  seditious  language,  but  none  had  been  found.  The 
only  evidence  to  be  had  would  not  suffice,  even  in  such  an 
assembl}^,  to  establish  a  capital  charge  of  which  the  Romans 
would  take  cognizance.  There  were  many,  doubtless,  who 
had  heard  Him  use  language  which  had  given  the  Rabbis 
offence, — such  as,  '"  Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee ;" — words  re- 
garded as  blasphemy,  and,  as  such,  punishable  with  death, 
by  Jewish  law ;  but  they  wanted  to  condemn  Him  on  a 
charge  punishable  by  Roman  law.  They  had  tried  by  spies, 
for  months  back,  to  draw  from  Him  something  they  could 
twist  into  an  attack  on  the  national  rehgion,  or  the  Roman 
government,  but  had  foiled.  It  was  hard  to  get  a  tolerable 
pretext  for  condemning  Him. 

Such  evidence  as  they  had  was  now  however  brought 
forward,  in  the  hope  that  it  would  at  least  prove  Him  to  be  "a 


522  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LSI,    deceiver  of  the  people,"  stirring  tliem  up,  and  exciting  them 
I  Matt.  27. 64.    aguittst  the  Liws  of  Moses,®  as  defined  by  the  Rabbis.     But 

Luke2.3.  2,  5.     .  =>  1  J  "■" 

Mark  15. 11.  [I  ^yrjg  r^  fundamental  rule  of  Jewish  jurisprudence,  that 
condemnation  could  only  follow  the  concurrent  testimony 

Lightfoot,  ii.  of,  at  least,  two  witnesses.^  Some,  however,  who  came 
forward,  had  nothing  relevant  to  say,  and  others  contradicted 
themselves.  His  last  discourses  were,  doubtless,  the  special 
crime  in  the  eyes  of  His  accusers.  Little  could  be  said 
about  His  ovation  on  entering  Jerusalem,  excej^t  that  He 
had  not  refused  it,  nor  was  even  the  expulsion  of  the  buyers 
and  sellers  from  the  Temple  brought  up,  for  the  spirit  that 
dictated  it  was  evidently  noble,  however  the  act  itself  might 
be  challenged.  The  strong  invectives  against  the  collective 
hierarchy  olFered  a  safer  ground  for  accusation.  Unfortu- 
nately for  the  judges,  suitable  witnesses  were  not  to  be  found. 
At  the  best  those  who  came  forward  garbled,  or  misunder- 
stood the  words  of  Jesus  ;  as  the  hierarchy  themselves  after- 
wards, before  Pilate,  twisted  those   respecting  the  tribute 

'  Luke 23. 2.  moucy  into  a  directly  ojiposite  sense.^"  But  even  thus,  the 
testimony  amounted  to  nothing.  Time  was  passing  dan- 
gerously fast,  without  anything  done. 

At  last,  one  witness  appeared,  who  alleged  that  he  had 
heard  Jesus  say,  "  Pull  down  this  Temple,  it  is  only  the 
■work  of  man,  and  I  Avill,  in  three  days,  build  another,  not 
Mark  11. 68.  made  with  hands."  ^^  Others  agreed  that  He  had  said  words 
which  seemed  intended  to  bring  the  Temple  into  contempt ; 
an  offence  so  grave  that  it  was  afterwards  made  a  capital 
charge    against  the   first   martj-r,    Stephen,    that,    he   had 

■  Acts  c.  13.  "  spoken  blasjAemous  words  against  this  holy  place  ;  "^^  but 
their  statements  did  not  tally,  and  their  witness  was  therefore 
worthless. 

]\Ieanwhile,  Jesus  had  stood  silent.  Even  to  charges  so 
hateful  to  Jewish  ears  as  contempt  of  the  Temple,  He  had 
made  no  answer.  He  knew  it  would  be  idle  to  speak  before 
such  a  tribunal,  and  kejrt  a  dignified  silence.  To  the  judges. 
on  the  other  hand,  they  seemed  of  the  greatest  w^eight. 
Caiaphas — a  true  inquisitor — could  no  longer  2^ reserve 
ofiicial  calmness.     Springing  from  his  couch,  and  standing 

>  Marki4.6a    up  iu  frout  of  it,^^  he  demanded  if  Jesus  had  nothing  to  sav 


SILENCE   OF   JESUS.  523 

in  His  own  defence,  against  all  this.  Wliat  did  His  silence 
mean  ?  Was  it  a  confession  of  guilt  ?  But  He  still  re- 
mained silent.  The  matter  spoke  for  itself;  the  testimony 
given  against  Him  was  discordant  and  worthless.  If  His 
past  life  covild  not  secure  His  acquittal,  mere  Avords  Avere  use- 
less. To  use  His  own  earlier  saying  they  would  be  pearls  cast 
before  SAvine,  Avho  would  turn  again  and  rend  Him.  Self- 
conscious  and  kingly,  He  bore  Himself  Avith  a  dignity  that 
impressed  eA'en  His  judges.  He  would  let  violence  and 
falsehood  run  their  course.  He  Avould  not  recognize  the 
tribunal,  nor  do  honour  to  its  members,  for  He  kncAV  that 
they  AA^ere  determined  that  He  should  die,  innocent  or  guilty, 
to  serve  their  OAvn  ends. 

Caiaphas  might  have  closed  the  examination  at  this  point, 
and  have  taken  the  votes  of  the  Commission.  But  Avith 
quick,  hypocritical  acuteness,  he  felt  that  the  charge  best 
sustained  Avas  an  olFence  only  in  Jewish  eyes;  that  the 
evidence  in  support  of  it  Avas  open  to  criticism,  and  that  the 
silence  of  the  prisoner  might  not,  after  all,  be  an  admission 
of  guilt.  His  pride,  moreo\-er,  Avas  touched  by  such  a 
bearing  toAvards  himself,  the  primate,  and  he  would  force  an 
answer,  if  possible,  to  save  his  OAvn  dignity.  It  Avould, 
besides,  be  better  to  go  no  further  into  matters  Avhicli  might 
protract  the  sitting,  and  spoil  the  plot,  by  letting  morning 
return  before  Jesus  was  in  the  safe  hands  of  the  Romans. 
True  to  the  serpent-cunning  of  the  house  of  Hannas,  he 
detei'uiined  to  bring  things  to  a  head  by  making  Him,  if 
possible,  compromise  Himself  at  once  with  JcAvish  opinion, 
and  Roman  fears.  He  hoped  to  Avorm  out  Avhat  could  be 
distorted  into  a  civil  offence,  for  his  keen  knoAvledge  of'men 
told  him,  that,  while  fitly  silent  and  dignified  hitherto,  his 
prisoner  Avould  give  a  frank  reply,  and  re\'eal  His  secret 
thoughts  when  honour  demanded  it.  For  He  was  eAidently 
about  to  die,  as  He  had  been  charged  Avith  liAdng,  an  enthu- 
siast and  zealot. 

Looking  straight  at  the  accused,  the  mitred  hypocrite,  in 
his  Avhite  robes,  Avith  practised  ofiicial  solemnity  Avent  at 
once  to  the  heart  of  the  matter,  by  the  demand,  uttered  in 
Aramaic,  the  common  speech  of  the  Jewish  courts  as  of  the 


524  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LSI,  nation,  "  I  put  you  on  your  oath  by  the  living  God^*  whose 
u  Matt.  26. 63.  curse  falls  on  those  who  swear  falsely  by  Him,  and  require 
you  to  tell  us  whether  you  are  the  Malcha  Meschicha — the 
King  Messiah — the  Son  of  God — Ever  Blessed  ?  " 

The  long  foreseen  moment  had  come,  when  an  open  claim 
which  He  had  hitherto  left  to  be  inferred  from  His  acts  and 
figurative  expressions,  rather  than  openly  stated,  would  bring 
on  Him  swift  sentence  of  death.  Caiaphas  knew  that  many 
believed  Him  to  be  the  Messiah  ;  that  He  Himself  had  not 
refused  the  awful  name,  but  had,  rather,  in  His  discourses, 
justified  its  being  given  Him  ;  and,  that,  a  few  days  before. 
He  had  allowed  the  thousands  of  Galila^an  pilgrims,  who 
greeted  His  entrance  to  Jerusalem,  to  salute  Him  by  it.  But 
the  ecclesiastical  authorities  had  decided  that  He  neither  was, 
nor  could  be,  the  Messiah,  and,  hence,  in  their  eyes.  His 
claiming  openly  to  be  so  would  be  a  crimen  Icesce  majestatis 
— blasphemous  high  treason,  against  the  true  Sovereign  of 
the  Land — Jehovah.  He  had  hitherto  evaded  a  direct 
answer,  except  in  rare  cases,  because  the  time  had  not  yet 
come  for  His  oj^enly  declaring  Himself.  To  have  done  so 
before  all  hope  of  longer  life  was  past,  would  have  been  to 
have  cut  short  His  public  work  in  founding  His  Kingdom. 

But  the  supreme  moment  had  now  arrived.  With  kingly 
dignity,  in  the  face  of  certain  death  for  His  words,  and  in 
solemn  answer  to  the  appeal  to  "  the  living  God  "  as  to  their 
truth,  Jesus  calmly  replied  to  the  adjuration: — "If  I  tell 
you,  ye  will  not  beheve,  and  if  I  ask  questions  that  would 
prove  my  highest  claims  you  would  not  answer.  Thou 
hast  said  the  Truth — I  am  the  Malcha  Meschicha — the  King 
Messiah — the  Son  of  God,  and  Son  of  Man.  In  my  present 
guise  ye  will  see  me  no  more ;  but  when  ye  have  slain  me, 
I,  the  Son  of  ]\Ian,  will  forthwith  sit  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  ]\Iajesty  of  God,  and  when  ye  see  me  next  it  will  be 
sitting  there,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven." 

This  declaration  might  have  seemed  sufficiently  explicit, 
but  the  excitement  of  the  judges,  true  Orientals,  had  gi-own 
ungovernable.  Rising  on  their  cushions,  one  and  all  de- 
manded, Avith  loud  voices,  "Art  Thou,  then,  the  Son  of 
God  ?  "     "  You  have  said  it,""  replied  Jesus,  "and  I  am." 


CHARGE    OF   BLASPHEMY.  525 

Calaphas  had  gained  bis  end.  Hearing  ^ntnesses  would  chap.lxi 
have  required  time,  and  the  whole  scheme  would  have 
miscarried,  if  Jerusalem  woke  and  the  Galilasan  pilgrims 
learned,  while  a  rescue  was  still  possible,  the  secret  arrest 
through  the  night,  of  their  fellow-countrj'man,  whom  many 
of  them  esteemed  a  prophet  of  Jehovah,  if  not  the  very 
Messiah. 

Caiapbas  played  his  part  well.  Quivering  with  passion, 
and  triumphant  at  his  success,  he  forgot  the  practised 
coldness  of  the  Sadducee,  and  once  more  springing  from  his 
couch  with  well-feigned  horror  at  the  words  of  Jesus,  though 
they  were  precisely  what  he  had  wished,  rent  the  bosom 
of  bis  priestly  robe  of  fine  linen,  as  if  it  were  too  naiTOAv  to 
let  him  breathe,  after  hearing  such  blasphemy.  He  forgot 
that  it  Avas  the  worst  of  blasphemy  for  his  own  lips  to  use 
the  name  of  Jehovah  as  a  mere  cloak  for  crime  and  wicked- 
ness !  Jesus  had  spoken  with  the  calmness  of  truth  and 
innocence.  He  had  applied  to  Himself  words  of  Daniel, 
and  of  the  Psalms, ^-^  universally  understood  of  the  Messiah,  m  Dan.  7. 13. 
and  had  predicted  His  sitting  henceforth  with  Jehovah  on  8.4 
the  throne  of  heaven,  and  descending  in  divine  majesty  to 
judge  the  earth,  though,  while  He  spoke,  He  was  at  the  very 
threshold  of  a  shameful  death. 

"  He  has  blasphemed !  "  cried  Caiapbas.  "  What  need 
is  there  to  hear  more  witnesses  ?  You  have  heard  the  blas- 
phemy from  bis  own  lips.  He  gives  Himself  out  as  the  true 
Messianic  Son  of  God,  which  we  have  already  decided  He 
is  not.     AVhat  seems  good  to  you,  my  colleagues  ?  " 

In  an  irregular,  illegal,  self-constituted  court,  whose 
members  had  already  approved  the  cold-blooded  counsel 
of  Caiapbas,  to  put  the  prisoner  out  of  the  way,  guilty  or 
innocent ;  and  thus  quench  the  fire  He  had  kindled,  in  His 
own  blood,  no  evidence  or  want  of  it  could  have  secured  an 
acquittal.  Too  many  private  find  class  grudges,  and  too 
many  vested  rights,  lent  Aveightto  any  pretext  for  a  judicial 
murder.  The  very  humility  and  the  purely  spiritual  aims 
of  Jesus  were,  themselves,  a  deadly  ofi'ence ;  for  their  Jewish 
pride  flattered  itself  that  the  Messiah  would  Avield  super- 
natural powers  to  restore  the  old  Theocracy,  and  make  Israel 


526  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

OEAP.-Lsi.  the  head  of  the  nations  instead  of  hated  Rome.  Then,  was 
He  not  a  GaUla^an — one  of  a  race  they  despised  ?  It  might 
be  true  that  He  wrought  miracles,  but  one  wlio  wilfully 
broke  the  Law,  as  He  openly  did,  by  Sabbath  healing — 
and  zcho  knew  what  else  ? — must  work  them  by  help  from 
Beelzebub,  not  Jehovah. 

And,  besides,  had  not  the  high  priest  told  them  that  it 
was  no  great  harm  if  a  single  man  were  put  out  of  the  way, 
even  if  innocent,  for  the  common  good  ?  When,  moreover, 
did  ferocious  bigotry  ftiil  to  identity  its  cry  for  blood  with 
pious  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  ? 

All  voted  that  further  investigation  was  useless :  that  on 
His  own  confession  Jesus  was  worthy  of  death. 

They  had,  at  last,  their  wish.  All  chai'ges  affecting  the 
Temple,  or  Judaism,  would  have  raised  only  the  con- 
temptuous laugh  of  the  Roman  procurator.  But  now  that 
Jesus  had  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah,  He  could  be  represented 
to  Pilate  as  a  State  criminal,  delivered  up  for  an  attempt 
against  the  imperial  rights  of  Tiberius. 

The  formal,  preliminary  examination  was  over,  but  its 
result  needed  to  be  confirmed  by  a  larger  gathering  of  the 
hierarchy.  It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
some  hours  must  elapse  before  the  sentence  could  be  formally 
ratified. 

Meanwhile,  Jesus  was  left  in  charge  of  the  rough  Temple 
police,  while  the  judges  separated  for  an  hour  or  two  of 
sleep.  There  was  nothing,  now,  to  restrain  the  coarse  natures 
to  whom  the  condemned  prisoner  had  been  consigned.  One 
under  sentence  of  death  was  always,  in  these  rough  ages,  the 
w  sepp,  Ti.iTs.  sport  and  mockery  of  his  guards,^^  and  those  in  charge  of 
Jesus,  made  worse  than  common  by  the  exam^^le  of"  the 
judges,  vented  their  cruelty  on  Him  with  the  coarsest 
brutality.  Their  passions,  indeed,  intensified  their  bitterness, 
for  they  were  fierce  Jewish  bigots.  He  was  to  die  as  a 
false  prophet,  and  as  such  they  treated  Him,  racking  their 
ingenuity  to  invent  insult  and  injury.  Having  blindfolded 
Him,  some  struck  Him  violently  on  the  head  with  their 
fists,  or  perhaps  with  the  vine-stick,  which  Roman  cen- 
1' Jut.  Sat.  Tiu.  turions^''  and  other  officials  carried  as  their  sisn  of  rank. 


INSULTS   AND   VIOLENCE.  527 

and  were  wont  to  use  on  the  face  or  head  of  the  soldiers ;  for  chap,  lxi 
some  of  the  captors  of  Jesus  had  such  staves  -with  them — 
others  struck  Him  with  their  open  hands,  while  still  others, 
adding  the  greatest  indignity  an  Oriental  could  oifer,  spat  in 
His  face  ;  ciying,  as  they  insulted  and  tortured  Him, — "  Pro- 
phesy to  us,  thou  Messiah,  who  was  it  that  did  it?  "  The  hands 
they  had  bound  had  healed  the  sick,  and  raised  the  dead ; 
the  lips  they  smote  had  calmed  the  winds  and  the  waves. 
One  Avoi'd,  and  the  splendours  of  the  ]\Iount  of  Transfigura- 
tion would  have  filled  the  chamber;  one  word,  and  the 
menials  now  sporting  with  Him  at  their  will  would  have 
perished.  But,  as  He  had  begun  and  continued,  He  would 
end — as  self-restrained  in  the  use  of  His  awful  powers  on 
His  own  behalf  as  if  He  had  been  the  most  helpless  of  men. 
Divine  patience  and  infinite  love  knew  no  wearying.  He 
had  but  to  will  it  and  walk  free,  but  He  came  to  die  for 
man,  and  He  would  do  it. 

While  His  examination  had  been  jjroceeding,  the  central 
court,  which  seems  to  have  been  paved,  w^as  the  waiting 
place  of  the  servants  of  the  several  judges,  and  of  the 
underlings  of  the  high  priest  and  the  Temple  watch.  John 
and  Peter,  recovering  from  their  first  panic,  and  anxious  to 
see  what  became  of  their  Master,  had  followed  at  a  distance, 
till  He  was  brought  to  the  house  of  Caiajjhas.  The  door  of 
the  outer  court,  or  porch,  had  been  closed,  to  prevent  the 
entrance  of  any  one  likely  to  spread  an  alarm  and  bring 
about  a  rescue,  but  John,  happening  t6  be  known  to  the 
household,  or,  perhaps,  to  the  high  priest  himself,  was 
readily  admitted.  MeauAvhile,  Peter  remained  shut  out,  but 
at  John's  solicitation  was  presently  admitted  by  the  maid 
who  kept  the  door. 

A  fire  of  wood  kindled  in  the  open  court  in  the  chilly 
April  night,  had  attracted  all  round  it,  Peter  among  the 
rest,  by  its  cheerful  blaze.  He  sat,  with  weary  heart,  by  the 
light,  wondering  what  the  end  would  be,  and  not  without 
alarm  for  his  own  safety,  in  case  he  should  be  recognized, 
and  charged  with  his  violence  in  the  garden.  Meanwhile, 
the  door-keepei*,  who,  perhaps,  had  seen  him  in.  attendance 
on  Jesus  in  the  Women's  Court  of  the  Temple,  sauntered, 


528  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

oHAP.Lxi.  like  others,  to  the  fire,  and  with  a  woman's  abruptness,  after 
gazing  at  him  steadily,  put  the  question  directly  to  him — 
"Art  thou,  also,  one  of  this  man's  disciples?"  Confused 
and  off  his  guard,  he  said  nothing,  but  she  would  not  let 
him  go.  "Thou,  also,  wast  with  Jesus  of  Galilee,"  she 
continued — repeating  to  those  round  her,  "  Certainly  this 
man,  also,  was  with  Him."  "Woman,"  said  Peter,  stammer- 
ing out  the  words  in  mortal  terror  for  his  life,  "  I  do  not 
know  Him ;  I  do  not  know  what  you  mean."  But  his 
conscience  was  ill  at  ease,  and  his  fears  grew  apace.  He 
could  no  longer  hide  his  confusion,  and  went  off  into  the 
darkness  of  the  porch.  His  inexorable  inquisitor  would  not, 
however,  let  him  escape.  He  had  hardly  come  to  the  light 
again,  after  a  time,  when  she  once  more  scanned  him,  and, 
determined  to  justify  herself,  began  to  speak  of  him  to  the 
serving  men  and  slaves.  "  He  is  one  of  them.  He  ivas 
with  Jesus  of  Nazai'eth."  Irritated  and  alarmed,  and  losing 
all  presence  of  mind,  he  repeated  his  denial  with  an  oath. 
"  I  do  not  know  the  man.  I  am  not  one  of  His  disciples. 
I  swear  I  am  not." 

His  stout  assertions  gave  him  an  hour's  respite  and  peace, 
but  his  troubles  were  not  over,  for  the  maid  had  fixed  atten- 
tion on  him,  and  his  bearing  had  excited  suspicion.  At 
last,  one  of  the  slaves  of  the  high  priest,  a  kinsman  of  the 
wounded  Malchus,  renewed  the  subject  by  asking  Peter 
directly — "  Did  I  not  see  thee,  as  I  was  standing  at  the  door 
of  the  garden,  just  as  they  were  coming  out  ?"  "You  never 
did,"  said  Peter.  "  I  was  not  there."  "  Why,  your  very 
speech  shows  that  you  are  of  them — you  tcere  with  Him," 
cried  angry,  fierce  voices,  "  you  are  a  Ga]ila>an — we  hear 
it  in  your  words." 

Peter,  now,  lost  all  control  of  himself.  He  had  tried  to 
strengthen  his  last  denial  by  a  solemn  oath,  but  now  burst 
into  curses  and  imprecations  on  himself,  if  he  had  not  spoken 
truth,  in  saying  that  he  knew  nothing  whatever  about  Jesus ! 
In  the  midst  of  his  excitement  the  sound  of  a  cock-crow  fell 
on  his  ears,  and,  at  the  sound,  his  Master,  still  before  His 
murderers,  in  a  room  opening  into  the  courtyard,  turned 
and  looked  him  fuU  in  the  face,  with  those  loving,  but  now, 


Peter's  fall  and  repentakcb  529 

no  less  reproachful  eyes,  in  the  light  of  which  Peter  had  so    chap.lxl 
long  found  his  sweetest  joy. 

It  was  enough.     The  glance,  like  lightning,  revealing  an 
abyss,  brought  back  to  its  nobler  self  the  honest  heart  that 
for  a  time  had  been  alainned  into  superficial  unfaithfulness, 
and  threw  an  awful  brightness  into  the  depths  of  sin  on 
whose   edge   he   stood.      All   his    unmanly  weakness   and 
wretched  fear  rose  in  his  thoughts,   and,   with  them,  the  Matt.  as.  57,  ss, 
remembrance  of  his  boastings,  so  miserably  beUed.     Christ's  ^"^^Jt^  ^^'  ^' 
words,  which  he  had  so  warmly  repudiated — that,  before  the  john  is!  is-iS; 
cock  crew,    he   would   deny  Him  thrice,  had  come  true. 
What  a  contrast  between  the  grand  strength  of  his  Master, 
and  his  own  weakness ! 

Shame  and  sorrow ;  mingled,  on  the  moment,  with  a 
yearning  hope  of  forgiveness,  overpowered  him,  and  he  did, 
now,  what  he  should  have  done  earlier ;  went  out,  and  wept 
bitterly.  It  is  a  touching,  and  beautiful  tradition,  true  to  the 
sincerity  of  his  repentance,  if  not  as  a  historical  reality,  that, 
aU  his  life  long,  the  remembrance  of  this  night  never  left 
him,  and  that,  morning  by  morning,  he  rose  at  the  hour 
when  the  look  of  his  Master  had  entered  his  soul,  to  pray 
once  more  for  pardon. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  fourth  watch,  and  before  day- 
break, the  heads  of  the  theocracy,  true  to  precedent,  which 
required  that  the  whole  Sanhedrim,  while  it  existed,  should 
meet  to  ratify  a  sentence  of  death,  had  extemporized  a 
semblance  of  the  old  High  Court  of  the  Nation  in  some 
suitable  building.  Thither  Jesus  was  now  led,  under  escort 
of  Temple  police  and  retainers  of  the  high  priest ;  to  appear 
before  the  notables  of  Israel.  The  chiefs  of  the  priestly 
courses,  and  other  dignitaries  of  the  Temple,  with  a  number 
of  elders  and  Rabbis,  had  gathered  in  the  fading  darkness,  old 
though  most  of  them  were,  to  take  part  in  the  condemnation 
of  the  Hated  One.  The  proceedings  were,  however,  only 
formal;  to  hear  the  sentence  of  the  Commission  and  to 
endorse  it.  Tliis  done,  the  way  was  clear  for  handing  Him 
over  to  Pilate. 

In  the  eyes  of  those  Avho,  thus,  unanimously  confirmed  the 
fatal  sentence,  He  was  a  criminal  of  the  worst  dye ;  for,  in 

VOL.  II.  TS 


530  THE   LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lxi.  their  opinion,  He  had  blasphemed  with  audacious  boldness, 
by  claiming  to  be  the  King  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  the 
long-expected  deliverer  of  the  nation,  sent  to  it  from  heaven. 
No  one  had  ever  before  laid  claim  to  the  sacred  name,  for, 
though  many  Messiahs  rose  in  later  years,  no  one,  as  yet, 
had  assumed  the  tremendous  dignity.  Proof  more  than 
enough  to  establish  His  highest  claims,  offered  itself  in  His 
life,  and  words,  and  works,  but  passion  and  prejudice  had 
hardened  their  hearts,  and  blinded  their  judgments.  The 
worst  among  them  would  never  liave  dared  to  proceed 
against  Him,  had  they  believed  Him  really  the  Messiah. 
"I  know,"  says  St.  Peter,  "that  you  acted  in  ignorance,  as  did 

le  Acts 3. 17.  also  your  rulers."^*  But  it  was  the  ignorance  that  had 
refused  the  light.  Had  they  been  honest  and  honourable,  the 
first  point  to  have  been  settled  would  have  been,  at  least 
to  hear  what  the  Accused  had  to  say  in  His  own  favour. 
They  had  constituted  themselves  the  vindicators  of  the  Law 
and  the  Prophets,  and  it  was  their  elementary  duty  to  hear 
the  prisoner's  exposition  of  the  statements  of  both,  respecting 
the  matter  in  hand.  He  had  owned  Himself  the  Messiah, 
and  for  doing  so,  without  giving  Him  the  oj^portunity  of 
supporting  His  claim,  they  voted  the  sentence  of  death,  b}^ 
noisy  acclamation.     Law  and  tradition  demanded  a  second 

»  Eeim,  iii. 340.  full  hearing  of  the  case,^^  but  they  thrust  both  aside,  in 
their  zeal  to  set  Him  condemned. 


•REPORE   PILATE.  531 


CHAPTER  LXII. 

BEFORE  PILATE. 

THE  decision  of  the  Jewish  authorities  ha-ving  been  duly  0=^*^211. 
signed  and  sealed,  and  Jesus  once  more  securely 
bound,  He  was  led  otF,  strongly  guarded  from  rescue,  to  the 
official  residence  of  Pilate,  on  Mount  Zion.  It  was  still 
early,  but  Eastern  hfe  anticipates  the  day,  for  the  heat  of 
noon  requires  rest  during  the  hours  busiest  with  us.  The 
way  ran  from  the  West  Hall  of  the  Temple  over  the 
Tyropoeon  by  a  bridge,  and  across  the  open  space  of  the 
Xystus,  with  its  pillared  porches.  The  palace  of  Herod,  now 
Pilate's  head-quarters,  lay  just  beyond — the  proud  residence 
of  the  Roman  knight  who  held  the  government  for  the 
Emperor  Tiberius.  It  was  inhabited  for  only  a  few  weeks 
or  days  at  a  time,  but  now,  during  the  Passover,  the  Pro- 
curator took  care  to  be  present ;  to  repress,  at  once,  any 
popular  movement  for  national  freedom,  which  the  spring 
air,  the  feast  itself,  and  the  vast  gathering  of  the  nation, 
might  excite. 

Now,    for  the  first  time,  Jesus  entered  the   gates  of  a 
king's   palace ;  the  home  of  "  men  in  soft  raiment " — en-  Matt.  27.  i,  2, 
tered  it  as  a  prisoner       He  was  to  stand  before  a  man  who  Harris.'  is. 

■■-  ,  Luke  23.   1—5. 

has  come  down  to  us  as  one  of  the  most  unrighteous,  cruel,  Joi^^is-  28-38. 
arbitrary,  and  hateful ;  a  man  rightly  named  Pilate — the 
"  Javelinman  " — for  it  seemed  his  delight  to  launch  cruelties 
and  scorns  on  every  side,  like  javelins,  among  the  oppressed 
people.  What  had  Jesus  to  expect  from  one  who  hated 
the  nation  from  his  soul,  and  s^jorted  with  .their  lives  and 
possessions  as  if  they  were  not  men,  but  a  lower  race  of 
despised  slaves  and  fanatical  Helots  ?  It  might,  indeed,  be 
of  benefit  to  Him  that  the  hatred  of  Pilate  towards  the 


532  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST 

CHAP.  Lxii.  Jews,  might  regard  Him  as  a  welcome  instrument,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  a  better,  for  playing  off  his  bitterness  against  them 
and  their  leaders.  To  favour  a  man  who  was  in  opposition  to 
them,  was,  itself,  a  pleasure.  Calm,  temperate,  and  impartial, 
compared  to  Jewish  passion  and  bitterness,  and  in  some  re- 
spects in  sympathy  with  the  accused,  the  hard,  proud,  heathen 
Roman  was  more  open  to  the  impression  of  Christ's  innocence 
or  harmlessness,  than  the  Jews  or  their  leaders. 

That  he  did  not  permanently  protect  Him,  rose,  partly, 
from  his  character,  and,  partly,  from  his  past  history  as  pro- 
curator. Morally  enervated  and  lawless,  the  petty  tyrant 
was  incapable  of  a  strong  impression  or  righteous  firmness, 
and,  besides,  he  dreaded  complaints  at  Rome,  from  the  Jewish 
authorities,  and  insurrections  of  the  masses  in  his  local 
government.  He  had,  in  the  past,  learned  to  fear  the  un- 
conquerable pertinacity  of  the  Jews  and  the  rebukes  of  the 
Emperor,  so  keenly,  that  he  would  permit,  or  do,  almost 
anything,  for  quiet.  This  shoAved  itself  in  his  bearing  to- 
wai'ds  Jesus.  Protecting  Him  for  a  time,  half  in  sympathy, 
half  in  mockery,  he  gave  Him  up  in  the  end,  I'ather  than 
brave  the  persistent  demand  of  a  people  he  hated  and  feared. 
He  Avould  have  set  Him  free,  but  for  the  popular  clamour, 
and  a  bitter  remembrance  of  the  trouble  it  had  already  given 

Keim,uLoG2,  him  lu  Jerusalem  and  at  Rome.^ 

363. 

There  was  a  hall  in  the  palace,  in  which  trials  were 
generally  conducted,  but  the  Jewish  notables,  who  had 
condemned  Jesus,  were  much  too  holy  to  enter  a  heathen 
building  during  the  feast,  since  there  might  be  old  leaven  in 
it.  It  Avas  Friday,  and  the  Sabbath  began  that  night,  and 
in  the  evening  tliere  was  luiiversally  at  this  season  a  supple- 
mentary feast  of  priests  and  people,  on  the  flesh  of  the  free- 
will offerings.  It  had,  for  centuries,  been  associated  with 
the  Passover  and  was  thought  a  part  of  it,  and  Levitical 
uncleanness  would  prevent  the  accusers  taking  part  in  it.  '^ 
They  were  still  true  to  the  character  given  them  by  Jesus ; 
careful  of  the  outside  of  the  boAvl  and  platter,  but  willing 
that,  within,  it  should  be  filled  Avith  Avickedness.  They  had 
effected  their  end.  Jesus  Avas  in  the  hands  of  the  Romans, 
before  Jerusalem  aAvoke. 


riLATE  S   TRIBXJNAL. 


533 


Knowing  the  people  with  whom  he  had  to  do,  Pilate 
made  no  attempt  to  overcome  their  scruples.  Trials  in  the 
open  air  were  common,  for  Roman  law  courted  publicity. 
Roman  governors,  and  the  half  Roman  Herod  and  his  sons, 
erected  their  tribunals,  indifferently,  before  the  palace,  in 
the  market-place,  in  the  theatre,  in  the  circus,  or,  even,  in 
the  hio'liways.*^  Pilate,  therefore,  caused  his  official  seat 
to  be  set  down  on  a  spot  known,  in  Jerusalem,  as  Gabbatha 
— the  high  place," — from  its  being  raised  above  the  crowd, 
and  as  "  The  Pavement,"  because  it  was  laid,  according  to 
Roman  custom,  where  judges  sat,  ^nth.  a  mosaic  of  coloured 
stones.  It  was,  very  possibly,  a  permanent  erection,  square, 
or  of  crescent  shape,  of  costly  marble,  in  keeping  with 
the  splendour  so  dear  to  Herod,  its  builder;  projecting 
from  the  front  of  the  "  Judgment  Hall,"  in  the  palace,  and 
easily  accessible  by  a  doorway  from  it.  It  was  a  maxim  of 
Roman  law  that  all  criminal  trials  should  be  held  on  a 
raised  tribunal,  that  all  might  see  and  be  seen.- 

The  ivory  curule  chair  of  the  procurator — his  seat  of 
state,  and  sign  of  office ;  or,  perhaps,  the  old  golden  seat  of 
Archelaus,  was  set  dgwn  on  the  tesselated  floor  of  the 
tribunal,  which  was  large  enough  to  let  the  assessors  of 
the  court — Roman  citizens — who  acted  as  nominal  mem- 
bers of  the  judicial  bench,  sit  beside  Pilate — for  Roman 
law  required  their  presence.  On  lower  elevations,  sat  the 
officers  of  the  court,  friends  of  the  procurator,  and  others 
whom  he  chose  to  honour. 

The  priests  and  elders  who  appeared  against  Jesus,  now 
led  Him  up  the  steps  of  the  tribunal,  to  the  procurator, 
and  set  Him  before  him.^  Seats  were  generally  provided 
for  the  accusers  near  the  judge,  and  there  was,  also,  usually, 
a  seat  for  the  accused ;  but  in  Judea,  despised  and  insulted, 
this  custom  was  not  now  observed,  at  least,  so  far  as  regarded 
Jesus,  for  He  had  to  stand  through  the  trial.  An  inter- 
preter was  not  needed,  as  the  Jemsh  officials  doubtless 
spoke  Greek,  and  Jesus,  brought  up  in  Galilee,  where  the 
presence  of  foreigners  made  its  use  general,  necessarily  un- 
derstood it.  A  strong  detachment  of  troops  from  the  garri- 
son guarded  the  tribunal,  and  kept  the  ground,*  for  a  vast 


CH^\P.  T.yn 


2  Tholnok.  Er. 
Johan.  313. 
"Winer,  Art. 
"  Lithostro- 
ton."    Bibel 
Lex..  An. 
"Gabbatha." 
Luthardt, 
Evan.  Johan. 
ii.  410.   LUcka, 
Evan.  Johan. 
ii.  487. 


Diet,  of  Ant., 
ylj7."BasiIica." 
Keim,  iii.  3GG. 


Matt.  27.  27. 
See  Bell.  Jud. 
ii.  14.  8,  9. 


534  THK   LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

ciLvp.  Lxii.  crowd  of  citizens  and  pilgrims  speedily  gathered,   as  the 

5  Matt.  27. 20.    news  of  the  arrest  spread.'^ 

Roman  law  knew  nothing  of  the  inquisitorial  system  by 
which  a  jjrisoner  might  be  forced  to  convict  himself;  it  re- 
quired that  a  formal  accusation  of  a  specific  offence  should 
be  made  against  him.     This  office  of  accuser,  Caiaphas,  dis- 

*  j'oa'^A^t'ivi    pcnsing  with  the  customary  employment  of  an  "orator,"^ 

*■'•  himself,  apparently,  performed,  as  the  representative  of  the 

nation,  and  its  highest  dignitary;  to  give  the  charges  the 

'  Matt.  27. 12.    greater  weight.'^ 

Pilate,  having  taken  his  seat,  began  the  proceedings  by 
formally  asking  Caiaphas  and  his  colleagues  what  accusa- 

e  John  18. 29.     fiou  they  had  against  the  prisoner.* 

"  If  He  had  not  been  a  great  offender,"  replied  Caiaphas, 
as  spokesman,  "  we  would  not  have  delivered  Him  up  to 
thee  We  have  power  enough  to  punish  ordinary  offenders, 
by  our  own  laws,  but  this  man's  crime  goes  beyond  our 
powers  in  the  punishment  it  demands,  and,  therefore,  we 

s  John  18.30.  have  handed  Him  over  to  you."  That  we  have  done  so,  1 
submit,  is  j^roof  that  He  deserves  death.  The  presence  of 
myself,  the  high  pi'iest,  and  of  the  notables  of  the  nation,  as 
His  accusers,  may  suffice  to  prove  the  blackness  of  His 
guilt." 

Pilate  Avas  not  a  stranger  in  Palestine,  and  had,  doubtless, 
had  Jesus  already  under  his  notice,  through  reports  of  his 
spies  and  officials.  He  had  learned  that  He  avoided  all 
appeals  to  force ;  that  His  discourses  had  nothing  whatever 
political  in  them,  and  that  His  zeal  Avas  mainly  directed 
against  the  corruptions  of  the  Jewish  priesthood  and  public 
teachers,  whom  the  Romans  themselves  despised  for  the 
same  cause.  The  immense  crowds  that  had  followed  Him, 
at  his  first  appearance  in  Judea,  three  years  before,  and  His 
subsequent  course  in  Galilee,  must  have  been  the  subject  of 
many  official  communications  to  Ca^sarea,  Pilate's  usual  resi- 
dence ;  and  they  had  uniformly  represented  Him  as  peaceful 
and  harmless.      Pilate  knew,  therefore,  that  He  was  now  de- 

10  Mark  15. 10.  Uvcrcd  up  by  the  priests  and  Rabbis  only  from  envy,-^"  and  for 
their  OAvn  selfish  ends.  From  all  he  had  learned,  Jesus  Avas 
only  a  Avell-meaning  enthusiast,  and  He  could  easily  see 


THE   ACCUSATION.  535 

how  such  a  man  might  "well  be  dangerous  to  the  vested  chap,  lsil 
interests  and  mock  hohness  of  the  Jewish  magnates,  but 
not  at  all  so  to  Roman  authoritj'.  He  was  ready  enough 
to  quench  in  blood  any  religious  movement  that  threatened 
the  peace,  but  he  saw  no  ground  for  apprehension  as  re- 
garded this  one. 

The  Gospels  give  only  a  brief  outline  of  the  whole 
trial,  but  even  the  opening  address  of  Caiaphas,  or  the 
orator  who  spoke  for  him  and  his  colleagues,  was,  no  doubt, 
full  of  rhetorical  compliments  to  Pilate  himself,  and  of 
fierce  words  against  the  prisoner.  It  had,  however,  a  very 
different  effect  on  Pilate  from  that  intended.  The  hypo- 
critical clamour  for  blood  by  a  priesthood  whom  he  despised 
as  Jews,  and,  still  more,  for  their  supei'stition,  bigotry,  bar- 
barous want  of  taste  and  culture,  restless  greed,  and  restive 
opposition  to  Rome,  was  hateful  and  repulsive.  He  would 
not  involve  his  court,  which  represented  the  majesty  of  the 
Emperor,  in  any  further  details  of  a  question  about  one  who 
seemed  a  mere  religious  reformer.  The  accusers  had,  them 
selves,  jurisdiction  in  their  own  reUgious  disputes. 

Interrupting  the  speaker,  therefore,  Pilate  told  him — "  If 
you  have  found  Him  what  you  say,  you  had  better,  in  my 
opinion,  take  Him,  and  judge  Him  according  to  your  own 
law."^^  If  they  did  not  trouble  him  further,  he  would  not"  jo!mi8.3i. 
interfere  with  them.  He  had  not,  as  yet,  understood  that 
they  sought  to  have  Jesus  put  to  death,  but  fancied  they 
wished  some  other  punishment. 

Caiaphas  had  his  answer  ready.  "It  is  a  criminal  charge," 
said  he,  "  a  charge  of  capital  crime,  and  Ave  cannot  put  any 
one  to  death,  without  your  confirming  our  sentence."  ^^  He  '=  John  18.3132. 
could  not,  however,  confirm  any  sentence,  without,  at  least, 
a  summary  investigation,  and,  thus,  the  matter  must  jiro- 
ceed  before  him.  They  might  have  stoned  Jesus  for  blas- 
phemy, had  he  sanctioned  tlieir  doing  so,  but  they  were 
resolved  to  leave  the  odium  of  the  murder  on  liim,  and 
have  their  victim  crucified.  In  the  fulfilment  of  the  divine 
counsels,  He  was  to  die,  not  as  a  martyr  to  Jewish  fury, 
but  as  a  sin-offering,  on  the  Cross. 

"  What  is  your  accusation  then  ?"  asked  Pilate. 


536  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lxn.  Ci'aftily  keeping  out  of  sight  Christ's  declaration  that  He 
was  the  Son  of  God,  because  such  a  theological  question  was 
indifferent  to  the  Roman,  and  because  heathenism  had  no 
such  ideas  connected  with  the  phrase  as  Judaism,  Caiaphas 
turned  the  religious  offence  into  a  political  one.  The  "  Son 
of  God,"  in  a  Jewish  sense,  was  equivalent  to  the  Messiah, 
the  expected  national  deliverer,  and,  hence,  he  created  out 
of  the  claim,  a  pretension  to  earthly  royalty.  Such  an  accu- 
sation could  not  be  overlooked,  and  must  wake  prejudice, 
if  beheved,  as  involving  a  charge  of  treason  against  the 
suspicious  and  relentless  Tiberius.  The  priests  expected  an 
instant  condemnation,  for  they  knew  Pilate's  hyasna-like 
nature. 

Roman  law  permitted  the  questioning  of  a  prisoner  after 
formal  accusation,  and  confession  of  the  charge  was  held 
sufficient  proof  of  guilt. 

"  The  accused  has  been  condemned  by  us  as  a  deceiver  of 
's  Luke  23. 2.     the  pcoplc,"  auswcred  the  high  priest. ^^ 

"  How  ?  "  asked  Pilate. 

"In  a  double  way,"  said  Caiaphas.  "He  stirs  up  the 
nation  against  pa}'ing  their  tiibute  to  CtBsar,  and  He  sets 
Himself  up  as  king  of  the  Jews.  He  says  He  is  the  Mes- 
siah, which  is  the  name  we  give  our  king,  and  He  has  led 
many  to  regard  Him  as  a  descendant  of  David,  and  our 
only  lawful  sovereign." 

Jesus  was  standing  at  Pilate's  side.  Rising  from  his  chair 
and  ordering  Him  to  be  brought  after  him,  he  retired  into 
the  palace,  and  calling  Jesus  before  him,  asked  Him — "Art 
Thou  the  king  of  the  Jews  ?  Dost  Thou,  really,  claim  to  be 
so  ?  "  He  evidently  expected  a  disavowal,  for  he  felt  it 
almost  beneath  him  to  ask  such  a  question  of  one,  in  his 
eyes,  so  utterly  unlike  a  king.  Had  he  been  firm  and 
strong-minded,  he  would  have  seen  the  groundlessness  of 
the  charge,  from  the  absence  of  all  overt  proof,  but  he 
weakly  proceeded  to  compromise  himself,  by  putting  Jesus 
to  examiriation. 

Knowing  that  Pilate  had  nothing  against  Him  but  the 
words  of  His  enemies  outside,  Jesus,  with  a  calm  dignity 
that  must  have  amazed  the  procurator,  asked  him  a  counter 


JESTJS    AND   PILATE. 


.537 


question.  "  Do  yoii  ask  this  of  your  own  accord,  or  have  chap,  lxil 
others  told  it  you  of  me?""  He  would  have  Pilate  re- 1<  john is. 34. 
member  the  more  than  doubtful  source  of  the  accusation, 
and  that  with  all  his  official  means  of  information,  no 
grounds  of  such  a  charge  had  ever  suggested  themselves  to 
his  own  mind.  It  was,  besides,  essential  to  know  if  he  spoke 
as  a  Roman,  with  a  political  use  of  the  title  "  king,"  or  re- 
jieated  it  in  the  Jewish  sense,  as  equivalent  to  "the  Mes- 
siah." ^^  i»  E-vald,  T.  368 

"  Do  you  think  /  am  a  Jew?"  answered  Pilate,  scornfully,     Lebrajesu, 

.  ...  .     .  ■"■"■  Luthardt, 

feeling  his  false  position,  in  entertaining  an  accusation  from    j'^^^J;  ^^ 
so  suspicious  a  source.     "  Your  own  nation  have  brought    ^"''' 
you  before  me  ;    the  charge  comes    from    the  priests    and  ■ 
Rabbis.     I  have  only  repeated  their  accusation.     What  do 
I  care  for  your  dreams  about  a  jMessiah  ?     Tell  me,  what 
have  you  done  ?     Do  you  call    yourself  the  king  of  the 
Jews  ?  " 

"  In  your  sense  of  the  word  I  am  not  a  king,"  answered 
Jesus,  "  but  in  another,  I  am.  My  accusers  expect  a  mere 
earthly,  world-conquering  Messiah.  But  my  Kingdom  is 
not  of  this  workF^ — not  earthly  and  political.  If  it  were,  '« John  is.  se 
my  attendants  would  have  fought  for  me,  to  prevent  my 
being  arrested  and  delivered  up  to  my  enemies  by  the 
soldiers  you  sent  against  me.  But  they  made  no  resistance 
nor  any  attempt  even  to  rescue  me,  and  this,  of  itself,  is 
enough  to  show  that  my  Kingdom  is  not  a  political  one." 

"  You  speak  of  a  kingdom  :  are  you  really  a  king,  then, 
in  any  other  sense  than  the  common  ?  "  asked  the  procurator, 
awed  before  the  Mysterious  j\Ian. 

"Thou  saj^est  it:^^  so  it  is:  I  am  a  King,"  answered ^ 
Jesus.  "  I  was  born  to  be  a  king ;  I  came  into  the  world 
that  I  should  bear  witness  for  The  Truth."  He  spoke  in  His 
lofty,  mystic  way  of  the  di-vine  Truth  He  had  seen  and 
heard  in  a  former  existence,  when  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Father.  "  All  who  love  and  seek  the  Truth,"  he  continued 
— "  that  is,  who  hear  and  obey  my  words — are  my  subjects." 
He  had  thrice  claimed  a  Kingdom,  and  thrice  told  Pilate 
that  it  was  not  of  this  world. 

"How  these  Jews  talk!"  thought  Pilate.   "They,  barljarous 


Matt.  27.  II. 
Mark  la.  2. 
Luke  23.  3. 
John  18.  37. 


Luthardt,  ii. 


538  THE   LIFE    OF   CHKIST. 

CHAP.  Lxii.  as  tliey  axv,  think  they  have  Truth  as  their  special  posses- 
sion— Truth,  which  is  a  riddle  insoluble  to  our  philosophers ! 
What  have  I  to  do  with  such  speculations,  fit  only  to  con- 
fuse the  head  of  a  hungry  Greek  or  a  beggarly  Rabbi?" 
But  he  had  heard  enough  to  convince  him  that  Jesus  had 
no  thought  of  treason  against  Rome,  or  of  stirring  up  a  dis- 
turbance in  the  countiy.  Hardened,  cold,  worldly,  he  felt 
how  awful  goodness  is,  and  would  fain  have  dismissed  One  so 
strangely  different  from  other  men — an  enthusiast,  willing  to 
die  to  make  men  better  I  "  What  kind  of  a  man  is  He  ?  " 
thought  the  Roman.  "  If  He  only  had  not  been  so  ready 
with  His  talk  about  being  a  king  !  But  He  will  do  nothing 
•  to  help  Himself!"  "What  is  Truth?"  said  he,  ironically, 
and  turned  away  without  waiting  an  answer,  for  in  Pilate's 
opinion,  as  in  that  of  most  men  of  his  class  in  that  age, 
18  Lucko,ii.4so.  Truth  was  an  airy  nothing,  a  mere  empty  name.^* 

Neander,  -WO.  .  i       ,  i  ,.  ,   . 

J'.ll'ii:' !?"•  Leaving  Jesus  to  be  brought  out  after  hnn  to  the  tribunal 
again,  he  returned  to  the  accusers  and  the  nudtitude.  Touched 
by  the  prisoner's  self-possession  and  dignity:  half-afraid  of  One 
who  spoke  only  of  Truth,  and  of  other  worlds  than  this  ;  and 
incensed  that  the  hierarchy  should,  for  their  own  ends,  have 
sought  to  palm  off  a  harmless  enthusiast  on  him,  as  a  danger- 
ous traitor ;  he  threw  the  priests  and  Rabbis  into  fierce  con- 
fusion, by  frankly  telling  them  "  that  he  had  examined  Jesus, 
and  found  no  ground  for  any  punishment^^  in  His  thinking 
Himself  the  Messiah,  as  they  called  it."  One  point  in  the  accu- 
sation had  fixiled,  but  it  was  necessary  to  hear  what  might  be 
alleged  besides.  The  accusers  could  easily  see  that,  in  spite 
of  the  admission  of  Jesus  that  He  claimed  to  be  a  kinc 
Pilate  regarded  him  rather  with  pity  than  fear.  More  must 
be  done,  to  fix  on  Him  the  crime  of  being  dangerous  to  the 
State.  The  priests  and  Rabbis  were  greatly  excited.  One 
after  another,  they  sprang  up,  with  charge  on  charge,  to  con- 
firm their  main  accusation.  In  their  fierce  bigotry  and  un- 
measured hatred,  they  had  not  scrupled  to  speak  of  a  purely 
religious  movement  as  a  dark  political  plot,  and  now  they 
were  bold  enough  even  to  adduce  proofs  of  this  treason. 
"  He  has  perverted  women  and  children,  and  has  systemati- 
cally  stirred   up   the   whole   nation   against   Ca^sarj    from 


JESUS  AST)   PILATE.  539 

Galilee  to  Jerusalem  there  is  not  a  town  or  village  in  the  chap,  lxil 
land,  where  He  has  not  won  over  some,  and  filled  them  with 
vdld  exjiectations.  He  has  appealed  to  the  nation  to  join 
His  Kingdom  ;  He  has  spoken  against  paying  the  taxes ;  He 
is  a  second  Judas  the  Gaulonite,  and  you  know  Avhat  his 
career  has  cost  Eome,  in  blood  and  treasure."  The  hypo- 
crites !  They  were  hunting  Jesus  to  death  simply  because 
He  would  not  identify  Himself  with  them,  and  use  His 
supernatural  power  to  drive  out  the  Romans,  and  set  them 
on  the  vacant  throne.-''  They  were  demanding  His  death  =»  i-uke23.4,5. 
on  the  pretext  that  He  had  threatened  to  use  force  to  esta- 
bhsh  His  Kingdom,  when  the  truth  was — His  real  offence,  in 
their  eyes,  was  that  He  would  7iot  use  force  ! 

Such  a  storm  of  accusations  and  suspicions  might  well 
have  led  Pilate  to  expect  some  denial  or  disproofs  from 
Jesus.  He  doubtless  attributed  all  the  difficulty  of  the  situ- 
ation to  His  too  ready  admission  of  His  dreamy  kingship ; 
and,  on  every  ground,  even  for  his  own  sake,  to  clear  him 
from  a  business  that  grew  more  and  more  serious,  hoped  to 
hear  some  defence.  But  Jesus  knew  with  whom  He  had  to 
do.  He  knew  that  His  enemies  were  determined  that  He 
should  die,  and  would  invent  charge  after  charge  till  He  was 
destroyed.  They  had  already  scrupled  at  nothing.  He 
knew  Pilate — fierce,  and  yet  cowardly,  with  no  moral 
force ;  the  tyrant,  and  yet  the  sport  of  the  Jewish  autho- 
rities.-^    The  majesty  of  truth  and  goodness  in  Him  looked  2'  Matt.  27. 

_     J        •'      _  «^  12—14.   Mark 

down  with  a  pitying  disdain  on  the  moral  worthlessness  of  i^-^— '• 
judge  and  accusers  aUke,  and  would  not  stoop  to  utter  even 
a  word  in  His  own  behalf,  before  them.  They  knew  His  life 
and  work,  and  if  the  witness  they  bore  were  of  no  weight, 
He  would  add  no  other.  "  If  /  demand  that  He  answer," 
thought  Pilate,  "  perhaps  He  will  do  so."  "  Do  you  not 
hear,"  said  he,  "  how  many  things  they  accuse  you  of?  Do 
you  make  no  defence  at  all?"  But  Jesus  remained  silent, 
not  uttering  even  a  word.  "A  very  strange  man,"  thought 
Pilate.  He  seemed  to  him  more  than  ever  a  lofty  enthusiast, 
blind  to  His  own  interests,  and  careless  of  life. 

The  word  "  G^\xilee,"  in  the  wild  cries  of  the  priests  and 
Rabbis,  raised  a  new  hope  in  Pilate's  mind.     Antipas  was 


540  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lxii.  now  in  Jerusalem,  at  the  feast.  If  Jesus  were  a  Galila^an, 
it  would  be  a  (graceful  courtesy  to  send  Him  to  be  tried,  as 
a  Galilajan,  before  his  own  prince,  and  would  perhaps  efface 
the  grudge  Antipas  had  at  himself,  for  having  let  loose  his 
soldiers  lately  on  the  Gahla?an  pilgrims  in  the  Temple, 
during  a  disturbance,  and  by  cutting  some  down,  even  at  the 
altar : — a  sore  scandal  in  the  Jewish  world.  It  would,  more- 
over, get  him  clear  of  a  troublesome  matter,  and,  perhaps, 
it  might  even  save  the  strange  man — so  calm,  so  dignified,  in 
circumstances  of  such  weakness  and  humiliation  ;  with  such 
a  look,  as  if  He  read  one's  soul ;  with  such  a  mysterious  air 
of  greatness,  even  in  bonds,  and  in  the  very  face  of  death  by 
the  Cross.  Antipas  Avould  not  likely  yield  to  the  Temple 
pai'ty,  as  he  himself  might  be  forced  to  do,  to  avoid  another 
complaint  to  Rome.  He  no  sooner,  therefore,  heard  that 
Jesus  was  a  Galilajan,  than  he  ordered  Hiih  to  be  transferred 
to  Antipas,  that  he  might  judge  Him  as  such. 

The  old  j^alace  of  the  Asmoneans,  in  which  Antipas  lodged, 
>Lnka23.       was  a  short  way  from  Pilate's  splendid   official  residence.^^ 

^^^  It  lay  a  few  streets  off,  to  the  north-east,  within  the  same  old 

city  wall,  on  the  slope  of  Zion,  the  levelled  crest  of  which 
was  occupied  by  the  vast  palace  of  Herod,  now  the  Roman 
head-quarters.  Both  Avere  in  the  old,  or  upper  city,  and 
through  the  narrow  streets — with  raised  pathways,  and  middle 
sunk  to  prevent  defilement  to  passers-by — Jesus  was  now 
led,  under  escort  of  a  detachment  of  the  Roman  troops  on 
duty.  The  accusers  had  no  choice  but  to  follow,  and  the 
multitude  went  off  with  them,  for  it  was  no  ordinary  sjiec- 
tacle,  to  see  the  high  priest  and  all  the  great  men  of  the  city, 
thus,  in  public,  together. 

The  vassal  king  was  caught  in  Pilate's  snare.  The  flattery 
of  referring  a  GaliLT?an  case  to  him  as  the  GaliUi^an  tetrarch, 
greatly  pleased  him,  and  his  light  superficial  natui'e  was  no 
less  gratified  by  having  One  of  whom  he  had  heard  so  much, 
brought  before  him.  In  his  petty  court,  amidst  all  its  affec- 
tation of  grandeur  and  state,  ennui  hung  like  a  drowsiness 
over  all.  He  had  never  seen  a  miracle,  and  should  like  to 
be  able  to  say  he  had.  It  would  break  the  monotony  of  a 
day,  and  give  an  hour's  languid  talk.     A  prisoner,  in  danger 


JESUS   AND   PILATE.  541 

of  the  Cross,  could  not  refuse  to  humour  him,  if  lie  com-  cilvp.  lsh. 
manded  Him  to  perform  one  !     He  had  been  afraid  of  Jesus 
once,  but  a  miracle-worker  in  chains,  could  be  only,  at  best, 
a  clever  juggler. 

Pilate  liad  taken  his  seat  on  his  tribunal  in  the  grey  dawn, 
and  an  hour  had  passed.  It  was  shortly  after  six,'^^  when  »  Gressweii, 
Antipas,  early  astir,  like  all  Orientals,  heard  the  commotion  s^s- 
in  the  courtyard  of  his  palace,  and  received  word  that  Jesus 
had  been  handed  over  to  his  authority.  A  few  minutes  more, 
and  tlie  prisoner  was  led  into  the  Court  of  Justice  of  the 
palace,  and  presently,  Antipas  made  his  appearance  on  the 
tribunal,  on  which  Jesus  was  also  forthwith  placed. 

The  light,  weak,  crafty,  worthless  man,  was  disposed  to 
be  very  condescending.  He  put  question  after  question  to 
Him ;  whatever  his  idle  curiosity  suggested ;  and  doubtless 
asked  that  a  miracle  might  be  performed  there  and  then.  But 
Jesus  was  no  conjuror  or  "  magus."  He  Avas  ready  to  save 
His  life  by  worthy  means,  but  He  would  not,  for  a  moment, 
stoop  to  anything  unworthy.  The  creature  clad  in  purple 
before  Him  was  the  murderer  of  John  :  the  slave  of  a  wicked 
woman ;  a  mean  adulterer ;  and  would  fain  have  had  His  life, 
as  well  as  that  of  the  Baptist.  Jesus  felt,  therefore,  only 
utter  disdain  for  him,  and  treated  him  with  withering  silence. 
He  might  tire  himself  with  questions,  but  not  a  word  of 
reply  would  be  vouchsafed.  Antipas  began  to  feel  that 
it  was  no  time  to  indulge  his  humour,  and  grew  half- 
alarmed. 

The  high  priests  and  Rabbis,  Caiaphas  at  their  head, 
Avould  gladly  have  turned  the  annoyance  of  the  tetrarch  to 
their  own  account.  When  his  questions  had  ceased,  they 
broke  out  into  vehement  accusations,  forgetful,  in  their  rage, 
of  either  their  office  or  their  self-respect.  But  they,  too, 
were  met  with  the  same  insufferable,  contemptuous  silence, 
which  gave  no  chance  of  fastening  anything  on  their  enemy, 
by  any  admission  of  His  own.  Antipas  was  no  less  at  a  loss 
what  to  do  than  Pilate  had  been.  One  thing,  alone,  he  had 
resolved — he  would  have  no  part  in  (;ondeinniiig  so  mys- 
terious a  man.  Was  he  afraid  of  the  large  following  Jesus 
already  had  in  Galilee  ?     Was  he  spell-bound  and  awed  by 


542 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


those  eyes — that  calmness — that  more  than  kingly  dignity  ? 
Was  he  afraid  of  the  very  power  of  which  he  had  craved  some 
exhibition  ?  ^When  there  was  no  Herodias  at  hand  to  make 
him  the  tool  of  her  revenge,  he  Avas  rather  a  mere  volup- 
tuary, than  cruel.-* 

Treated  so  strangely  before  his  courtiers:  humbled  and 
baffled,  Antipas  covered  his  defeat  and  alarm,  by  an  affecta- 
tion of  contemptuous  ridicule.  The  harmless  fanatical  mad- 
man who  claimed  to  be  a  king,  would  make  a  fine  butt  for 
the  humour  of  his  guard.  Let  them  trick  Him  out  as  a 
king,  and  play  at  homage  to  Him,  and  see  how  He  would 
bear  His  shadowy  dignities !  It  was  a  brave  chance  for  the 
courtiers  to  show  their  manliness  by  mocking  a  helpless 
prisoner !  Antipas  knew,  by  this  time,  Pilate's  opinion  of  the 
accused,  and  suspected  why  he  had  sent  Him.  So,  officer 
and  common  soldier  set  themselves  to  amuse  their  master, 
by  trying  their  wit  on  this  ridiculous  pretender  to  a  crown  ! 
Tired  at  last,  nothing  remained  but  to  send  Him  back  to 
Pilate,  and  let  lain  finish  what  he  had  begun.  Antipas  had 
no  desire  to  meddle  further,  in  what  might  prove  a  very 
troublesome  matter.  Having,  therefore,  put  a  white  robe** 
— the  Jewish  royal  colour,  on  Jesus — as  if  to  show  that  he 
had  no  fear  of  such  a  king, 2''  he  sent  Him  back  to  Pilate. 

Pilate  had  already  made  one  vain  attempt  to  save  Him, 
and  now,  anxious  to  end  the  matter,  summoned  the  accusers 
Mirk  15. 6-  once  more  to  the  tribunal.  A  great  crowd  had  gathered, 
Joimi8.39,4o.  mostly  of  citizens,  hostile  as  such  to  the  alleged  enemy 
of  the  Temple  by  which  they  lived.  Looking  at  Jesus  again 
— standing  before  him  in  the  humble  dress  of  the  people — for 
they  had  already  stripped  Him  of  His  robe  of  mockery: 
— Pilate  noticed  that  he  showed  no  trace  of  fanaticism,  in 
word,  bearing,  or  countenance ;  and  felt  more  than  ever 
convinced  that  He  was  no  rebel  or  dangerous  person.  "  I 
have  examined  this  man,  "  said  he,  "and  nothing  worthy 
of  death  has  been  done  by  Him.  Still  more,  I  sent  Him  to 
Herod,  and  he  is  of  the  same  opinion,  and  he  has  sent  Him 
again  to  me  uncondemned.  But  since  so  much  trouble  has 
been  caused  by  His  fancies,  He  deserves  some  punishment.  I 
shall,  therefore,  order  Him  to  be  scourged  and  then  dismissed. 


Lnke  23.  13— 

25. 

Matt.  27.  15— 


BARABBAS.  543 

It  will  be  a  warning  to  Him."  His  offer  to  scourge  Him  was 
a  mean  salve  to  the  wounded  pride  of  the  hierarchy,  for  his 
refusing  their  demand  for  a  sentence  of  death. 

Meanwhile,  a  cry  arose  in  the  crowd,  which  was  destined 
to  have  momentous  results.  It  was  the  custom  to  carry  out 
capital  sentences  at  the  Feast  times,  that  the  people,  at  large, 
might  get  a  lesson;  but,  it  was  also  the  practice  of  the 
procurators,  in  compliment  to  the  deliverance  of  Israel  from 
the  slavery  of  Egypt,  commemorated  by  the  Passover,  to 
release  any  one  prisoner  condemned  to  death,  whom  the 
multitude  might  name  in  the  Passover  week. 

Coming  forward,  therefore,  and  addressing  both  accusers 
and  people,  Pilate  reminded  them  of  their  custom  that  he 
should  release  a  prisoner,  to  them,  at  the  Passover.  Cries 
instantly  rose,  clamouring  that  he  should  do  so,  as  he  had 
always  done,  and  for  once  the  shouts  pleased  him  ;  for  he 
fancied  that,  this  time,  there  could  be  no  question  who 
should  receive  the  j)ardon.  One  wdio  claimed  to  be  their 
national  king,  and  had  attracted  so  much  notice,  would,  he 
assumed,  be  gladly  accepted.  Coming  forward,  therefore, 
he  called  out  to  the  people,  whether  they  would  like 
"  Jesus,  their  king,"  to  be  the  prisoner  released  to  them  that 
year. 

It  happened  that,  at  this  time,  there  lay,  awaiting  execu- 
tion, one  Barabbas — the  son  of  a  Eabbi  ® — who  had,  ap- 
parently, been  compromised  through  religious  fanaticism, 
in  one  of  the  countless  petty  revolts  which  incessantly 
harassed  the  Romans.  He  Avas  no  common  robber,  but  a 
zealot,  who,  in  mistaken  ardour  for  the  honour  of  the 
Law,  had  taken  part  in  a  tumult,  during  which  some 
Roman  sympathizers  or  soldiere,  had  been  killed. 

The  proposal  of  Pilate  threatened  to  overthrow  the  scheme 
of  the  hierarchy,  and,  unless  opposed  on  the  instant, 
might  catch  the  popular  fancy,  and  be  accepted.  Caiaphas 
and  his  party,  thei-efore,  with  quick  presence  of  mind,  de- 
termined to  turn  attention  from  it,  by  raising  a  counter 
proposal  flattering  to  local  passion.  "  Ask  him  to  release 
Barabbas  to  you,  and  not  this  man,"  shouted  they  to  the 
mob.     It  was  a   dexterous   stroke,  for  Barabbas    had  been 


544 


THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


condemned  for  an  offence  which  made  him  a  martyr  in 
the  eyes  of  the  people.  He  had  risen  against  the  abhorred 
Roman.  He  was  a  patriot,  therefore:  a  zealot  for  the  Temple 
and  the  Law,  while  Jesus  was  the  enemy  of  things  as  they 
were — of  tradition  and  rites ; — and  demanded  reforms. 
Caiaphas  had  no  sympathy  with  the  revolutionary  fierceness 
of  Barabbas,  but  it  made  him  only  too  zealous  on  the  right 
side,  Avhereas  Jesus  was  the  public  accuser  of  the  whole 
priesthood,  and  of  the  schools,  as  well. 

The  cry  for  Barabbas  was,  therefore,  raised  by  the  high 
priests  as  a  cue  to  the  people,  and  repeated  with  such 
vehement  urgency  that,  erelong,  it  was  caught  up  l)y  the 
whole  crowd,  who  were  presently  wild  Avith  excitement  to 
have  "  the  patriot"  released,  instead  of  Jesus.  The  public 
opinion,  or  voice  of -a  nation,  when  the  result  of  free  ex- 
pression of  opposite  judgments,  may  be  the  voice  of  God,  but 
the  voice  of  the  unthinking  multitude,  as  the  outburst  of 
sudden  passion  or  caprice,  seems  often  that  of  Satan.-''  Pilate 
was  not  required  to  give  the  people  their  choice,,  but  had 
fancied  he  might  appeal  to  them  as  against  the  priests 
and  Rabbis,  and  have  their  approval,  as  a  counterpoise  to 
the  opposition  of  their  leaders,  and  a  security  for  himself 
with  the  Emperor.  But  the  high  priests  kept  up  the  cry  for 
Barabbas  so  fiercely,  and  to  Pilate's  regret,  the  multitude 
echoed  it  with  such  a  wild  tumult  of  voices,  that  he  saw  he 
had  failed.  "  Give  us  Barabbas,"  alone  was  heard.  A 
popular  tumult  seemed  rising.  Everything  promised  another 
scene  like  that  of  the  great  deputation  to  Ca3sarea,  about  the 
standards  set  up  in  Jerusalem,  when  the  persistent  cries  of 
the  multitude  were  not  to  be  silenced,  even  by  fear  of  death, 
and  forced  Pilate,  in  the  end,  to  yield. 

To  add  to  the  governor's  perplexity,  he  had  scarcely 
ascended  the  judge's  seat  to  receive  the  decision  of  the 
people,  and  give  his  sentence  in  accord  with  it,  when  a 
message  came  to  him  from  his  wife,  from  the  palace  be- 
hind, which,  under  the  circumstances,  must  have  greatly 
impressed  him.  Since  the  time  of  Augustus,  Roman 
magistrates  had  been  permitted  to  take  their  wives  to  the 
provinces,-''  and  tradition    has    handed   down  the  wife   of 


PILATE  S   WIFE. 


545 


Evang. 
Nicod.  cap.  2, 
Hofmann'3 
Leben  Jesu, 
338—343. 


Pilate — whose  name  it  gives  as  Procla — as  a  pro.selyte  to  chap,  lxil 
Judaisin.'^^  She  had  evidently  heard  of  Jesus,  and,  having 
taken  a  lively  interest  in  Him,  was  greatly  troubled  at 
His  arrest,  and  present  danger.  Her  messenger,  hasten- 
ing to  Pilate's  ear,  now  Avhispered  an  entreaty  from  her. 
that  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  condemning  this 
just  man ;  she  had  suffered  many  things,  through  the 
night,  in  a  dream,  because  of  Him — and  feared  divine 
vengeance  if  He  were  condemned. 

Pilate — guided  only  by  expediency  —  was  at  a  loss 
what  to  do.  Unwilling  to  give  way  to  the  mob,  and  let 
loose  a  fierce  enemy  of  Rome,  instead  of  a  harmless,  and 
evidently  lofty-minded  enthusiast :  certain  that  the  high 
priests  had  accused  Him  only  from  envy  at  His  influence 
with  the  people,  and  hatred  of  Him  for  His  opposition  to 
themselves  :  half  afraid,  moreover,  especially  after  his  wife's 
message,  to  meddle  further  in  the  matter — he,  once  more, 
turned  to  the  croAvd,  who  were  still  shouting — "  Not  this 
man,  but  Barabbas" — and  attempted  to  carry  his  point,  and 
save  Jesus. 

"AVliich  of  the  two,"  cried  he,  "do  you  really  wish  me 
to  release  to  you  ?  "  "  Barabbas,  Barabbas,"  roared  the  mul- 
titude. The  cry  raised  by  the  priests  had  carried  all  before 
it.  "What  shall  I  do  then,"  asked  Pilate,  pale  before  the 
storm,  "  A\-ith  Jesus,  whom  you  call  the  Messiah — the  King 
of  the  Jews?"  He  hoped  that  the  sound  of  titles  so  dear 
to  their  hearts,  and  so  flattering  to  their  pride,  would  have 
some  eftect.     But  he  was  bitterly  deceived. 

For  now,  for  the  first  time,  rose  in  answer  to  him,  the  fear- 
ful word.s — "To  the  Cross!"  "Crucify  Him!  crucify  Him!" 
— the  piiests  and  Rabbis — prelates  and  doctors  of  the  nation 
— on  the  raised  platform  of  the  tribunal,  shouting  first, 
and  the  mob,  below,  presently  re-echoing  them  far  and 
wide. 

Pilate  had  failed  tA^dce,  but  he  still  held  out.  Appealing 
a  third  time  to  the  excited  crowd,  he  strove  to  reason  with 
them — 

"  Wliy  shall  I  crucify  Him?  \yhat  evil  has  He  done ?  He 
has  broken  no  law.     I  have  found  no  cause,  in  anything  He 

VOL.  II.  74 


546  THE   LITE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lxn.  has  done,  to  put  Him  to  death.  I  will,  therefore,  only 
scourge  Him,  and  let  Him  go." 

But  he  knew  not  the  forces  he  was  opposing.  Behind 
the  passions  of  the  priests,  and  Rabbis,  and  people,  were  the 
slowly  self-fulfilling  counsels  of  the  Eternal ! 

The  sea  of  upturned  faces  broke  into  wild  uproar,  once 
more,  and  a  thousand  voices  cried  only,  "  Crucify  Him ! 
crucify  Him !  " 

The  six  days  of   Co3sarea,   when  the  same  crowds   had 

besieged  his  palace,  Avith  the  unbroken  cr}^,  which  not  even 

»  Aiit.sviu.3.1.  imminent    death    could   stilP^ — tlie    six   days,    when   their 

invincible  tenacity  had  forced  him  to  humble  himself  before 

them,  and  let  them  triumph — rose  in  Pilate's  mind. 

"It  will  be  another  uproar  like  that,"  thought  he;  "I  must 
yield  Avhile  I  can,  and  save  myself."  Poor  mockery  of  a 
ruler !  Set  by  the  Etei'nal  to  do  right  on  earth,  and  afraid 
to  do  it:  told  so  by  his  own  bosom:  strong  enough  in  his 
legions,  and  in  the  truth  itself,  to  have  saved  the  Innocent 
One,  and  kept  his  own  soul — he  could  only  think  of  the 
apparently  expedient.  Type  of  the  politician  of  all  ages, 
who  forgets  that  only  the  right  is  the  strong  or  wise ! 

Not  daring,  in  his  weakness,  to  play  the  man,  and  do  right, 
Pilate  was  yet  determined  that  even  those  at  a  distance, 
who  might  not  hear  his  disavowal  of  any  willing  share  in  the 
condemnation  of  Christ,  should  be  made  to  see  it.  To  wash 
the  hands  in  water  is  a  natural  sjonbol,  so  exj^ressive  of  re- 
pudiation of  responsibility,  that  it  had  been  adopted  by  Jews 
and  heathen,  alike.  So  long  before  as  the  days  of  Moses, 
the  elders  of  a  city,  near  which  the  body  of  a  slain  man  had 
been  found,  Avere  required  to  Avash  their  hands  OA^er  a 
slaughtered  heifer,  and  declare  their  innocence.  To  AA'ash  the 
hands  in  innocency  was  already  a  common  expi-ession,  in  the 
•0  ra  88. 6;  days  of  DaAdd,^°  and  it  was  familiar  to  both  Greeks  and 
Romans.  Calling,  therefore,  for  Avater,  Pilate  Avent  toAvards 
his  official  chair,  and  AA'ith  significant  gestures,  Avashed  his 
hands,  calling  aloud  as  he  did  so,  "  that  as  his  hands  Avere 
clean  before  them,  so  Avas  he  himself,  of  all  guilt  in  the  blood 
of  this  man.  It  is  on  you ;  }'ou  may  ansAver  for  it  as  you 
best  can !  " 


JESUS   SCOTJEGED,  547 

"  Yes  !  yes!  "  cried  the  furious  priests  and  rabble,  "  will-  chap.  lsh. 
ingly  !  we  and  our  children  will  take  the  blame !     His  blood 
be  on  us,  and  our  children,  if  He  be  slain  unjustly." 

"  Then  you  may  have  His  blood,"  thought  Pilate ;  "  I 
have  done  my  best  to  save  Him !  "  So  do  men  deceive 
themselves,  as  if  they  could  wash  their  conscience  clean  as 
easily  as  their  hands !  They  fancy  they  have  done  their 
utmost  for  their  acknowledged  duty,  when  they  have  not 
done  precisely  the  first  indispensable  and  decisive  act. 
They  weary  themselves,  toiling  along  a  thousand  crooked 
ways,  which  cannot  lead  them  to  their  end,  and  turn  aside 
only  from  the  path  of  unhesitating,  immovable,  right — the 
way  nearest  to  them,  and  the  shortest,  after  all  !^^  31  pining,  ui 

The  Innocent  One  had  gained  nothing  but  evil  by  all  the 
windings  and  doublings  of  the  scheming  and  trimming 
Roman.  Pilate  had  proposed  as  a  compromise  with  His 
accusers,  to  save  His  life,  by  delivering  Him  over  to  the 
shame  and  agony  of  scourging,  though  He  had,  confessedly, 
done  nothing  amiss.  He  was,  now,  to  be  both  scourged  and 
crucified. 

Victims  condemned  to  the  cross  first  underwent  the 
hideous  torture  of  the  scourge,  and  this  was,  forthwith, 
inflicted  on  Jesus.  Pilate,  in  person,  commanded  it  to  be 
carried  out.  "  Go,  bind  His  hands,  and  let  Him  be  beaten," 
was  the  order  for  this  terrible  prelude  to  crucifixion. 

Roman  citizens  were  still  exempted,  by  various  laws,  from 
this  agonizing  and  painful  punishment,  which  was  employed 
sometimes  to  elicit  confessions,  sometimes  as  a  substitute  for 
execution,  and,  at  others,  as  the  first  step  in  capital  sentences. 
It  was  in  full  use  in  the  provinces,  and  lawless  governors 
did  not  scruple  to  enforce  it  even  on  Roman  citizens,  in  spite 
of  their  protests  that  they  were  so.^"^  Jesus  was  now  seized  3?  LiT.1.9.  cic. 
by  some  of  the  soldiers  standing  near,  and,  after  being 
stripped  to  the  waist,  was  bound  in  a  stooping  posture.  His 
hands  behind  His  back,  to  a  post,  or  low  pillar,  near  the 
tribunal.  He  was  then  beaten  till  the  soldiers  chose  to  stop, 
with  knots  of  rope,  or  plaited  leather  thongs,  armed  at  the 
ends  with  acorn-shaped  drops  of  lead,  or  small,  sharp-pointed 
bones.     In  many  cases  not  only  was  the  back  of  the  pereon 


Verr.  t. 

63. 

Sen.  It. 

iii.l3. 

Matt.  27 

.  26— 

30. 

Mark  15, 

.  lo— 

19. 

Juhn  19. 

1—3. 

548 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


ciL\pj.xii.  scourged,  cut  open  in  all  directions :  even  the  eyes,  the  face, 
and  the  breast,  were  torn  and  cut,  and  the  teeth  not  seldom 
knocked  out.  The  judge  stood  by,  to  stimulate  the  sinewy 
executioners,  by  cries  of  "  Give  it  him  " — but  we  may  trust 
that  Pilate,  though  his  office  required  his  presence,  spared 
himself  this  crime. 

Under  the  fury  of  the  countless  stripes,  the  victims  some- 
times sank,  amidst  screams,  convulsive  leaps,  and  distortions, 
into  a  senseless  heap  :  sometimes  died  on  the  spot :  sometimes, 
were  taken  away  an  unrecognizable  mass  of  bleeding  flesh, 
to  find  deliverance  in  death,  from  the  inflammation  and  fever, 
»  Kcim,  iii.  3(11.  sickness  and  shame.^^ 

Arts.  "Leibea-         _, 

wto«  Md  ^  ""^  scourging  of  Jesus  was  of  the  severest,  for  the  soldiers 
sepT?i.239,  employed  as  lictors,  in  the  absence  of  these  special  officials, 
who  were  not  allowed  to  procurators,  only  too  gladly  vented 
on  any  Jew  the  grudge  they  bore  the  nation,  and  they 
would,  doubtless,  try  if  tJiey  could  not  force  out  the  con- 
fession, which  His  silence  had  denied  to  the  governor. 
Besides,  He  was  to  be  crucified,  and  the  harder  the  scourging 
the  less  life  would  there  be  left,  to  keep  them  on  guard  at 
the  cross,  afterwards.  "What  He  must  have  endured  is 
pictured  to  us  by  Eusebius  in  the  epistle  of  the  Church  in 
Smyrna.  "All  around  were  horrified  to  see  them  (the 
martyrs),"  says  he,  "  so  torn  with  scourges  that  their  very 
veins  were  laid  bare,  and  the  inner  muscles  and  sinews,  and 
M  EoBebius,      even  the  very  bowels,  exposed."^* 

The  scourging  over — Pilate,  as  his  office  required,  standing 
by,  to  hear  any  confession  that  might  be  made, — Jesus  was 
formally  delivered  over  to  a  military  officer  with  the  autho- 
rization to  see  Him  crucified.  He  had  been  scourged  in  the 
open  grounds  before  the  palace  gate,  close  to  the  tribunal, 
but  Avas  now  led,  still  half-naked;  with  painful,  bleeding 
steps,  into  the  inner  court  of  the  palace,  in  which,  as  the 
trial  Avas  over,  the  Avhole  cohort — no  longer  needed  out- 
side— Avas  massed,  to  be  ready  for  any  attempt  at  rescue. 
His  guards  noAv  put  some  of  His  clothes^  on  the  quivering 
body.  For  this  His  OAvn  humble  under  garments  contented 
them,  in  part,  but  the  brutal  humour  of  the  guard-room  Avas 
free  to  vent  itself  on  a  condemned  man,  and  the  lofty  claims 


THE  CEOWN    OF  THORNS.  549 

of  Christ,  and  His  hated  nationality,  excited  it  to  the  keenest. 
Instead  of  His  plain  abba  of  linen,  therefore,  they  threw 
over  His  shoulders  a  scai-let  sagum,  or  soldier's  cloak — as  a 
rough  burlesque  of  the  long  and  fine  purple  one,  worn 
only  by  the  Emjieror.  One  of  them,  running  to  the  nearest 
open  space,  heightened  the  coarse  and  shameful  merriment 
by  bringing  in  some  of  the  tough  twigs  of  the  thorny  Nubk, 
which  he  twisted  into  a  mock  laurel  wreath,  like  that  worn 
at  times  by  the  Ciesars,  and  forced  down,  Avith  its  close 
sharp  thorns,  on  our  Saviour's  temples.  The  Nubk  even 
3'et  groAvs,  on  dwarf  bushes,  outside  the  walls  of  Jerusalem.^^  3; 
A  fit  mockery  of  a  sceptre,  to  complete  the  ridicule,  was  at 
hand,  in  one  of  the  long  reeds,  used  in  many  ways  in  Jewish 
houses,  and  hence  easily  procured.  Placed  in  His  hand, 
the  mock  king  had  a  sceptre  !  It  only  remained  to  pay  Him 
a  show  of  homage,  and  this  they  did,  with  mock  oaths  of 
allegiance,  on  their  knees,  saluting  Him,  "Hail,  King  of 
the  Jews."  The  courtyard  rang  with  peals  of  laughter. 
Some  of  the  more  brutal  could  not,  however,  let  things  pass 
so  lightly.  He  was  a  Jew  ;  He  had  claimed  to  be  a  king, 
in  opposition,  as  they  fancied,  to  the  Emperor,  and  He  was 
about  to  be  crucified.  So  they  indulged  their  coarseness 
by  teai'ing  the  stout  cane-like  reed  from  His  hands,  and 
striking  Him  with  it  over  the  face  and  head.  Others  struck 
Him  rudely  with  their  fists  :  some,  in  their  contempt,  even 
spitting  on  Him  as  they  did  so.  The  scourging  had  lasted 
till  the  soldiers  had  pleased  to  end  it,  and  now,  their  un- 
speakable brutality  was  left  to  wear  itself  out. 

This  long  passage  of  insult  and  mockery  was  one  of  the 
sorest  trials  of  these  last  sad  hours.  Yet  through  the  whole 
no  complaint  escaped  His  lips.  He  was  being  insulted,  mal- 
treated, and  mocked,  as  a  Jew,  while  already  agonized  by 
the  scourging ;  but  if  His  tormentors  had  known  it,  it  was 
because  the  Jews  hated  Him  He  stood  where  He  did.  They 
ridiculed  His  claim  to  the  monarchy  of  the  world ;  but  had 
the  soldiery  known  the  truth,  it  was  because  He  had  ojaposed 
the  Jewish  dream  of  such  a  monarchy  that  He  was  being 
put  to  death. 

No  murmur  rose  from  Him.     He  might  have  spoken,  or 


550  THE  LITE   OF   CHRIST. 

OHAP.  Lsii.  sighed,  or  im^^lored  the  pity  of  the  soldiery :  He  might  have 
appealed  to  their  honour  and  compassion.  A  heart  beats 
even  in  the  roughest  bosom.  But  He  was  silent — silent,  not 
because  the  waves  of  His  sorrows  had  overwhelmed  Him, 
but  in  triumphant  superiorit}'  to  them.  He  had  been  bowed 
and  crushed  in  Gethsemane,  but  now,  He  showed  the  serene 
joy  of  a  conqueror.  His  silence  was  a  mark  of  His  perfect 
child-like  resignation  to  the  will  of  His  Father.  He  was 
fulfilling,  b}^  His  calm  endurance,  the  work  of  His  life,  in 
accordance  with  the  eternal  counsels  of  God,  and  in  holy 
love  for  His  nation  and  the  world.  His  kingly  spirit  was 
clouded  to  human  eyes  by  pain  and  agony,  but  the  end  of 
His  life  and  death  shone  out  ever  more  triumphantly  before 
Him.  He  was  dying  to  destroy  for  ever  the  dead  and  death- 
causing  ritualism  of  the  past ;  as  the  founder  of  a  religion  of 
love  and  freedom  and  light ;  and  as  the  atoning  sacrifice  for 
the  sins  of  the  world,  wliich  would  open  the  gates  of  mercy 
to  man  for  evermore  ! 

Pilate  had,  apparently,  retired  into  the  palace  for  a  time, 
but  now  re-appeared ;  lu'ged,  perhaps,  by  his  wife  Procla,  to 
make  one  more  effort  to  save  Jesus.  He  might  have  pre- 
vented the  pitiful  coarseness  of  the  soldiers  had  he  pleased, 
and  the  scourging  itself  was  an  injustice,  by  his  own  con- 
fession. He  now  ordered  Him  to  be  brought  out  once  more, 
tottering  with  j^ain  and  weakness,  wearing  the  scarlet  cloak 
and  the  crown  of  thorns,  and  covered  besides  with  the  vile 
proofs  of  contempt  and  violence.  Even  the  stony  heart  of 
Pilate  was  touched. 

"  Behold,"  said  he,  "  I  have  brought  Him  out  to  you 
John  19. 4-10.  again,  that  you  may  know,  once  more,  that  I  have  found  no 
fault  in  Him."  Then,  turning  to  the  figure  at  his  side, 
di'a^vn  together  Avith  mortal  agony,  and  looking  at  the 
pale,  worn,  and  bleeding  face,  through  which  there  yet 
shone  a  calm  dignity  and  more  than  human  beauty  that 
had  touched  his  heart,  and  might  touch  even  the  heart  of 
Jews,  he  added — "  Behold  the  man  !"  Would  they  let  the 
scourging  and  mockery  suffice,  after  all? 

But  religious  hatred  is  the  fiercest  of  all  passions.  Jesus 
had  been  sleepless  thi'ough  the  night :  worn  Avith  anticipa- 


"  CRUCIFY   HIM  !  "  551 

tions  of  the    terrible  future,  and  witli  the  sadness  of   an  chap,  lxu. 
infinite  sorrow  :  disfigured  by  the  la"\\'less  treatment  of  the 
palace-yard,  and  bowed  by  the  torture  of  the  scourging;  and 
now  stood,  utterly  exhausted,  before  all  eyes — yet  a  form 
demanding  reverence. 

But  the  priests  were  unmoved.  What  revenge  would 
satisfy  their  hatred  so  long  as  still  more  could  be  had  ?  The 
sight  of  their  victim  redoubled  their  ferocity.  Forgetful 
of  their  profession  and  dignity,  the  chief  priests — the  pri- 
mate and  prelates  of  the  day — their  servants  and  the  ser- 
vile crowd  echoing  their  cry — answered  the  Procurator's 
appeal  only  by  loud  shouts  of  "  Crucify!     Crucify  !" 

"  Take  ye  Him,  then,  and  crucify  Him,  if  it  must  be  so," 
answered  Pilate.  "  I  have  found  Him  blameless  of  any 
offence  against  Roman  law  for  which  I  could  condemn  Him," 
As  if  he  wished  to  say — "  I  will  not  be  your  mere  tool !" 

The  first  accusation  had  therefore  failed,  and  was  dropped. 
But  the  priests  were  determined  to  have  His  life,  and  forth- 
with demanded  it  on  a  new  ground. 

"  He  shall  not  escape  with  life  !"  cried  their  spokesman. 
"  If  He  has  committed  no  crime  worthy  of  death  by  Roman 
law,  we  have  a  Jewish  law  which  He  has  outraged,  and  by 
this  law  He  must  die.  He  has  claimed  to  be  the  Son  of 
God — the  Messiah — which  He  is  not,  and  for  that,  by  our 
law,  which  we  only  can  or  dare  decide,  and  which  thou 
hast  sworn  to  uphold.  He  deserves  death  ; — death  b)^  stoning, 
in  any  case ;  death  by  the  cross,  if  thou  allowest  it.  Thou  art 
bound  to  uphold  our  decision,  and  confirm  our  sentence." 

Thousands  y\'ere  eager,  now  that  the  high  priests  had 
roused  their  fanaticism,  to  put  Jesus  to  death,  with  Pilate's 
permission  or  without.^''  The  zealots  would  do  it  as  a  meri-  m  Acts  23. 12. 
torious  act.  But  such  an  outbreak  Pilate  dreaded.  He 
would,  therefoi'e,  have  yielded  without  hesitation,  but  even 
to  his  frivolous  soul  there  was  an  ominous  sound  in  the 
name  "  Son  of  God."  Mio;ht  he  be  braving  the  wrath  of 
the  gods,  and  what,  compared  to  that,  was  the  utmost  these 
wretched  Jews  could  do? 

The  irresolute  man — with  no  force  of  character,  and  too 
unprincipled  to  be  an  upright  judge,  if  the  right  were  not 


552  THE   LIFE    OP   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lxii.  first  of  all,  politic — was  alarmed.  "Perhaps,"  tliought  he, 
"if"  he  brought  Jesus  before  him,  privately,  once  more,  away 
out  of  the  dilemma  would  present  itself."  There  was  also 
that  dream  of  Procla's  to  frighten  him. 

Retiring,  therefore,  into  the  palace,  he  ordered  Jesus  to  be 
set  before  him  again. 

"What  was  that  they  said,"  asked  he,  "about  Thy  being 
the  Son  of  God  ?  Whence  comest  Thou  ?  Art  Thou  of 
human  birth  or  more  ?" 

No  answer  which  could  have  revealed  the  mystery  of  His 
nature  was  possible  at  such  a  time.  Anything  He  might 
have  said,  however  clear,  would,  moreover,  have  been  unintel- 
ligible to  the  heathen  governor,  Avith  his  utter  want  of 
moral  earnestness,  and  would  have  been  fruitless.  Jesus 
therefore  remained  silent.  Pilate  had  abundant  means  of 
judging  froni  the  past,  and,  besides,  it  was  no  question  of 
birth  or  origin,  but  a  simple  matter  of  uprightness  he  was 
called  on  to  decide.  If  his  prisoner  were  innocent,  he  had 
a  right  to  be  set  free,  whoever  He  might  be. 

Pilate's  pride  was  touched  by  the  silence.  His  momentary 
tenderness  turned  into  lowering  passion ;  for  power,  when  it 
feels  itself  in  the  wrong,  is  the  more  ready  to  drown  con- 
science by  violence  towards  the  weakness  it  outrages.  "  Do 
you  refuse  to  answer  Me  ?  "  he  asked,  in  flashing  anger.  "  Do 
you  not  know  that  your  life  is  in  my  hands,  and  hangs  on  my 
nod  ?  that  I  can  crucify,  or  release  Thee  at  my  pleasure '?" 

Had  he  l)een  self-jDossessed  at  the  moment,  and  able  to 
ponder  things  aright,  he  would  have  seen  an  answer  to  his 
question,  even  in  Christ's  silence.  For  it  is  certain  that  He 
in  whose  lips  no  deceit  was  ever  found,  would,  on  the  instant, 
have  honourably  confessed  that  He  was  only  a  man,  had  He 
been  no  more.  His  very  silence  was  a  testimony  to  His 
^' LUckc,  ii.  484.  diviuc  dignity.^" 

But  He  was  now  no  longer  silent.  "  You  have  indeed," 
said  He,  "power  over  me,  but  you  would  have  none  were  it 
not  given  you  from  above,  from  God.  But  your  sin,  though 
great,  in  condemning  me  against  your  conscience,  and  exer- 
cising on  me  the  power  granted  you  by  God,  is  not  so  great 
as  that  of  othei's ;  for  you  are  only  an  instrument  in  His 


Pilate's  fears.  553 

hands  to  cany  out  His  counsels.     The  chief  guilt  lies  ou    cilvp.  lso. 

those  -who  have  delivered  me  to  you  to  force  you  to  carry 

out  their  will  against  me.     Theirs  is  the  greater  sin!"    Even 

in  His  lowliest  humiliation,  He  is  tender  and  pitiful  to  the 

man  who  has  done  Him  so  much  wrong,  and  bears  Himself 

towards  Him,  Roman  governor  though  He  be,   as   if  He 

were  the  judge  and  Pilate  the  prisoner.     He  has  nothing  to 

say   of   His   own    agonies    or  wrongs,   but  only  Avarning 

earnestness  at  the  thought  of  the  sin  that  was  being  wrought 

by  men  against  their  own  souls. 

The  words,  and  the  whole  bearing  of  Jesus,  struck  into 
the  heart  of  the  Roman.  Presence  of  mind  and  self-respectful 
dignity,  even  in  the  most  helpless  victim  of  injustice,  have 
an  irresistible  power  over  the  oppressor.  How  much  more 
such  a  unique  grandeur  as  diiFused  itself  round  this  myste- 
rious man !  Pilate  was  more  than  ever  resolved  to  release 
Him.  Returning  once  again  to  the  tribunal,  Jesus  at  his 
side,  he  strove  to  bring  the  priests  and  the  crowd  to  content 
themselves  with  what  their  victim  had  already  suffered. 

But  the  priests  and  Rabbis  had  hit  upon  a  new  terror  for 
the  half-righteous  judge.  Hardly  waiting  to  hear  his  first 
words,  they  raised  a  cry  which  they  and  the  mob  kept  shout- 
ing till  Pilate  was  thoroughly  alarmed  and  unnerved.  "  If 
you  let  this  man  go,  you  are  not  true  to  Cajsar.  Any  one  that 
makes  Himself  a  king,  as  He  has  done,  declares  Himself 
against  Cajsar." 

Pilate  knew  the  iealous,  suspicious  character  of  Tiberius, ^^  ^  snet.Tib.  5s. 

•'  ■  -t  _  _       '  Tacit.  Ann.  iii. 

and  feared  his  displeasure  the  more,  because  his  conscience  '*• 
told  him  how  he  had  abused  his  office  by  every  form  of 
tyranny,  so  that  an  appeal  to  Rome  might  well  be  fatal  to 
him.  Should  he  expose  himself  to  the  displeasure  of  the 
Emperor  ?  He  was  ready  for  any  act  of  weak  unrighteousness, 
rather  than  brave  a  censure  from  Caprtea,  far  less  the  risk  of 
its  vengeance.  He,  doubtless,  tried  to  make  himself  believe 
that  he  could  not,  in  any  case,  save  Christ's  hfe,^^  and »  john  19. 7. 
flattered  himself  that  he  had  acted  with  exceptional  up- 
rightness. He  must,  after  all,  look  to  himself,  first.  Would 
he  bring  down  on  himself  a  recall ;  perhaps  banishment,  or 
even  worse ;  to  save  a  Jew,  because  justice  demanded  his 


554  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lsji.  doing  SO?  "Who,"  doubtless  thought  the  mere  politician, 
"  in  my  position,  would  dream  of  committing  such  a  folly  ? 
Shall  I  sacrifice  myself  for  any  one  ?     No!" 

Furious  at  the  j^riesthood  and  the  rabble,  who  kept  shout- 
ing the  hateful  insinuation  that  clemency  would  be  treason 
to  Ca3sar,  Pilate  once  more  took  his  official  seat.  It  was, 
now,  about  nine  o'clock,s  and  he  had  at  last  given  way, 
though  with  bitter  mortification.  He  would  not,  even  yet, 
however,  surrender  without  one  more  efi^ort  to  cany  his 
point,  for  he  was  alarmed  alike  at  Jesus  and  at  the  Emperor. 

Turning  to  Jesus,  still  wearing  the  crown  of  thorns  and 
the  scarlet  cloak — in  a  burst  of  unconcealed  contempt  against 
the  Jews,  as  impolitic  as  it  was  useless,  he  cried — "  Behold 
your  king  ! "  The  only  answer  was  a  hurricane  of  cries — 
"  Away  with  Him,  away  Avith  Him,  crucify  Him  ! "  "  What! " 
cried  Pilate,  with  keen  wthering- mockery — "shall  I  crucify 
your  king  ?  "  As  if  to  say  that  one  so  humiliated  and  out- 
cast was  all  the  king  they  deserved  or  could  shoAv. 

Caiaphas  and  Hannas,  and  the  group  round  them,  were, 
however,  more  than  a  match  for  him.  They  had  an  ansAver 
ready  which  would  force  his  hand,  if  he  had  any  thought  of 
still  holding  out.  "  We  have  no  king  but  CiBsar,"  rose  all 
round  him — "  we  want  no  other  king  !"  "  The  hypocrites," 
doubtless,  thought  Pilate, "  Avith  the  souls  of  slaves.  Tiberius, 
himself,  has  not  yet  A'entured  to  call  himself  king,  or  Lord, 
and  these,  his  mortal  enemies;  priests  too,  pretending  to  be  the 
heads  of  religion,  pay  him  homage  as  king,  Avithout  being 
asked,  only  to  force  me,  by  their  pi-etended  loyalty,  to  carry 
out  their  revenge  against  one  so  much  better  thanthemseh^es." 

It  was  Friday;  and  Sabbath — on  which  nothing  could  be 
done — began  at  sunset.  If  the  execution  Avere  delayed, 
ncAv  difficulties  might  rise  to  saA^e  JcAvish  scruples  about  the 
desecration  of  the  holy  day,  by  the  exposure,  during  it,  of 
bodies  on  the  cross.  Who,  moreoA'-er,  could  tell  Avhat  might 
foUoAv,  if  the  folloAvers  of  Jesus  rose  against  His  enemies, 
during  this  respite,  to  force  a  release  of  their  Teacher? 
Besides,  PUate  felt  he  could  not  iioav  save  Him,  and  Avished 
the  Avhole  matter  OA^er  as  soon  and  as  quietly  as  possible. 

He,  therefore,  at  last,  gave  the  final  order  for  crucifixion. 


JUDAS — THE   CRUCIFIXION.  55.5 


CHAPTER  LXIIT. 

JUDAS— THE  CRUCIFIXION. 

A]\IONG  the  spectators  of  the  trial  and  condemnation,  was  oHAPJLxra. 
one  who  was  far  enough  from  j  oining  in  the  cries  of  the 
high  priests,  and  their  satellites, — Judas  Iscariot.  ^  AYhatever '  Maw.  27.^3-^ia 
might  have  been  his  thoughts  while  sustained  by  excitement, 
he  had  no  sooner  seen  Jesus  led  away  by  the  Roman  soldiers 
from  the  garden,  than  all  changed.  The  excitement  was 
over — the  Avhirlwind  of  evil  on  which  his  spirit  had  for  the 
time  ridden,  was  spent,  and  in  its  place  had  come  the  awful 
calm  of  retrospect  and  reflection.  He  was  no  longer  needed 
by  his  emploj-ers,  and  found  himself,  lately  so  flattered  and  ' 
followed,  now  cast  ignominiously  aside,  as  the  traitor  he 
was.  The  great  moon,  the  silent  night,  his  loneUness,  after 
such  agitation,  the  sudden  breaking  up  of  the  past,  the  vision 
of  the  three  years  now  so  tragically  ended  ;  echoes  and  re- 
membrances of  the  love  and  divine  goodness  of  the  ]\Iaster 
he  had  betrayed ;  a  sudden  realization  of  the  infinite  future  ; 
with  its  throne,  its  unerring  Judge, — the  assembled  uni- 
verse, the  doom  of  the  guilty,  and  the  joy  of  the  faithful, 
acted  and  reacted  on  his  heart  and  brain. 

It  may  be  he  had  stood,  pale  with  remorse  and  anxiety, 
through  all  the  incidents  of  the  trial,  hoping,  against  hope, 
that  his  Master  would  at  last  put  forth  His  supernatural 
power,  and  deliver  Himself,  as  perhaps  he  had  expected. 
It  is  quite  possible  that  Judas  had  acted  as  he  had  done,  to 
precipitate  a  crisis,  and  force  Jesus  to  such  a  display  of  His 
power,  as  Avould,  even  against  His  will,  force  on  Him  the 
assumption  of  the  worldly  Messianic  dignity,  from  Avhich 
the  unhappy  fallen  man  had  dreamed  of  pohtical  greatness, 
and  rich  official  state  for  himself 


556  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

OHAP.  Lxni.  To  liis  unspeakable  liorror,  he  had  found  all  his  calcula- 
tions miscarry.  Perhaps  ai'ter  waiting  amongst  the  crowd 
before  Pilate,  as  well  as  at  the  gate  of  the  high  priest,  he 
had  heard  the  shouts  of  the  priests  and  the  mob, — the  sound 
of  the  knout  falling  on  the  bleeding  back — the  awful  demand 
for  The  Cross — that  image  of  lowest  degradation  and 
extremcst  agony — and  last  of  all,  the  fatal  utterance  of 
Pilate — "  I,  miles,  expedi  crucem," — "  Go,  soldier,  prepare 
the  cross."  They  had  fallen  in  a  Sodom-like  fire-rain  on  his 
soul,  and  he  felt  himself  already  the  accursed  of  time  and 
eternity.  The  light  of  life  passed  into  the  darkness  visible 
of  despair.  "Which  way  he  looked  was  hell ;  himself  was 
hell. 

Hurrying  to  the  Temple  with  his  wi-etched  gain,  for  which 
he  had  Ijartered  away  his  inheritance  of  one  of  the  twelve 
thrones  of  the  resurrection,  and  an  apostle's  glory  here,  in 
the  heavenly  kingdom  his  Master  had  founded, — he  sought 
to  thrust  it  back  again  on  the  priests  from  whom  he  liad 
got  it,  as  the  wages  of  his  guilt — paid  beforehand,  to 
quicken  his  zeal.  But  though  willing  to  prop  up  their 
Temple  sjstem  by  murder,  they  would  on  no  account,  com- 
promise their  own  ceremonial  purity,  or  that  of  the  sacred 
treasury,  by  taking  back  the  coin,  which  they  themselves 
had  polluted,  by  paying  it  as  the  price  of  crime.  They 
could  see  the  stain  of  the  blood  on  the  shekels,  but  not  on 
their  OAvn  souls.  Judas  had  served  their  purpose,  and  was 
nothing  to  them  noAv.  He  had  in  his  agony  pressed  into 
the  veiy  court  of  the  priests,  where  they  were  gathered — 
gi'ound  sacred  to  consecrated  feet.  "  Would  they  do  nothing 
yet,  to  save  his  blaster  ?  He  had  not  expected  they  would 
go  to  such  awful  extremes.  Jesus  was  innocent.  All  he  had 
said  against  Him  was  untrue.  Would  they  not  for  their 
holy  office  sake,  for  the  sake  of  the  holy  spot  on  which  they 
then  were,  undo  the  awful  crime  ?  " 

He  might  as  well  have  spoken  to  the  marble  pavement  ©n 
which  they  stood,  with  bare  feet,  in  reverence  of  the  Holy  of 
Holies  close  by.  The  stone  Avas  not  more  impassive  than 
their  hearts.  "What  is  it  to  us,"  answered  they,  "what  you 
have  done  ?     That  is  your  own  affair.     See  you  to  it."     But 


SUICIDE   OF  JUDAS.  557 

if  he  could  not  move  them,  he  could  at  least  clear  himself,  charlxhi. 
so  far,  by  casting  back  among  them  the  money  with  which 
they  had  hired  him.^  Throwing  it  down  on  the  pavement,  =  ^attw^i-io. 
therefore,  he  went  out,  perhaps  in  the  darkness  of  early  morn- 
ing— for  possibly  he  did  not  wait  for  the  last  acts  of  the 
trial,  but  had  been  overwhelmed  by  the  condemnation  of 
Jesus  by  the  Jewish  authorities — and  hanged  himself  in  a 
spot  of  ground,  till  then  known  as  the  clay -yard  of  a  potter  of 
the  toAvn,  but  thenceforth  as  the  Field  of  Blood.  Nor  was 
even  this  the  end,  for  the  cord  by  which  he  had  sus- 
pended himself  gave  way,  and  he  fell  beneath,  ruptured  and 
revolting. 

To  put  money,  defiled  from  any  cause,  into  the  treasury 
was  unlawful.  To  what  could  the  authorities  apply  it? 
How,  better,  than  to  buy  the  worn-out  clay  pit,  already  de- 
filed by  the  suicide  of  Judas,  for  the  further  defilement  of  a 
graveyard.  There  was  need  of  a  spot  in  which  to  "bury 
foreign  Jews,  who  might  die  in  Jerusalem.  So  the  scene 
of  the  traitor's  death  became  doubly  a  "field  of  blood."  ^ 

Meanwhile,  preparations  were  being  rapidly  made  for 
crucifixion.^  3  Matt  27. 

Death  by  the  cross  was  the  most  terrible  and  the  most    waTk  15. 

•!  ...    1  20—28. 

dreaded  and  shameful  punishment  of  antiquity — a  punish- 
ment, the  very  name  of  which,  Cicero  tells  us,  should  never 
come  near  the  thoughts,  the  eyes,  or  ears,  of  a  Roman  citi- 
zen, far  less  his  person.*     It  was  of  Eastern  origin,  and  had*  ProEabwo, 
been  in  use  among  the  Persians  and  Carthaginians,^  long  5  Herod,  iii.  12s 
before  its  employment  in  Western  countries.     Alexander  the 
Great  adopted  it  in  Palestine,  from  the  Phenicians,  after 
the  defence  of  Tyre,  which  he  punished  by  crucifying  two 
thousand  citizens,  when  the  place  surrendered.*'     Crassus «  curtina,  vm. 
signalized  its  introduction  into  Roman  use  by  lining  the 
road  from  Capua  to  Rome  with  crucified  slaves,  captured 
in  the  revolt  of  Spartacus,^  and  Augustus  finally  inaugurated '  pun.  Ep.x.3s. 
its  general  use,  by  crucifying  six  thousand  slaves  at  once,  in 
Sicily,  in  his  suppression  of  the  war  raised  by  Sextus  Pom- 

peiuS.*  ^  BOro3.vi.l8. 

It  was  not  a  Jewish  punishment,  for  the  cases  mentioned 
in  the  Old  Testament  of  "hanging  up"  criminals  or  oftenders 


20—28.    Lake 
23.  26—38. 
John  13. 
16—22. 


558  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

oHAP.Lxm.  refer  only  to  their  dead  bodies,"''  or  were  imitations  of 
'fiMai)^.^"'  t^^  heathen  custom  by  some  of  the  kings.  For  Jews  to 
crucify  a  Jew,  indeed,  would  have  been  impossible,  as  the 
national  sentiment  would  have  revolted  from  it.  The  cruelty 
of  heathenism  had  to  be  called  in  by  the  corrupt  and 
sunken  priesthood,  before  such  a  death  could  be  inflicted  on 
anj'  member  of  the  nation,  far  less  on  one  declared  by  the 
10  Ewaid,Gesch.  Procurator  himself  to  be  innocent.^"  It  was  the  punishment 
inflicted  by  heathenism,  which  knew  no  compassion  or 
reverence  for  man  as  man, — on  the  worst  criminals,  on  high- 
way robbers,  rebels,  and  slaves,  or  on  provincials  who,  in  the 
eyes  of  Rome,  were  only  slaves,  if  they  fell  into  crime. 

The  cross  used  at  Calvary  consisted  of  a  strong  post, 
which  was  carried  beforehand  to  the  place  of  execution,  and 
of  two  cross  pieces,  borne  to  the  spot  by  the  victim,  and 
afterwards  nailed  to  the  uj^rights  so  that  they  slanted  for- 
ward, and  let  the  suflFerer  lean  on  his  stretched  out  hands, 
"  Ewaid, Gesch.  and  thus  rclievc  the  pressure  of  his  body  downwards.^^  A 
paitt'iii  235  stout  rough  wooden  pin,  in  the  middle  of  the  upriglit  post, 
A?cSog1o,  supplied  a  seat  of  fitting  agony,  for  the  weight  of  the  body 
E.W.B., '°°'^'  would  otherwise  have  torn  it  from  the  cross. 
is^°rt  298  While  everything  was  being  jjrepared,  Jesus  was  exposed 
in  the  guard-room,  once  more,  to  the  insults  of  the  soldiery. 
At  last,  however,  all  was  ready,  and  the  scarlet  cloak  was 
now  removed,  and  His  own  linen  abba  replaced.  It  was  the 
custom,  as  I  have  said,  for  offenders  themselves  to  carry  the 
transverse  pieces  of  their  cross,  and  these,  therefore,  were  now 
laid  on  the  shoulders  of  Jesus,  faint  as  HeAvas  with  mental  and 
bodily  distress.  A  detachment  of  the  cohort  which  had 
been  massed  in  the  court  of  the  palace,  in  case  of  dis- 
turbance, was  told  ofi^  under  a  centurion  to  guard  the 
procession  to  the  place  of  death,  the  officer  being  responsible 
for  the  due  execution  of  the  sentence.  Jesus  was  not,  hoAv- 
ever,  to  die  alone.  Two  more  prisoners  were  brought  out 
to  suffer  Avith  Him ;  men  convicted  not  of  mere  insurrection, 
but  of  robbery;  the  special  trouble  of  the  land  in  these  evil 
times,  even  till  Jerusalem  perished.  Pilate  could  hardly 
have  intended  to  degrade  Jesus  in  the  eyes  of  the  JeAvs  by 
associating  Him  Avith  enemies  of  society,   but  the  Avant  of 


JESUS  LED   TO   CRUCIFIXION.  559 

thought,  with  which  he  formed  such  a  group  of  victims,  chap.lxiil 
simply  to  empty  his  prison,  and  get  through  the  annual 
Ea:>ter  executions  at  once,  shows  how  superficial  an  impression 
had  been  made  on  his  light  nature  by  all  that  had  passed. 
His  seriousness  had  been  ^vritten  in  water  ;  heartlcssness  and 
utter  want  of  moral  earnestness  were  his  prevailing  mood. 

And  now  the  sad  procession  began.  It  was  about  ten  in 
the  forenoon,  for  at  least  an  hour  had  been  spent  in  getting 
ready.  The  soldiers  stepped  into  their  ranks,  and  the  pri- 
soners were  set,  under  guard,  in  their  places  ;  each  carrying, 
hung  from  his  neck,  a  whitened  board,  pi'oclaiming  in  large 
black  letters  the  offences  for  which  he  was  about  to  die; 
unless,  indeed,  as  in  some  cases,  a  soldier  bore  it  before 
them.  Each,  also,  bore  the  cross  beams  of  his  cross,  fastened 
together  like  the  letter  V,  with  his  arms  bound  to  the  pro- 
jecting ends. 

It  is  vain  to  attempt  to  folloAV  the  route,  for  the  whole 
surface    of    Jerusalem   has   changed   since  then.       Roman 
London  is  only  reached  at  a  depth  of  sixteen  or  seventeen 
feet,   though  the   history  of  our   island  is   comparatively 
peaceful ;  but  Jerusalem  has  stood  siege  after  siege  tiU  the 
streets  of  Christ's  day  are  buried  below  the  ruins  of  succes- 
sive cities.      All  we  know  is  that  the  place  of  execution  Avas 
outside  the  walls,  to  the  north-west,  at  the  side  of  a  leading 
road,^^  to  let  the  spectacle  be  seen  by  the  crowds  passing  and  e  Nnm.15.31. 
repassing."     From  the  palace  of  Herod,  the  sad  procession    Acts  f.  4' 
must  have  passed  out  under  the  shadow  of  the  great  castles    ci"|J^.^* 
of  Hippicus,  Phasael,  and  ]\Iariamne  ;  through  the  Hebron     He'b.iifhti 
or  Jafta  gate,  or  the  gate  Gennath.     As  it  moved  slowly  on,     sepp,  rt.  303. 
an  official  proclaimed  aloud  the  names  of  the  prisoners,  and 
the   offences   for   which   they   were   about  to  die.^^     Four  13  sepuvtsoa. 
soldiers   walked   beside   each,    as    the    special   guard   and 
executioners,    the  rest   of  the  detachment   preceding   and 
following. 

As  it  moved  through  tlie  narrow  streets,  a  great  crowd 
accompanied  it.  The  Temple  had  special  claims  on  the 
citizens  in  the  Passover  week,  and,  besides,  it  would  soon  be 
Sabljath,  and  they  were  busy  Avith  their  worldly  affairs, 
and  loath  to  afford  the  time ;  yet  many,  both  friends  and 


560 


THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 


OHAP.  Lxin.  enemies,  pressed  after  the  soldiers.  The  women  especially^ 
less  easily  diverted  from  sorrow  and  pity,  either  by 
religious  rites  or  every-day  duties,  thronged  to  see  One  led 
out  to  die  of  whom  they  had  heard  so  much.  In  the  East, 
men  and  women,  even  man  and  wife,  never  appear  in  public 
together,  and  hence  all  were  free  to  show  their  feelings 
independently.  The  Galila?ans  in  the  city  had  been  taken  by 
surprise,  and  had  had  no  time  to  gather  at  the  trial  and  show 
sympathy  with  their  countryman,  whom  so  many  of  them 
reckoned  as  a  prophet.  Only  fanatical  Jerusalem,  to  which 
the  cry  of  the  priests  was  law,  and  to  whom  Jesus,  as  a 
supposed  enemy  of  the  Temple, — the  idol  at  once  of  their 
bigotry  and  their  pocket, — was  doubly  hateful,  had  leai-ned  of 
the  arrest  in  the  early  morning,  and  had  gathered  to  yell 
down  Pilate's  proposals  of  release. 

Two  incidents  only  are  recorded  of  the  march  to  the  place 
of  execution.  The  beams  laid  on  Jesus  soon  proved  too 
heavy,  in  the  hilly  streets,  for  His  exhausted  strength,  and 
His  slow  advance  Avith  them  so  delayed  the  procession  that 
the  guard  grew  impatient,  and  having  seized  a  passer-by 
coming  from  the  country,  compelled  him  to  bear  them.  The 
involuntary  cross-bearer  was  a  foreign  Jew,  called  Simon, 
from  Cyrene,  in  North  Africa ;  now  part  of  Tunis,  then  part 

i»B.o.  823-283.  of  the  province  of  Libya.  Ptolemanis  Lagi^*  had  car- 
ried off  a  hundred  thousand  Jews  from  Palestine,  and  settled 
them  in  these  parts  of  North  Africa,  and  in  three  hundred 
years  they   had   increased  so  greatly  in  numbers,  that  a 

■'  Acts  6. 9.  special  synagogue  was  erected  in  Jerusalem^*  for  the  pilgrims 
they  yielded  to  the  great  feasts.  Simon's  appearance  marked 
him  as  a  foreigner,  for,  in  the  East,  all  nationaUties  have 
their  distinctive  dress ;  and,  as  a  stranger,  the  infamy  of  being 
made  to  carry  a  cross  would  be  less  likely  to  cause  a  stir. 
It  may  be  that  he  showed  sympathy  with  Jesus,  but,  in  any 
case,  his  service  to  Him  appears  to  have  resulted  in  his  con- 
version, with  all  his  family ;  for  it  is  easy  to  believe  the 
tradition  that  the  "Rufus  and  his  mother,"  of  whom  St. 
Paul,  a  quarter  of  a  century  later,  speaks  so  tenderly,  were 
his  wife  and  one  of  the  two  sons,  Alexander  and  Rufus, 

"Mark  16.21.    mentioned  by  St.  Mark^''  as  known  to  his  readers. 


THE    DAUGnTERS   OF   JERUSALEM.  561 

From  the  iiioment  of  His  declaring  Himself  the  Messiah,  chap,  lxiu. 
and  being  condemned  to  die  for  doing  so,  Jesus  had  had 
nothing  more  to  say  to  His  judges. ^^     No  cry  of  pain;  no  "  Luke 23. 27- 
munnui-  of  impatience  escaped  Him.     He  had  realized  to    Ma«-  w.  31- 
the  full   all  that  the  victorious  completion  of  His  work,     M^rk  15.  so- 
through  self-sacrifice,  demanded,  and  bore  indignities  and    1;.°    '  '^ 
agonies  with  unbroken  submission.     He  was  dying  to  free 
mankind  from  the  bondage  of  the  letter;  to  break,  for  ever, 
the  chains  of  Rabbinism  and  priestly  caste,  from  the  human 
soul;  to  inaugurate  the  reign  of  spiritual  religion;  and,  above 
all,  to  atone  for  man's  sin,  and  then  enter  into  His  glory  Avith 
the  Father.      The  joy  set  before  him  strengthened  Him,  in 
the  words  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  to  endure  the 
cross,  and  despise  the  shame.^^  19  Heb.12.2. 

But  His  lips,  shut  for  hours,  opened  once  more  on  the 
way  to  His  death.  The  road  was  lined  with  spectators, 
many  of  whom  did  not  attempt  to  conceal  their  sympathy ; 
and  a  great  crowd  followed,  both  of  men  and  women — the 
latter  filling  the  air  with  loud  lamentations  and  wailings. 
Touched  with  their  grief,  so  strangely  sweet  after  such  a 
long  bitterness  of  mockery  and  clamorous  hatred,  the 
Innocent  One  stopped  on  His  way,  and  turning  to  them, 
bade  them  lament,  not  for  Him,  but  for  themselves. 

"  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,"  said  He,  "  weep  not  for  Me, 
but  weep  for  yourselves."  His  death  was  the  fulfilment  of 
the  counsels  of  God,  and  His  apparent  overthrow  was  His 
real  and  eternal  victory.  They  might  have  wept  for  Him, 
had  he  shrunk  from  completing  the  Avork  given  Him  to  do, 
and  failed  to  perfect  the  great  plan  of  human  salvation. 
"  But  weep  for  yourselves  and  for  your  children.  The  fate 
of  Jerusalem  which  I  love  so  well,  is  sealed,  and  will  be  sad 
indeed  compared  with  my  momentary  pains.  For  if  your 
enemies  do  these  things  to  Me,  a  green  fruit-bearing  tree  that 
deserves  to  live  and  be  cherished — j\Ie,  pronounced  guiltless 
even  by  the  judge  himself — what  will  they  do  with  th(i  dry 
and  worthless  tree  of  the  nation,  guilty  before  God  and  man  ? 
Isi'ael  is  a  dry,  leafless  ti'unk  that  will  bear  no  more  fruit, 
but  is  doomed  to  the  burning.  What  Avill  be  its  fate,  if 
Mine,  who  am  green  and  fresh  in  innocence,   be  what  it 

VOL.  II.  75 


562  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP. Lsiu.  is!  Yet  the  green,  cut  down,  will  sprout  again,  but  the  dry 
will  pei'ish  for  evermore  !  In  that  day  the  curse  of  ages  of 
sin  and  hypocrisy  will  overwheha  your  city  and  Temple, 
with  its  watchers  and  shepherds." 

He  had  alwa3's  loved  children,  and  had  often  pressed 
them  to  His  heart  and  carried  them  in  His  arms,  but  the 
vision  of  the  awful  future  now  rising  before  Him  was 
darkened  by  this  very  tenderness.  To  bear  children  was  the 
glory  of  every  Jewish  wife  ;  but  in  after  years,  He  told  them, 
they  would  call  her  blessed  who  had  never  borne.  "  Your 
nation  has  not  known  tlie  day  of  its  visitation :  it  has 
pushed  back  my  hand  when  I  offered  it  life  here  and  here- 
after; it  has  killed  its  prophets  and  stoned  them  that  were 
sent  to  it  from  God ;  and  now  the  things  of  its  peace  are  hid 
from  its  eyes.  Instead  of  life  let  it  A\ash  a  grave,  ei'e  its 
despairing  cry  rises  that  the  mountains  should  fall  on  it,  and 

■»  seheni{ei,304.  the  liills  cover  it^**  from  the  aveiijrin"-  wrath  of  God."  Words 

Matt.  27.  35—       „  ,         ,  r>       P 

Mirk  15  24-  "^^  tender  human  love,  welling  up  from  the  depths  of  a  sacred 

Luke  23.  S3,  pity,  even  under  the  shadow  of  the  cross  ! 

jo'hJiia.  18-  The  spot  on  which  the  crosses  were  to  be  erected  stood 
near  some  of  the  gardens  of  the  suburbs,  and  was  known  by 
the  Aramaic  name,  Golgotha,  of  Avhicli  Cranion — a  skuU — 
given  as  the  name  by  St.  Luke,  writing  for  Gentiles,  is 
the  Greek  translation,  and  Calvaria,  Calvary,  the  Latin. 
From  a  fancied  allusion  to  the  shape  of  a  skull,  tradition  has 
handed  it  down  as  a  hill ;  but  all  the  four  Gospels  call  it 
simply  a  place,  as  if  it  had  its  name  only  from  its  bare 
smoothness  and  slight  convexity,  as  we  speak  of  the  broiv  of 
a  hill  from  its  rounded  slope.  It  may  have  been  the  usual 
place  of  execution,  but  there  is  nothing  in  the  name  to  lead 
to  the  belief,  for,  in  that  case,  it  would  have  been  spoken  of 
as  a  place  of  skulls ;  had  they  been  permitted  to  lie  unburied 
in  Judea,  which  was  impossible. 

The  cross  pieces  were  nailed  in  their  places  on  the 
upright  posts,  sometimes  before,  sometimes  after,  the  posts 
themselves  had  been  set  up.  Jesus  and  His  fellow- 
suiferers,  in  either  case,  were  now  stripped  once  more,  as 
they  had  been  before  they  were  scourged — a  linen  cloth  at 
most  being  left  round  their  loins.*^     The  centre  cross  was  set 


"  FATHER,  FORGIVE    THEM  !  "  563 

apart  for  our  Lord,  and  He  was  laid  on  it  either  as  it  chap.  lxxo. 
lay  on  the  ground,  or  lifted  and  tied  to  it  as  it  stood 
upright,  His  arms  stretched  along  the  two  cross  beams,  and 
His  body  resting  on  the  projecting  pin  of  rough  wood, 
misnamed  a  seat.  The  most  dreadful  part  then  followed ; 
for,  though  even  the  Egyptians  only  tied  the  victims  to  the 
cross,  the  Romans  and  Carthaginians  added  to  the  torture, 
by  driving  a  huge  nail  through  the  palm  of  each  hand  into 
the  wood.  The  legs  were  next  bent  up  till  the  soles  of  the 
feet  lay  flat  on  the  upright  beam,  and  then  they,  too,  were 
fastened,  either,  separately,  by  two  great  iron  nails,  or  over 
each  other,  by  one. 

A  single  touch  of  humanity  was  permitted  during  these 
preparations — the  offer  of  a  draught  of  the  common  sour 
wine  drunk  by  the  soldiers,  mingled  with  some  stupefying 
bitter  drug — usually  myrrh.  The  ladies  of  Jerusalem  made 
it,  indeed,  their  special  task  to  provide  it  for  all  condemned 
persons.-''  But  Jesus  wovdd  take  nothing  to  cloud  His  2»  Lightfoot, 
faculties,  even  though  it  might  mitigate  His  pain.  The  sec.' 
cross  Avas  now  lifted  up  and  planted  in  the  ground,  with  a 
rough  shock  of  undescribable  agony.  It  was  perhaps  then 
that  the  first  words  uttered  from  it  rose  from  His  lips — 
"  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do," — 
words  breathing  love,  patience,  submission,  gentleness,  and 
goodwill,  not  only  towai'ds  the  soldiers,  who  were  only  the 
blind  servants  of  power,  but  even  to  Pilate,  and  Caiaphas, 
Hannas,  and  Jerusalem  ! 

Racked  by  the  exti'emest  pain,  and  covered  with  every 
shame  which  men  were  wont  to  heap  on  the  greatest 
criminals ;  forsaken  and  denied  by  His  disciples ;  no  sigh 
escaped  His  lips,  no  cry  of  agony,  no  bitter  or  faltering 
word;  only  a  prayer  for  the  forgiveness  of  His  enemies. 
They  had  acted  in  blindness,  under  the  impulse  of  religious 
and  political  fanaticism,  for,  to  use  St.  Paul's  words,  had 
they  known  it,  they  would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of 
Glory.  They  thought,  without  doubt,  that  they  were  doing 
a  serAdce  well-pleasing  to  God  in  putting  Him  to  death.  It  2,  D^ut.  27. 56. 
stood  written  in  the  books  of  Moses,-^  "  Cursed  be  he  who  Md^mestrs 
does  not  fulfil  the  words  of  the  law  to  do  them,"  and  they    ^  z^^^'s 

''  ./         translation, 

"  Does  not 
hold  upright." 


564  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP^xiii.  fancied  tlicy  were  oLeyhig  this  command  in  crucifying  Him 
for  sligliting  their  additions,  which  they  confounded  Avith 
the  word  of  God.  In  spite  of  all  their  school  learning  tliey 
were  blind  to  the  true  meaning  of  the  Scriptures,  though 
this  ignorance  was  not  guiltless,  for  He  had  sought  for 
three  years  to  rouse  them  to  a  better  knowledge.  But  their 
guilt  was  in  some  measure  lessened  by  the  influence  on  their 
minds  of  education  and  the  prescriptions  of  centuries,  which 
had  shut  their  eyes  to  the  light  He  brought  them.  His 
prayer  that  His  heavenly  Father  would  pardon  them  was 
only  a  last  utterance  of  the  love  of  which  He  had  been  the 
embodiment  and  expression  through  life,  and  the  fitting 
illustration  of  His  words  that  He  came  to  call  the  sick  ;  not 
8*  sehcnkei,307.  thosc  Avho  had  HO  uccd  of  a  physician.-''^ 
^rLoSf  The  "title"  that  had  been  borne  before  Him,  or  hung  from 
assion,  ,  jjjg  neck,  was  now  nailed  on  the  projecting  top  of  the  cross, 
over  His  head.  That  all  classes  might  be  able  to  read  it, 
Pilate  had  it  written  in  the  three  languages  of  the  country 
— the  Aramaic  of  the  people,  the  Latin  of  the  Romans, 
and  the  Greek  of  the  foreign  population.  It  proclaimed  Him 
The  King  of  the  Jews,  but  seems  to  have  run  differently  in 
each  language,  to  judge  from  the  variations  in  the  Gospels.® 

No  tribute  could  have  been  more  fitting,  or  more  prophetic 
than  an  inscription  which  revealed  unconsciously  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Cross  to  all  the  nationalities  of  the  world.  The 
crucifixion  was  now  completed,  and  there  only  remained  the 
weary  interval,  tiU  death  came  to  deliver  the  sufferers  from 
their  agonies.  Meanwhile  the  troops,  with  their  centurion, 
kept  the  ground  and  guarded  the  three  crosses,  for  they 
were  answerable  with  their  lives  for  the  due  carrying  out  of 
the  execution. 

The  four  soldiers — a  quaternion — sj^ecially  detailed  to 
carry  out  the  sentence  of  the  procurator,  were  now  free  to 
appropriate,  as  their  perquisites,  the  clothes  of  the  three 
10  Acta  12. 4.  victims.^^  The  outcr  gamieuts  of  Jesus  they  divided  into 
four  shares — tearing  the  larger,  to  make  the  division  equal 
— for  they  were  not  worth  keeping  entire.  The  inner  robe, 
Lucko,'u.'48o. however,  like  the  robes  of  the  priests,'^*  was  of  one  piece 
■Kreuzi-'     woven   from  the  top  without  any  seam  or  stitching,  and 


gnng,' 
Herzog,  Tiii. 


ON   THE    CROSS.  565 

Avould  be  destroyed  by  rending.  The  dice  wei'e  ready  in  chap.  Lxin. 
their  pocket,  and  one  of  their  brazen  hehnets  wonld  serve  to 
throw  them ;  it  Avould  be  better  to  cast  lots  for  this,  and  let 
him  who  won  the  highest  number  keep  it  for  himself^ — and 
so  it  was  done.  No  wonder  that  both  Matthew  and  John, 
looking  back  on  the  scene,  were  struck  by  the  fact  that  it 
had  been  written,  ages  before,  in  the  twenty-second  Psalm, 
which  the  Jews  of  that  day,  as  ^vell  as  Christians,  rightly 
believed  to  refer  to  the  Messiah — "  They  parted  my  garments 
among  them,  and  for  my  vesture  they  cast  lots."'^^  «  PB.22.i8. 

The  inscription  on  the  cross  had  been  Pilate's  revenge  for 
the  condemnation  of  Jesus,  wrung  from  him  by  the  priests.  ; 
To  proclaim  Him,  the  villager  of  Nazareth,  as  the  King  of 
the  Jews,  marked,  at  once,  what  was  fit,  in  his  opinion,  for 
them,  and  flung  in  their  faces  a  bitter  reproach  of  having 
betrayed  their  own  nation  and  countryman,  to  Rome.  The 
authorities  of  the  Temple  were  indignant,  and  yet  alarmed, 
and  applied  to  him  to  alter  it.  But  he  had  suffered  enough 
at  their  hands,  and  smarting  under  his  defeat  and  humiliation, 
dismissed  them  with  the  laconic  answer,  "  What  I  have 
written  I  have  written." 

^Meanwhile  the  fierce  heat  of  a  Syrian  noon  beat  down  on 
the  cross.  The  suffering  in  crucifixion,  from  which  death  at 
last  resulted,  rose  partly  from  the  constrained  and  fixed 
position  of  the  body,  and  of  the  outstretched  arms,  which 
caused  acute  pain  from  every  twitch  or  motion  of  the  back, 
lacerated  by  the  knout,  and  of  the  hands  and  feet,  pierced  by 
the  nails.  These  latter  were,  moreover,  driven  through  parts 
where  many  sensitive  nerves  and  sinews  come  together,  and 
some  of  these  were  mutilated  ;  othei-s  violently  crushed  down. 
Inflammation  of  the  wounds  in  both  hands  and  feet,  speedily 
set  in,  and  erelong  rose  also  in  other  places,  where  the 
circulation  was  checked  by  the  tension  of  the  parts.  In- 
tolerable thirst,  and  ever-increasing  pain,  resulted.  The 
blood,  which  could  no  longer  reach  the  extremities,  rose  to 
the  head,  swelled  the  veins  and  arteries  in  it  unnaturally, 
and  caused  the  most  agonizing  tortures  in  the  brain.  As, 
besides,  it  could  no  longer  move  freely  from  the  lungs,  the 
heart  grew  more  and  more  oppressed,  and  all  the  veins  were 


566  THE  LIFE  OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP.Lxm.  tlistencled.  Had  the  ■wounds  bled  freely,  it  would  have  been 
a  great  relief,  but  there  was  -s-ery  little  lost.  The  weight  of 
the  body  itself,  resting  on  the  wooden  pin  of  the  upright 
beam ;  the  burning  heat  of  the  sun  scorching  the  veins,  and 
the  hot  wind,  which  dried  up  the  moisture  of  the  body,  made 
each  moment  more  terrible  than  that  before.  The  numbness 
and  stiffness  of  the  more  distant  muscles  brought  on  painful 
convulsions,  and  this  numbness,  slowly  extending,  sometimes 
through  two  or  three  days,  at  last  reached  the  vital  parts,  and 
"  Btehter  in  released  the  sufferer  by  death.^*^ 
^razi^"'  Common  pity  would  have  left  the  \'ictim  of  such  agony  to 
f4^us,a238.  die  in  peace.  But  it  is  reserved  to  the  malignant  hatred  and 
passion  which  spring  from  perverted  religious  zeal  to  ignore 
compassion.  The  title  over  His  head  was  as  offensive  to  the 
people  as  to  the  priests  and  Rabbis,  for  it  was  a  virtual 
ridicule  of  their  impotent  aspirations  after  universal  mon- 
archy. Beneath  the  cross  the  same  mockery  indulged  itself, 
as  the  procurator  had  thought  not  beneath  tlie  dignity  of 
Rome.  The  fierce  crowd  had  heard  repeatedly  that  day  of 
Jesus  having  said,  as  Avas  asserted,  that  He  could  destroy 
their  vast  temple,  and  build  it  up  again  in  three  days.  They 
had  heard  also  a  great  deal  about  His  miracles,  and  of  His 
calling  Himself  the  Son  of  God,  but  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole 
must  have  been  a  deception,  else  why  would  He  let  Himself 
die  such  a  death  ?  There  were  taunts  and  bitter  gibes,  from 
the  mob  and  the  soldiers,  and  triumphant  sneers  at  His 
having  met  the  fate  He  deserved;  the  very  high  priests, 
and  Rabbis,  and  elders,  indeed,  degraded  themselves  to  the 
level  of  the  rabble  in  their  unmanly  taunts,  among  their  own 
»  Matt.  27.  S9-  kuots  and  groups.^'  "  Thou  that  destroyest  the  Temple,  and 
Stork  15. 2»-buildest  it  in  three  days,  show  that  Thou  couldst  have  done 
3?!^^^^  so,  by  saving  Thyself,  and  coming  down  from  the  cross," 
30.  ■  called  out  a  looker-on,  with  a  contemptuous  laugh.  "  If 
Thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  as  Thou  say  est,"  cried  another, 
"come  down  from  the  cross."  "He  wrought  miracles  to 
save  others,"  said  a  high  priest  to  his  fellow,  "  by  the  helj)  of 
Beelzebub,  but  He  cannot  save  Himself,  now  His  master  has 
forsaken  Him."  The  crowd,  catching  their  spirit,  bandied 
from  one  to  another  the  scoff,   "  If  He  be  the  Christ,  the 


THE  DYING  THIEF.  567 

King  of  Israel,  the  Chosen  of  God,  let  Him  descend  from  the  chap.lxiil 
cross,  that  we  may  see  and  believe."  A  true  index  to  their 
religious  ideas  !  If  they  saw  Him  with  their  bodily  eyes,  by 
a  miracle  come  down  from  the  cross,  they  would  believe  ! 
Their  religion  rested  on  their  five  senses.-^  The  invisible  =»  schenuei,  sos. 
spiritual  power,  in  which  Jesus  taught,  did  His  work,  and 
founded  His  kingdom,  had  no  existence  for  them.  The  only 
authority  for  their  faith  Avas  what  they  could  grasp  with 
their  hands,  or  see  with  their  eyes ! 

Is^or  was  the  only  railing,  and  trial  of  bitter  mocking,  from 
the  spectators.  Affecting  indifference  to  their  own  suff'er- 
ings,  and  perhaps  Avishing  to  get  a  poor  favour  Avith  the 
croAvd,  in  their  last  hours ;  perhaps  angry  that  Jesus  had  left 
both  them  and  Himself  to  die,  Avhen  He  might  haA^e  sa\'ed 
them  ;  the  .tAvo  unhappy  men  crucified  with  Him,  cast  the 
same  reproaches  in  His  teeth.  But  a  strange  contrast  Avas 
soon  to  display  itself.  One  of  the  tAvo,  erelong,  aAved  and 
Avon  by  His  bearing  under  such  treatment ;  perhaps  think- 
ing of  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  he  had  seen  weeping  by 
the  Avay  ;  or  of  the  words  of  Jesus  in  which  He  spoke  of  the 
distant  future  as  open  before  Him  ;  perhaps  struck  by  the 
title  over  the  Sa\'iour's  head,  or  by  the  ver}'  taunts  Avhich 
spoke  of  His  liaA'ing  trusted  in  God,  and  liaAung  claimed  to 
be  the  Chi'ist,  the  Chosen,  the  Son  of  the  Highest ;  perhaps 
recollecting  some  Avords  of  His  heard  in  happier  days ;  re- 
pented of  his  bitterness,  and  turned  to  his  companion,  to 
persuade  him,  also,  to  kinder  thoughts.  "  Have  you  no  fear 
of  God,"  said  he,  "  AA^hen  you  think  that  you  are  dying  the 
same  death  as  He  Avhom  you  are  still  reproaching  ?  It  is  no 
time  to  mock,  AA'hen  you  are  so  near  death.  Besides,  Ave  are 
dying  justly,  for  Ave  are  receiAung  the  fitting  punishment  of 
our  deeds;  but  this  man,  as  the  very  pi'ocurator  has  said,  has 
done  nothing  amiss." 

Then  folloAved  Avords  Avhich  shoAved  that  his  rei)entance 
and  faith  Avere  alike  sincere  and  intelligent.  He  had  been 
silently  Avatcliing  the-  meek  and  patient  endurance  by  his 
mysterious  FelloAv-Sufferer,  of  all  that  His  enemies  could 
do,  and  had  come  to  the  belief  that  He  Avas,  in  reality,  the 
Messiah    He   declai-ed    Himself  to  be.      With    death    near, 


568  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

\RLxiii.  the  folly  of  the  earthly  dreams  of  his  countrymen — for  he 
must  have  been  a  Jew — flashed  on  his  mind.  As  the 
Messiah,  He  who  now  hung  in  agony  must  have  a  kingdom 
of  which  death  could  not  depri\'e  Him,  and  it  must  be  in 
the  world  beyond,  since  He  had  only  a  cross  here.  He 
Avould  doubtless  enter  on  it,  as  even  the  Rabbis  taught,  at 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  reign  over  it  for  all 
future  ages. 

"  0  Lord,"  said  he,  therefore,  turning  as  far  as  he  could 
towards  Jesus,  as  he  spoke,  "  remember  me  when  Thou 
euterest  into  the  enjoyment  of  Thy  kingdom." 

"  I  shall,"  replied  Jesus.  "  This  ver}^  day  thou  shalt  be 
with  me,  among  the  blessed,  in  Paradise." 

To  have  confessed  his  faith  when  Christ  hung  on  the 
cross,  and  Avas  deserted  even  by  His  Apostles,  won  for  Him 
the  high  reward  of  being  the  first  trophy  of  the  victory  that 
cross  achieved.  Hij  ideas  might  be  vague  and  obscure 
enough ;  but  the  broken  heart  and  trustful  love  which 
uttered  them,  made  them  dear  to  the  Saviour.  Angry 
blasphemies  alone  had  hitherto  greeted  him,  but  now  came 
this  prayer,  dropping  like  balm  on  His  wounded  spirit ! 
Calmly,  and  with  the  bounty  of  a  king — though  now  nailed 
to  the  cross — He  showed  His  answering  love  by  the  gift 
of  divine  pardon  of  sin,  and  the  bestowinent  of  a  crown  in 
Paradise  !f 

The  Eleven  had  never  gathered  again  after  the  arrest, 
and  had  been  too  much  alarmed  even  to  venture,  singly, 
into  the  crowd  which  stood  outside  the  cordon  of  troops 
round  the  three  crosses.  John,  alone,  had  had  courage 
enough  to  follow  his  Master  to  Calvary,  and  to  cheer  Him 
by  the  proof  of  fidelity  in  at  least  one  heart.  He  had, 
indeed,  foreseen  that  he  would  be  deserted  thus  in  His  hour 
of  need ;  but  He  was  too  near  His  triumph  to  notice  their 
absence  as  otherwise  He  might.  The  veil  betAveen  Him  and 
His  eternal  glory  was,  each  moment,  fading  into  the  upper 
light,  and  had  He  not,  even  now,  won  the  first  trophy  of  His 
redeeming  love,  to  bear  with  Him  to  heaven  ? 

The  last  sight  we  have  of  John,  before  the  crucifixion,  is 
in  the  courtyard  of  the  high  jariest,  where  his  silence  and 


MARY   AT   THE  CROSS. 


569 


Stud.  u.  Krit. 

1840. 

LUcke,  ii.  491. 

Ewald'a 

Gescll.  V.  679 


prudent  keeping  in  the  background,  saved  liini  from  the  cnAP. lxiu. 
danger  before  which  Peter  had  fallen.  He  had  seen  Jesus 
led  away  to  Pilate,  and  had,  appai-ently,  followed  Hini  to 
the  palace,  waiting  in  the  angry  crowd  till  the  weak  time- 
serving procurator  had  given  Him  up  to  the  cross.  He  may 
have  left  as  soon  as  the  end  was  known,  to  hasten  into  the 
city  with  the  sad  news,  to  those  anxious  to  hear ;  above  all, 
to  tell  her  whose  soul  the  sword  was  now  about  to  pierce 
most  keenly.  Mary,  likely,  heard  her  Son's  fate  from  his 
lips.  She  had  come  to  Jerusalem  to  be  near  Him,  but  we 
do  not  know  when;  for  she  was  not  one  of  the  group  of 
pious  Galilajan  women  who  habitually  followed  Him,  though 
she  was  with  them  at  this  moment.  How  many  were  together 
is  not  told  ;  but  IMary,  at  least,  on  hearing  John's  words, 
determined,  in  her  love,  to  go  at  once  to  Calvary,  and  some 
round  her  resolved  to  go  with  her.  Her  own  sister,  who,  it 
mav  be,  was  Salome,  the  mother  of  John  :-^  Mary,  the  wife  of"  wieseier. 
Clopas ;  Mary  from  Magdala,  on  the  l)anks  of  Gennesareth, 
would  attend  her,  and  John,  faithful  as  a  woman,  would  not 
stay  behind. 

The  first  sight  the  Virgin  had  of  her  Son  was  as  He  hung 
on  the  cross,  at  the  roadside,  mocked  by  the  crowd  and  the 
passers-by,  and  scowled  at  by  the  high  priests  and  digni- 
taries, who  had  come  out  to  glut  the  hatred  they  bore  Him 
by  the  sight  of  His  agony.  A  supernatural  darkness — the 
sign  of  the  sorrow  and  the  wrath  of  heaven — had  fallen  on 
the  landscape  soon  after  the  nailing  to  the  cross — though  it 
was  then  high  noon  ;  but  the  spectators  had  fancied  it  only 
a  strange  incident  in  the  weather.  The  Sufferer  had  offered 
His  prayer  for  His  murderers,  and  had  spoken  words  of 
comfort  to  the  penitent  spirit  at  His  side;  when,  as  His  eyes 
wandered  over  the  crowd.  He  saw,  through  the  gloom,  John, 
standing  by  His  mother's  side.  None  of  His  "brothers  or 
sisters "  were  there,  for  His  resurrection  was  first  to  win 
them  to  His  cause,^'^  and  Mar}-,  long  a  widow,  was  now  to  be 
more  so  still.  He  knew  John's  heart,  and,  indeed,  his  pre- 
sence there  proclaimed  it.  The  sight  of  His  mother  in  tears; 
true  even  in  death ;  in  spite  of  danger,  or  of  her  broken  heart, 
or  of  the  reproaches  rising  on  every  side  j^"^  the  remembrance 


BoBenmuller'a 
Scholia  in 
New  Test 


570  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

cHARLsm.  of  Nazareth ;  the  thoiiglit  of  the  sorrows  that  so  often,  in 
these  last  years,  had  pierced  lier  soul,  and  of  the  supreme 
grief  that  had  noAV  overwhelmed  her ;  the  recognition  of  the 
true  faith  in  Him,  shining  out  in  these  last  hours,  as  the 
child,  borne  by  miracle  to  be  a  Saviour,  the  holy  Son  of 
God;  and  the  thought  that  His  earthly  relations  to  her 
were  closed  for  ever,  tilled  His  heart  with  tender  emotions. 

Turning  His  face,  now  veiled  with  many  sorrows,  to  her 
and  John,  He  provided  for  the  one,  and  honoured  the 
fidelity  of  the  other.  A  few  words  gave  ]\Iary  a  home  and 
another  son,  and  rewarded  the  friend  of  His  soul  by  the 
charge  to  take  the  place  toAvards  j\Iary  He  Himself  was 
leaving.  "Woman,"  said  He,  in  tones  of  infinite  tenderness, 
"  behold,  in  him  at  thy  side  thou  hast  thy  Son  given  back  to 
thee."  Then,  looking  at  John,  he  added,  "  To  thee  I  trust 
my  mother ;  let  her  be  thy  mother  for  my  sake." 

Need  we  wonder  that  the  beloved  disciple,  wi'iting  his 
Gospel  in  old  age,  felt  a  sweet  reward  in  recalling  an  inci- 
dent so  inispeakabl}'  touching?  Mary,  henceforth,  had  a 
home,  for  John  took  her  to  his  own.  His  love  to  her  divine 
Son  made  him  dearer  to  her  than  the  circle  of  Nazareth, 
however  related.  In  Mary,  he  saw  a  second  mother;  in 
K  Panins,iL244.  John,  the  M'idowed  one  saw  a  son.^'-  Nor  was  the  new 
nearness  to  Jesus  the  only  reward  to  John  from  the  cross. 
His  Master  had  shown,  by  His  thoughts  for  others  rather 
than  Himself,  in  this  time  of  His  greatest  need,  that  He  was 
still  what  He  had  always  been.  Looking  up  to  Him,  John 
saw  the  light  of  higher  than  earthly  victory  on  His  pale 
features,  and  felt  his  faith  confirmed  for  ever. 

It  was  now  three  o'clock,  and  Jesus  had  hung  on  the 
cross  about  three  hours.  Darkness  s  still  lay  like  a  pall 
ov^er  the  landscape,  as  if  nature,  less  insensible  than  man, 
refused  to  look  on  such  a  spectacle,  or  would  jjrefigure  the 
sadness  one  day  to  be  spread  over  all  nations  for  the  sin 
that  had  caused  so  awfid  a  sacrifice.  What  had  been  passing 
in  His  spirit  no  one  can  know.  As  a  man  He  had  a  nature, 
in  all  things,  excej)t  its  sinlessness,  like  that  of  the  race  at 
large.  But  He  was  also  the  divine  Son  of  God,  for  a  time 
in  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  now,  of  His  own  free  love  to 


THE   LAST   DAKKNESS.  571 

man,  dying  as  a  ransom  for  sin.  We  accept  the  transcen-  chap,  lxiii. 
dent  mystery  but  we  cannot  hope  to  explain  it.  The  cross 
was  but  the  cuhiiination  of  a  long  martyrdom.  His  soul 
had  often  been  sore  troubled ;  His  sighs  had  been  marked 
even  by  His  disciples.  To  be  dying  for  the  sake  of  men, 
and  yet  to  be  treated  as  their  foe  ;  to  be  misconceived  and 
misrepresented ;  to  have  His  heart  full  of  infinite  love,  and 
hear,  even  now,  only  execrations,  brought  back,  for  a  moment, 
the  mental  agony  of  Gethsemane.  It  was  the  "  power 
of  darkness  ;"  the  final  struggle  with  the  prince  of  this 
world.  To  the  unendurable  torture  of  the  body  there  was 
added  the  unspeakable  spiritual  pain  of  apparently  utter 
rejection  by  man,  whom  He  loved  with  a  love  so  divine  I 
His  Father  Avas  with  Him  in  the  midst  of  the  darkness  as 
much  as  in  the  Transfiguration  at  Ca;sarea  Philippi,  but 
the  gathering  clouds  and  gloom  of  these  last  awful  hours 
made  it  seem,  for  an  instant,  as  if  His  face  wei'e  hidden. 
The  shadows  of  death  passed  for  a  moment  in  blackness  and 
horror  over  His  spirit,  and  His  mental  anguish  relieved 
itself  by  a  great  cry  of  distress.  The  language  we  have 
heard  from  our  mother's  lips  and  have  spoken  in  childhood, 
may  be  laid  aside  in  after  years  for  another,  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  life;  and  Jesus,  doubtless,  in  these  last  years, 
had  often  had  to  use  the  Greek  of  city  communities,  instead  of 
His  own  simple  Galilasan.  But,  now,  the  sounds  of  infancy, 
always  nearest  the  heart,  and  sure  to  come  to  the  lips  in  our 
deepest  emotion,  returned  in  His  anguish,  and  in  words 
which  He  had  learned  at  His  mother's  knee,  His  heart 
uttered  its  last  wail — 

"Eloi!  Eloi !  lama  sabachthani  ?" '^ 
"My  God!  My  God!  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me?" 
The  first  words  sounded  hke  the  name  of  the  great  pro- 
phet Elijah,  the  expected  herald  of  the  Messiah,  and  were 
taken,  by  some  in  the  crowd,  for  a  cry  that  he  should  come 
to  save  Him.  IMeanwhile,  one  near,  more  pitiful  than  the 
rest ;  caring  little  for  the  words,  saw  the  agony  of  which  they 
were  the  expression,  and  ran  and  filled  a  sponge  with  the 
sour  wine-and-water  of  the  soldiers,  and  having  fixed  it  on 
the  short  stem  of  a  hyssop-plant,  growing  near,  put  it  to  His 


572 


THE    LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 


3»  Matt.  J7. 
51—56. 
Mark  15.  38 
—41. 

Luke  33.  45, 
47—49. 


M  Maa27.5t. 


lips;  for  the  cross  was  quite  low,  the  feet  of  Jesus  reach- 
ing neai'ly  to  the  ground. 

A  moment  more,  and  all  was  over.  The  cloud  had  passed 
as  suddenly  as  it  rose.  Far  and  "\\T.de,  over  the  vanquished 
throngs  of  His  enemies,  with  a  loud  voice,  as  if  uttering  His 
shout  of  eternal  victory  before  entering  into  His  glory,  He 
cried, 

"  It  is  Finished  !" 

Then,  more  gently,  came  the  words  : — 

"  Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit." 

A  moment  more,  and  there  rose  a  great  cry,  as  of  mortal 
agony :  the  head  fell.     He  was  dead. 

The  great  work  of  salvation  was  now,  at  last,  completed ; 
prophecy  fiillilled;  the  Ancient  Covenant  at  an  end,  the  New 
inaugurated.  Judaism  was  for  ever  obsolete,  and  the  Holy 
of  Holies  had  ceased  to  be  the  pecuhar  presence-chamber  of 
Jehovah  among  men.  Xor  was  a  sign  wanting  that  it  was 
so,  for  the  great  veil  of  purple  and  gold — sixty  feet  long 
and  thirty  broad — before  the  inner  sanctuary  of  the  Temple, 
suddenly  rent  itself  in  two,  from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  at 
the  moment  of  Christ's  death  :  as  if  He  Avho  had  hitherto 
dwelt  there  had  gone  forth  to  lead  up  His  Eternal  Son  to 
His  own  right  hand.  And,  indeed,  not  only  the  yielding 
veil  of  the  Temple,  but  the  very  rocks,  round  Calvary,  as 
St.  Matthew  tells  us,^^  "were  rent,  and  the  earth  quaked, 
the  graves  were  opened,  and  many  of  the  saints  sleeping  in 
them  rose  from  the  dead,  and  went  into  the  iioij  City,  and 
appeared  unto  many." 

One  incident  is  recorded  of  this  moment,  by  three  of 
the  Evangelists.  The  centurion  in  charge  of  the  troops  had 
halted,  as  he  passed  the  cross,  Avhen  Jesus  uttered  His  loud 
death-cry.  He  was  within  a  few  yards  of  Him,  and  must 
have  involuntarily  fixed  His  gaze  on  Him  at  such  a  sound. 
He  saw  tlie  change  pass  over  His  features ;  the  light  of 
life  leaving  them,  and  the  head  suddenly  sink.  As  it  did 
so,  the  earthquake  shook  the  ground,  and  made  the  three 
crosses  tremble.  But  the  tremor  of  the  earth  affected  the 
Roman  less  than  the  piercings  cry  and  sudden  death.^*  He 
had  likely  attended  many  crucifixions,  but  had  never  seen 


"  IT   IS  FINISHED."  573 

3r  heard  of  a  man  dying  within  three  hours,  on  a  cross,  chap,  lxhl 
He  had  ne\'er  heard  a  crucified  man,  strong  to  the  last,  utter 
a  shriek  that  showed,  as  that  of  Jesus  did,  the  full  vigour 
of  the  vital  organs  to  the  last.  He  felt  that  there  was  some- 
thing mysterious  in  it,  and  joining  with  it  all  He  had  seen 
and  heard  of  the  Sufferer,  he  broke  involuntarily  into  the 
words,  "  Assuredly  this  man  was  righteous  ;  truly  this  was 
God's  Son."  The  one  expression  was,  perhaps,  equivalent  on 
his  lips  to  the  other,  but  both  showed  that  even  heathen 
spectators  were  profoundly  affected  by  the  spectacle  they 
had  witnessed. 

Nor  was  the  effect  on  the  spectators  less  marked.  The 
darkness,  the  earthquake,  and  the  rending  rocks,  had  filled 
them  with  alarm.  They  had  been  noisy  and  ribald  enough, 
for  a  time,  but  when  all  was  over,  amidst  such  strange 
portents  of  nature,  they  were  glad  to  hasten  home  in  silence, 
with  the  demonstrations  of  awe  peculiar  to  Eastern  pojsula- 
tions — smiting  their  breasts  as  they  went.  The  incidents  of 
Calvary  had  prepared  the  way  for  the  triumph  of  Pentecost, 
as  perhaps  the  rending  of  the  veil  had  been  the  first  step 
towards  the  change  of  feeling  in  the  great  company  of 
priests  ^^  who  soon  after  professed  themselves  Christians.         35  Acts  6.7. 

The  Jewish  law,  as  I  have  said,  knew  nothing  of  cruci- 
fixion, but  it  had  been  not  uncommon  to  hang  up  the  body 
of  a  criminal  after  death.  It  was  not  permitted,  however, 
that  it  shoidd  be  exposed  after  sunset ;  burial  the  same  day 
was  enacted,  "that  the  land  should  not  be  defiled."^*'     The  s«  Dent. 21. 23. 

-n.  1     /^        1         T        T  1  •^^       John  19.  31— 

Romans,  on  the  contrary,  left  the  bodies  on  the  cross  till    *-• 
they  were  wasted  away,  or  devoured  by  the  dogs,  the  jackals, 
or  the  ravens — as  they  fell  limb  from  limb.     "To  feed  the 
croAv^s  on  the  cross  "  was  a  familiar  expression.^''     It  was  "  Horat.  Ep. 

•l  xs-l.  48. 

necessary,  therefore,  if  the  Jewish  law  were  to  be  honoured, 
that  the  permission  of  Pilate  should  be  given  for.  putting 
the  crucified  ones  to  death,  if  they  had  not  already  died, 
and  for  taking  do-\ra  and  burying  their  bodies,  almost  at 
once.  Next  day  was  the  great  Paschal  Sabbath,  and  only  an 
hour  or  two  remained  before  it  commenced.  Three  corpses 
seen  on  the  cross,  so  near  the  .Temple  and  the  Holy  City,  on 
a  day  so  sacred,  would  make  great  commotion,  as  polluting 


574  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

cHAP.Lxm.  the  wliole  place.     Besides,  the  feehngs  of  the  people  might 
turn,  with  unknown  results. 

A  deputation  of  the  Temple  authorities,  therefore,  waited 
on  Pilate,  to  get  his  sanction  for  putting  any  of  the  thi*ee  to 
death,  who  might  j'et  be  alive.     The  common  way  to  do  so 

»  See  list  of      was  in  keepino;  with  Roman  brutality.^*     The  legs  of  the 

historical  J.        o  ./  o  ^ 

cMesinsepp,  uufortunatcs  were  broken  by  blows  of  clubs,  and  this  Pilate 

vol.  441.  'f  ' 

authorized  to  be  done,  that  the  shock  might  kill  them  at 
once.  The  two  thieves  were  found  still  living,  and  the 
horrible  order  was  forthwith  executed  on  them,  but  Jesus 
was  dead  already,  and  they  left  Him  untouched.  One 
soldier,  however, — resolved  that  there  should  be  no  doubt, — 
plunged  his  spear  into  the  Saviour's  side,  making  a  gash  so 
wide,  that  Jesus  could  afterwards  ask  Thomas  to  put  his 
hand  into  it,  and  so  deep,  that  blood  and  water  poured  out 
in  such  a  quantity  as  attracted  the  notice  of  John,  who  was 
still  standing  close  by. 

That  any  one  should  die  so  soon  on  the  cross,  especially 

one,  like  Jesus,  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  unweakened  by 

previous  ill-health,  and  in  such  vigour  to  the  last  as  to  utter 

such  a  shriek  as  that  with  which  He  expired,  appeared  even 

9  sm quota-     to  Christian  antiquity,  to  imply  some  suiiernatural  cause.^* 

fionsinKeim,  _  ^        j  i  i    j  i 

11L436.  3y{;  the  mingled  flow  of  blood  and  Avater  seems  to  point 
unmistakably  to  another  explanation.  The  immediate 
cause  of  death  appears,  beyond  question,  to  have  been  the 
rupture  of  His  heart,  brought  about  by  mental  agony. 
Excess  of  joy  or  grief  is  known  to  induce  the  bursting  of 
some  division  of  the  heart,  and  the  consequent  flow  of  blood 
into  the  pericardium,  or  bag,  filled  with  colourless  serum, 
like  water,  in  which  the  heart  is  suspended.  In  ordinary- 
cases,  only  examination  after  death  discovers  the  fact,  but 
in  that  of  our  Lord,  the  same  end  was  answered  by  the 
thrust  of  the  soldier's  spear.  In  a  death  from  heart-rupture 
"  the  hand  is  suddenly  carried  to  the  front  of  the  chest,  and 
a  piercing  shriek  uttered." '  The  hands  of  Jesus  were  nailed 
to  the  cross,  but  the  appalling  shriek  is  recorded. 

Jesus  died,  literally,  of  a  broken  heart ! 

The  heat  of  the  climate  in  ihe  East  has  led  to  the  custom 
of  Ijurial  following  almost  immediately  after  death,  but  there 


JOSEPH    OF   ARIMATHEA.  575 

were  special  reasons  for  that  of  Jesus  being  hurried.     It  was  chap,  lxhl 

the  eve  of  the  great  Passover  Sabbath,  and  no  corpse  could 

be  left  unburied  to  defile  the  ceremonial  purity  of  the  Holy 

City,  on  that  day.     It    was  necessary,  therefore,  that  our 

Lord  be  buried  Avithout  a  moment's  delaj',  for  sunset,  when 

the  Sabbath  began,  was  rapidly  approaching. 

Bodies  of  Jewish  criminals  seem  to  have  been  buried  with 
ignominy,  in  the  valley  of  Hinnom;  known,  from  this  reason, 
as  the  Valley  of  Corpses  ^'^ — amidst  the  unclean  dust-heapsw  jer.  31.40. 
of  the  city,  and  the  ashes  of  the  burned  offal  of  the  Temple    bach,<i.Proph. 

*'  '  _        _  ^  _         Jeremiah,  226. 

sacrifices.     They  could  not  be  laid  in  the  graves  of  their 

fathers — the  common  burial-place  of  the   community — for 

the   guilty  could  not  be  buried  with  the  just — but  were 

huddled  out  of  sight — the  beheaded,  or  hanged,  in  one  spot; 

the  stoned,  and  burned,  in  another.*^    But  such  an  indignity  «  simiied.c.e.5. 

was  not  to  befall  the  sacred  form  of  the  Saviour. 

Among  the  spectators  of  the  crucifixion  there  had  been 
one,  if  not  two,  whose  position  might  have  enabled  them  to 
be  of  service  to  Jesus  in  His  hour  of  need,  before  the  high 
priestly  court,  had  they  had  the  moral  courage  to  avow 
their  convictions.     Joseph,  a  member  of  the  ruling  class, 
known    by   the    name    of    his   birthplace — Arimathea,    or 
Rainathaim  Zophim,*-  where  Samuel  the  prophet  was  born  «  isam.].i,i9. 
— among  the  "fruitful  hills"  of  Ephraim — had  long  been    Lex., .4'^.' " 
a   secret  disciple ;    and   so,  also,  had  Nicodemus,   another    |^|^^* 
member  of  the  theocratic  oligarchy.     Afraid  of  the  over-     um.  27.  n- 
whelming  opposition  they  must  encounter  by  supporting    iiLrku.n- 
Christ,  they  had  timidly  kept  in  the  background  during    Ln]5e23. 50- 
His  trial,  though  neither  had  voted  for  the  condemnation. 
Joseph,  indeed,  if  not  both,  had  even  braved  public  opinion, 
and  the  wrath  of  their  fellow-counsellors,  by  following  Jesus 
to  Calvary.     Now  that  He  was  dead,  breaking  through  all 
weak  reserve  and  caution  at  last,  he  went  into  the  city,''^  "  Wo-i-jABe 
and  waited  on  the  procurator,  in  his  palace,  to  ask  as  a 
favour,    that    the    body   of   Jesus    might    be   put   at   his 
disposal.     He  would  fain  honour  His  lifeless  form,  if  only  to 
show  his  regret  and  shame  for  unworthy  half-heartedness 
while   He  still  lived.     The  meekness  and  majestic  silence 
under  all   reproaches   and  indignities;  the  veiled  sky,  the 


John  19.  38— 
42. 


Mark  15.  43. 


576  THE   LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

cHARLxm.  trembling  earth ;  the  prayer  of  the  Sufferer  for  His  murderers; 
His  wail  of  mental  agony,  as  if  forsaken;  and  then  the  great 
shriek,  and  sudden  death — had  awed  his  soul,  and  lifted  him 
far  above  fear  of  man.  He  had  been  waiting  for  the  King- 
dom of  God  before,  but  would  ojjenly  identify  himself  Avith 
its  founder  now. 

Pilate  was  astonished,  alike,  that  a  Jew  in  Joseph's  position 
should  make  such  a  request,  and  that  Jesus  should  already 
be  dead.  It  Avas  not  allowed  to  remove  a  body  from  the 
cross  without  formal  permission  from  the  procurator.  The 
Eleven,  with  one  exception,  had  left  their  Master  alone 
amidst  His  enemies  in  His  last  awful  hours,  and  even  the 
women  Avho  had  Avatched  the  cross,  did  not  venture  to  ask 
the  stony-hearted  governor  to  let  them  pay  the  last  tribute 
of  love  to  the  dead.  It  was  no  light  matter  Joseph  had 
undertaken  ;  for  to  take  part  in  a  burial,  at  any  time,  would 
defile   hiin  for  seven  da}-s,  and  make  everj'thing  unclean 

**  H^'s*]"'  "\^'lii<-"li  he  touched  ;■**  and  to  do  so  now  involved  his  seclusion 
Blin^kSt:  through  the  whole  Passover  Aveek — Avith  all  its  holy  obser- 
vances and  rejoicings.  But,  conscience-stricken  for  the  past, 
he  had  risen  superior,  alike  to  prudent  inaction  or  cere- 
monial prejudice,  and  would  render  his  Master  a  tribute  and 
service  especially  sacred  in  the  eyes  of  a  Jew.  It  Avas  one 
of  the  most  loved  remembrances  of  the  hero  Tobit,  in  the 

«  Tobiti.17,19.  old  times  of  the  first  exile,^^  that  he  had  buried  any  Jcav 
whom  he  found  cast  out  dead,  round  Kineveh,  and  Jose- 
phus  could  add  no  darker  horror,  a  generation  later,  to  the 
picture  of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  than  b)^  telling  that  the 
Zealots  Avould  not  bury  those  slain  in  the  city  or  who  fell 

«  BeDjuiiv.  doAvn  ou  the  roads.***  Joseph  Avould  not  suffer  Jesus  to  Avant 
the  last  offices,  Avith  all  the  indignity  the  neglect  Avould 
imply. 

Sending  for  the  officer  Avho  had  charge  of  the  execution, 
and  finding  that  Jesus  Avas  really  dead,  Pilate  granted 
Joscpli's  strange  request.  A  brave  deed  had  had  its  success. 
The  humour  of  the  procurator  could  not  be  counted  on,  and 
the  rage  of  Joseph's  OAvn  party  Avas  certain.  In  later  days, 
a  servant,  Porphyrins,  Avho  ventured  to  ask  from  the  pro- 
curator Firmilian,  the    body  of  his  martyred  master,  the 


bodies  of  the 
dead.    Bepp, 


JEWISH   IDEAS    OF   THE   EESTJERECTION.  577 

presbyter  Pampliilus,  for  burial,  was  liimself  seized  and   chap,  lxiii. 
put  to  death.     The  apocryphal  Acts  of  Pilate"  describe "  f/'^  ^''- °- 
Joseph  as  beseeching  the  favour  with  tears  and  entreaties, 
and  they,  thus,  rightly  mark  the  gravity  of  his  act,  but  it 
is  not  unlikely  that  a  meaner  influence  came  to  his  help, 
for  Philo  tells  us  that  Pilate's  special  characteristic  was  his 
openness  to  a  bribe."     Two  or  three  thousand  denarii  from  "  ^^-  ^s-  if^s. 
the  wealthy  supplicant,  would  weigh  more  than  his  suppli- 
cations, in  securing  his  wish."  «» instances  of 
A  written  order,  or  a  verbal  command  to  the  centurion,     eo""^ 

'  '       governors  to 

put  the  body  at  Joseph's  disposal.  '""^'' ""' 

"With  the  help  of  servants,  and,  it  may  be,  of  some  soldiers, 
the  cross  was  quickly  cut  down  or  lifted  from  its  socket, 
and  laid  on  the  ground,  the  cords  round  the  limbs  untied, 
and  the  nails  drawn  from  the  hands  and  feet.  An  open  bier 
sufficed  to  carry  away  the  body  to  its  destined  resting-place. 
Among  the  Jews  the  hopes  of  the  future  were  closely  con- 
nected with  the  careful  preservation  of  the  body  after  death. 
Like  the  Egyptians,  they  attached  supreme  importance  to 
the  inviolability  of  the  tomb  either  by  time  or  violence,  and, 
no  less,  to  the  checking  of  natural  decay,  by  embalming. 
To  perpetuate  their  existence  on  earth,  at  least  in  the 
withered  mockery  of  the  grave,  and  to  lie  in  the  Holy  Land, 
in  the  midst  of  their  fathers,  had,  at  all  times,  been  the  most 
sacred  wish,  of  the  Jews,  In  the  days  of  Jesus,  however,  an 
additional  motive  for  bm-ial  in  Palestine,  and  a  careful  pre- 
servation of  the  body,  was  found  in  the  belief  of  the  Jlesur- 
rection,  which  was  to  take  place  first  in  Judea,  commencing 
in  the  valley  under  the  east  of  the  Temple.  Even  now  an 
Israelite  always  seeks  to  have  some  of  the  soil  of  the  Holy 
Land  laid  in  his  grave,  that  the  spot  where  he  rests  may  be 
counted  part  of  the  sacred  ground ;  if,  indeed,  his  body  has 
not,  before  the  Judgment,  made  its  way  through  land  and 
sea,  to  the  home  of  his  fathers.  The  same  feeling  was  all- 
powerful  in  the  days  of  our  Lord,  for  in  the  great  sieges  of 
Jerusalem,  many  JeAvish  fugitives  came  back  to  the  city,  in 
spite  of  the  horrors  they  had  already  striven  to  escape — 
that  they  might  count  on  at  least  the  last  of  all  blessings, 
a  burial  in  its  holy  bounds." 
VOL.  n,  76 


578  THE   LIFE   OF   CHEIST. 

oHAP^siii.  The  neighbourhood  of  Jerusalem,  like  all  other  parts  of 
Palestine,  has,  hence,  since  the  earliest  times,  abounded  in 
tombs  hewn  out  in  the  limestone  rock.  Princes,  rich  men, 
every  one  ■who  could  by  an}'  means  secure  it,  desired,  above 
all  things,  to  prepare  for  themselves  and  their  families  an 
"  everlasting  house,"  ^  and  such  a  tomb,  never  yet  used,  had 
been  hewn  out  in  the  hill-side  for  himself,  by  Joseph,  in  a 
garden  not  far  from  Calvary. 

To  this  the  body  of  Jesus  was  now  taken.  Nicodemus 
had  come  with  some  of  his  servants,  and  he  and  they,  with 
Joseph  and  his  attendants,  and  Mary  of  j\Iagdala,  and  'Mary 
the  mother  of  James  the  Less,  and  of  Joses;  the  wife  of 
ClSjias,  and  perhaps,  some  others  of  the  true-hearted  Avomen 
from  Galilee,  were  the  only  followers  of  His  bier. 

Arrived  at  the  grave,  the  sacred  burden  was  laid  down  for 
a  time,  till  the  needed  preparations  were  made  for  placing 
it  in  the  tomb.  The  whole  body,  stained  as  it  was  with 
blood,  was  tenderly  washed,  and  then  -wrapped  in  broad 
bands  of  white  linen,  within  which  were  thickly  strewn 
powdered  myrrh  and  aloes,  which  had  been  provided  by 
Nicodemus  for  the  imperfect  embalmment  practised  by  the 
Jews.  The  ends  of  the  bandages  were  apparently  secured 
on  the  inner  side  with  gum,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Egyptian 
dead.  A  white  cloth  Avas  finally  laid  over  the  fiice,  after  a 
last  kiss,  the  pledge  of  undying  love.  The  corpse  was  then 
laid  in  a  niche  in  the  rock,  and  since  there  was  no  stone 
door,  as  in  some  tombs,  a  great  stone,  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose, was  rolled  against  the  entrance,  to  protect  the  body 
from  the  designs  of  enemies,  or  the  attacks  of  wild  beasts. 
It  was  only  a  hurried  burial,  for  the  last  rays  of  the  sun 
were  shining  on  the  garden  as  the  stone  was  set  up  against 
the  entrance  to  the  grave. 

Even  then,  however,  there  were  some  hearts  that  could  not 
leave  the  spot.  Though  He  no  longer  spoke  to  them,  and 
they  no  longer  saw  Him,  some  of  the  Galila^an  faithful  ones 
still  felt  that  He  was  theirs,  and  sat  down  as  mourners,  on 
the  earth,  before  the  door  of  the  tomb.  In  the  evening 
stillness  and'  gathering  twilight  they  still  seemed  to  hear 
His  voice  and  see  His  form,  and  so  they  lingered  on,  as  near 


JESUS   m  THE   TOMB.  579 

as  might  be,  into  the  Sabbath  eve,  and  lamented  Hiin  whom  chap.  lxiu. 
they  had  lost. 

j\Ieanwhile,  the  fears  of  the  chief  priests  and  their  party 
had  already  awaked.  A  meeting  had  been  held  immedi- 
ately after  the  crucifixion,  and  the  success  of  the  scheme 
to  crush  Jesus  had,  doubtless,  been  the  subject  of  hearty 
mutual  congratulations.  But  they  dreaded  that  all  was  not 
over.  It  was  remembered  b}"  one  or  more  that  "  the  de- 
ceiver "  had  spoken  darkly  of  rising  from  the  dead  on  the 
third  day,  and  His  disciples,  acting  on  this  hint,  might  steal 
the  body,  and  spread  abroad  the  assertion  that  He  had  actu- 
ally risen,  misleading  the  people  more  than  ever,  by  claiming 
for  him  divine  honours.  It  was  hence  necessary  that  the 
grave  should  be  Avatched  for  three  days.  A  deputation  was, 
therefore,  appointed  to  wait  on  Pilate,  representing  their 
apprehensions.  Tired  of  them,  and  hating  them,  the  governor 
was  in  no  humour  to  argue.  "  Ye  have  a  guard,"  said  he, 
with  military  bluntness.  "  Go,  make  it  as  sure  as  ye  can." 
This  they  did.  Passing  a  strong  cord  across  the  stone,  and 
securing  its  ends  by  clay,  they  sealed  it,  after  noting  that  the 
soldiers  were  duly  stationed  so  as  to  make  approach  with- 
out their  knowledge  impossible. 

And  thus  the  Redeemer  was  left — pale,  but  victorious— to 
sleep  through  the  Sabbath. 


580  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 


CHAPTER    LXIV. 

TSE   RESURRECTION  AND  THE  FORTY  DATS. 

cHAPj,xiv.  rpHE  religion  of  the  Letter  had  carried  out  to  the  bitter  end 
J-  its  conflict  with  the  religion  of  the  Spirit.  Incapable 
of  reform :  identifying  its  dead  rites  with  the  essence  of 
truth ;  it  had  crucified  the  Teacher  who  had  dared  to  say 
that  they  had  served  their  day,  and  lost  their  worth. 
Ritualism  had  reached  its  natural  culmination  in  claiming 
to  be  the  whole  of  religion,  and  had  slain  The  Truth  itself, 
when  He  witnessed  against  it. 

The  benumbed  and  moribund  Past  had  striven  to  perpe- 
tuate itself,  by  attempting  to  destroy  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Future  in  its  cradle.  How  utterly  it  failed,  eighteen  centuries 
ha\e  told  us. 

It  was  the  old  story :  the  light  had  come  into  the  dark- 
ness, and  the  darkness  would  not  have  it ;  accustomed  to 
the  one,  it  was  only  dazzled  and  blinded  by  the  other.  Evil 
tad  had  its  apparent  triumph.  As  far  as  the  will  and  hand 
of  man  could  effect  it.  He,  who,  alike  as  He  was  man,  and 
as  also  the  Messiah  of  Israel,  knew  no  spot  or  blemish  of 

I  Ewai(i,T.687.  siu,  had  been  crushed  as  an  evil-doer.^  The  one  holy  being 
of  our  race,  having  revealed  Himself  as  the  true  Christ, 
expected  for  ages ;  the  Hope  of  Israel ;  the  highest  and 
perfect  expression,  the  true  spirit  and  aim  of  the  ancient 
economy ;  and  even  of  all  other  religions,  so  far  as  the}'  had 
divine  elements  in  them ;  had  been  rejected  and  dishonoured 
to  the  uttermost  by  the  rulers  of  the  People  of  God,  and  by 
the  great  bulk  of  the  nation.  He  who  had  desired  to  secure 
the  salvation  of  Israel,  and  through  it,  of  humanity,  and 
had  shown  how,  alone,  that  salvation  could  be  attained,  had 
been  branded  by  the  highest  authorities,  both   of  Judaism 


EWALD   OH   THE   KESUKEECTION.  581 

and  heathenism,  as  a  deceiver  of  the  people.  The  blindness  chap,  lxiv. 
of  the  one,  and  the  indifterence  of  the  other,  had  united  in 
attempting  to  crush  Him  Avhose  only  weapons  in  the  assault 
of  evil  had  been  the  highest  msdom,  the  divinest  love,  and 
unconquerable  meekness.  But  their  triumph  was  only  a 
momentary  and  permitted  eclipse  of  the  Light  of  the  World, 
destined,  presently,  to  reappear,  in  unveiled,  and,  henceforth, 
unsetting  glory. 

"  Nothing,  says  even  so  keen  a  critic  as  Heinrich  Ewald,^ »  oeschiohte, 
stands  more  historically  certain  than  that  Jesus  rose  from  Dr?Araoid'3 
the  dead  and  appeared  again  to  His  followers,  or  than  that  IS'rec'iro*' 
their  seeino;  Him  thus,  ao;ain,  was  the  beojinning  of  a  higher 
faith,  and  of  all  their  Christian  work  in  the  world.  It  is 
equally  certain  that  they  thus  saw  Him,  not  as  a  common 
man,  or  as  a  shade  or  ghost  risen  from  the  grave ;  but  as  the 
one  Only  Son  of  God — already  more  than  man  at  once  in 
nature  and  power ;  and  that  all  who  thus  beheld  Him,  recog- 
nized at  once  and  instinctively  His  unique  divine  dignity, 
and  firmly  believed  in  it  thenceforth.  The  Twelve  and 
others  had,  indeed,  learned  to  look  on  Him,  even  in  hfe,  as 
the  True  Messianic  King  and  the  Son  of  God,  but  from  the 
moment  of  His  reaj^pearing,  they  recognized  more  clearly 
and  fully  the  divine  side  of  His  nature,  and  saw  in  Him  the 
conqueror  of  death.  Yet  the  two  pictures  of  Him  thus 
fixed  in  their  minds  were  in  their  essence  identical.  That 
former  familiar  appearance  of  the  earthly  Christ,  and  this 
higher  vision  of  Him,  with  its  depth  of  emotion  and  ecstatic 
joy,  were  so  inter-related  that,  even  in  the  first  days  oi' 
weeks  after  His  death,  they  could  never  have  seen  in  Him 
the  Heavenly  Messiah,  if  they  had  not  first  known  him  so 
well  as  the  earthly." 

Mary  of  Magdala,  and  the  wife  of  Clopas,  herself  another 
Mary — for  Mary,  from  the  Hebrew  Miriam,  was  a  favourite 
name  ever  since  the  days  of  the  sister  of  Moses, — had  sat  on 
the  ground  at  the  door  of  the  garden-tomb  in  which  the 
Beloved  One  lay,  till  late  on  the  evening  on  Friday.  The 
trumpet  announcing  the  beginning  of  the  great  Passover 
Sabbath  had  only  startled  them  for  a  moment,  and  exhausted 
natui'e  had,  perhaps,  first  compelled  them  to  leave. 


582 


THE   LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 


Tlie  next  day  rose  calm  and  bright  on  the  budding  and 
blossoming  landscape,  for  it  was  Nisan — the  month  of 
flowering — and  nature  was  in  the  secret  to  be  revealed  on 
the  morrow — and  might  well,  for  joy,  put  on  her  fairest. 
Tlie  courts  of  the  Temple  were  filled  from  morning  to  evening, 
with  zealous  worshippers :  the  barefooted,  white-robed,  and 
turbaned  priests  were  busy  offering  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of 
goats^  for  the  sins  of  Israel,  unconscious  that  the  blood  of  a 
greater  sacrifice  had  been  shed,  of  which  that  which  they 
offered  Avas  only  the  rude,  and  well-nigh  revolting,  symbol. 
Yet  it  must  have  been  with  strange  feelings  they  went 
through  the  services  of  the  day.  The  trumpets  and  voices 
of  the  Levites  were  loud  and  clear  as  ever :  the  high  priest, 
fresh  from  Golgotha,  not  less  gorgeous  in  his  splendid  robes: 
— ^the  crowd  of  priests  not  less  pressed  with  official  toil : 
the  throngs,  filling  the  courts  below,  not  less  numerous  or 
devout.  But  an  omen,  portentous  beyond  all  their  history 
recorded,  had  been  seen  by  Levite  and  priest  alike — for,  was 
not  the  Holy  of  Holies,  hitherto  veiled  in  a-NA'ful  darkness, 
and  entered  only  once  in  the  year,  for  a  few  moments,  by 
the  high  priest,  laid  visibly  open  before  all  in  the  court  of 
the  priests :  in  fact,  before  all  in  the  vast  Temple  area,  for 
the  Holy  of  Holies  stood  high  alcove  the  rest  of  the  sanctuary? 
The  huge,  heavy  veil  of  Babylonian  tapestry  of  fine  flax, 
gorgeous  in  its  hyacinth  and  scarlet  and  purple,*  had  been 
mysteriously  rent  from  top  to  bottom,  at  the  moment  when 
the  "enemy  of  the  Temple"  expired  on  Calvary,  and  the 
awful  presence-chamber  of  Jehovah  had  been  exposed  to 
every  eye,  like  ground  no  longer  sacred. 

The  disciples  of  Jesus,  and  even  the  Eleven,  had  been 
overwhelmed  by  the  events  of  the  day.  Having  no  clear 
idea  of  their  Master's  meaning,  and  thinking  little  on  words 
painful  at  best,  His  repeated  warnings  that  He  must  be  put 
to  death,  but  would  rise  again  from  the  dead  on  the  third 
day,  had  made  no  lasting  impression  on  their  minds.  The 
catastrophe  had  been  so  sudden  and  complete,  that,  for  the 
time,  they  were  confounded  and  paralyzed. 

It  is  the  glory  of  woman  that  she  most  seldom  forsakes 
those  she  loves,  even  when  things  are  darkest.    The  two 


Harm.  Evang 


THE   DESCENT   OF  THE   AlfGEL,  583 

]\Iary3  had  left  the  grave  only  when  the  deep  night  compelled  ohap.  lsiv. 
them,  but,  even  then,  they  still  had  its  Dear  One  in  their 
hearts.  The  Sabbath,  which  had  begun  just  as  the  stone  was 
rolled  to  the  entrance,  kej)t  them  from  doing  anything  for 
Him  for  twenty-four  hours,  but  it  was  no  sooner  over,  on 
Saturday  afc  sunset,^  than,  with  Salome  and  Joanna,  and «  oreswoiis 

,  Harm.  Evang. 

some  other  women,  they  arranged  to  take  additional  spices    393. 
at  the  earliest  dawn  to  complete  the  embalming  of  the  body 
begun  by  Nicodemu.s,   but  left  unfinished  through  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Sabbath.     Mary,  mother  of  Jesus,  was  too 
sorely  stricken  in  heart  to  join  them. 

Meanwhile,  the  Roman  sentries  were  pacing  to  and  fro 
on  their  beat,  before  the  sepulchre :  their  fire  lighted,  for 
the  spring  night  was  chilly,  and  besides,  the  light  prevented 
any  one  approaching.  The  true-hearted  women  had  resolved 
to  reach  tlie  grave  by  sunrise,  which  would  take  place  about 
a  quarter  before  six  in  the  morning, '^  and  slept  outside  the «  Greswen'8 
city  gates,  which  would  not  ojjen  till  daybreak  at  the 
earliest.  The  grey  dawn  had  hardly  shown  itself,  when 
they  were  afoot  on  their  errand,  to  perform  the  last  offices 
of  love.  As  they  went,  however,  a  difficulty  rose  of  which 
they  had  not  thought  before.  T\Tio  would  roll  away  the 
stone  for  them,  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre  ?  They  had 
heard  nothing  of  its  having  been  sealed  during  the  Sabbath, 
or  of  the  guard  being  mounted  in  the  garden,  else  they 
might  have  been  altogether  discouraged.  But  they  had, 
doubtless,  told  some  of  the  Eleven  where  the  grave  lay,  and 
might  hope  that  one,  at  least,  would  be  there  to  help  them. 

A  greater  than  an  Apostle  had  already,  however,  been  at 
the  tomb.  For  St.  IMatthow  tells  us,  "  an  angel  of  the  Lord 
had  descended  from  heaven,  his  countenance  shining  like 
lightning,  and  his  raiment  white  as  snow,"  "and,"  striking 
terror  even  into  the  Roman  guard,  "had  rolled  back  the 
stone  from  the  door."  As  it  opened  the  Crucified  One  had 
come  forth,  unseen  by  the  dazzled  soldiei-s,  and  had  presently 
vanished. 

They  had  scarcely  left  the  spot,  when  the  women  arrived. 
The  earth  had  been  trembhng  strangely,  but  they  had  kept 
on  their  way.     How  great  must  have  been  their  astonish- 


584  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lsry.  ment,  however,  when  they  found  the  stone  rolled  fiway,  and 
the  grave  open.  There  was  no  longer  a  guard,  for  the 
soldiers  had  fled  in  terror  at  the  angelic  vision.  j\Iary 
of  Magdala  had  entered  the  garden  first,  and  had  found 
things  thus,  and  having  run  back  to  the  others,  hastened 
into  the  city  to  tell  Peter  and  John.  Determined  to  solve 
the  mystery,  if  possible,  her  companions  came,  together, 
to  the  sepulchre,  and,  bending  down,  entered  its  inner 
chamber.  But  it  was  only  to  be  appalled  by  the  sight  of  an 
angel,  in  white,  sitting  in  it ;  as  if  waiting  to  bear  the  glad 
news  to  them,  of  wliat  had  taken  place.  Presently,  a  second 
radiant  form  stood  before  them,  as  they  bowed  down  their 
faces  to  the  earth,  in  terror.  But  words  now  fell  on  their 
ears  which  brought  back  joy  to  their  hearts.  "  Fear  not, 
for  I  know  that  ye  seek  Jesus  of  Nazareth  who  was  crucified. 
TNTiy  seek  ye  the  living  among  the  dead  ?  He  is  not  here, 
for  He  is  risen.  Behold  the  place  where  they  laid  Him. 
But  go  quickly,  tell  His  disciples,  and  Peter,  that  He  is 
risen  from  the  dead.  Remember  the  words  that  He  said  to 
you,  while  He  was  yet  in  Galilee — that  the  Son  of  Man 
must  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  sinful  men,  and  be 
crucified,  and  the  third  day  rise  again.  And  teU  them  '  He 
goeth  before  you  into  Galilee ' — there  you  will  see  Him,  as 
He  said  unto  you.     So,  I  have  told  you." 

Mary  of  Magdala  had  hurried  back  to  Jerusalem  with 
eager  steps,  to  tell  Peter  and  John,  who  seem  to  have  lived 
together  at  this  time,  the  strange  fact  of  the  grave  being 
empty.  The  Virgin  Mother,  John's  honoured  guest,  now, 
doubtless,  heard  the  amazing  news,  and  joined  the  other 
JIary  in  urging  the  two  Aj^ostles  to  go  instantly  to  the 
tomb;  though  their  own  hearts  had  at  once  instinctively 
impelled  both,  forthwith,  to  do  so.  Peter  and  John,  there- 
fore, were  on  the  way  to  the  garden  at  once ;  their  eager 
haste  hurrying  them  to  the  utmost  speed.  John,  how- 
ever, younger  than  Peter,  outran  him,  yet  contented  him- 
self, on  reaching  the  tomb,  with  stooping  down,  and  gazing 
into  its  empty  space.  The  body,  assuredly,  was  gone,  but 
there  was  no  trace  of  violence,  for  the  linen  bandages  lay 
carefully  unrolled,   in   the  empty  niche  where  the  Saviour 


MART   AT    THE    TOMB.  585 

had  been  placed.  Xatural  reverence,  and  the  awful  ni3-stery  chapjlxiv. 
before  him,  kept  him  from  actually  entering ;  but  no  such 
hesitation  checked  the  impulsive  Peter.  Passing  under  tho 
low  door  he  went  in,  undismayed.  The  sepulchre  was, 
indeed,  empty,  as  John  and  the  women  had  found  ;  only 
the  grave-linen  was  left :  the  bands  for  the  body  and  limbs 
laid  by  themselves,  and  the  cloth  that  had  covered  the  face 
of  the  Dead,  not  lying  with  them,  but,  folded  up,  in  a  place 
by  itself.  Following  his  friend,  John  now  entered,  and  saw 
that  it  was  so.  The  great  truth,  as  he  himself  tells  us  in 
long  after  years,  now,  for  the  first  time,  flashed  on  his  mind, 
that  Jesus  had  risen.''  Neither  he  nor  the  other  Apostles '  John 20. a. 
had,  as  yet,  realized  that  it  had  been  foretold  in  the  Scrip- 
tures^ that  He  would  do  so  ;  for  this  would  have  explained  the  »  Pa.i6.io. 
whole  at  once,  and  would  have  throAvn  hght  on  the  hitherto 
mysterious  words  of  Jesus  Himself  respecting  His  i-esurrection. 

Having  seen  for  themselves  the  empty  tomb,  they  thought 
like  men,  only  of  returning,  to  discuss  with  each  other  and 
with  their  brethren,  what  it  could  mean.  But  the  women 
would  not  leave  the  spot.  Wandering  everywhere,  they 
only  cared  to  find  Him  whom  they  loved,  if  they  could,  for 
they  fancied  that  the  body  had  been  removed  to  some  other 
place.  Mary  of  Magdala  had,  meanwhile,  returned,  and  stood 
weeping  at  the  door  of  the  tomb ;  her  spirit,  like  that  of  her 
companions,  overborne  with  longing  anxiety  to  find  Him, 
if  possible,  and  refusing  to  believe  that  she  would  not. 
The  two  Apostles  had  seen  no  angels,  but  the  weeping 
woman  was  more  highly  favoured.  Gazing  into  the  Sepulchre, 
the  empty  space  where  Jesus  had  lain  was  no  longer  un- 
tenanted, but,  instead  of  the  Redeemer,  she  saw  two  angels, 
in  bright  robes,  one  where  the  head,  and  the  other  where  the 
feet  had  rested.  They  were  there  to  comfort  the  broken 
heart,  as,  indeed,  they  had,  doubtless,  been  before,  though 
for  the  time  they  had  remained  unseen. 

"Woman,"  said  one,  in  a  human  voice,  that  disarmed 
fear,  "  why  weepest  thou  ?  " 

"  Because,"  i-epUed  Mary,  in  broken  accents,  "  they  have 
taken  away  my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid 
Him." 


586  THE   LITE   OF   CHRIST. 

As  she  said  tliis,  she  turned  and  drew  back  into  the  open 
garden,  hardly  knowing  what  she  did.  A  man  now  stood 
before  her,  in  tlie  simple  dress  of  the  humbler  classes,  and 
being  in  a  garden,  she  naturally  thought  him  the  person 
emplo3-ed  in  it.  "  Woman,"  said  the  stranger,  strangely 
enough  ns  it  must  have  seemed  to  Mary,  in  the  same  Avords 
as  the  angels  had  used,  "why  weepest  thou? — whom 
seekest  thou  ?"  "  Sir,"  said  Mary,  taking  it  for  granted,  as 
great  sorrow  does,  that  the  cause  of  her  grief  must  be  known 
to  all — "  if  thou  hast  carried  Him  from  this  tomb,  pray  tell 
nie  where  thou  hast  laid  Him,  and  I  will  take  Him  away." 
She  M'as  a  woman  of  means,  and  Avould  see  that  He  had  a 
final  and  suitable  resting-place. 

No  reply  Avas  given,  except  the  repetition  of  her  own 
name — "  Mary."  But  the  voice  revealed  the  speaker.  It 
was  that  of  Jesus.  She  had  not  recognized  the  known, 
but  now  strangely  etherealized  features — the  one  "spiritual 
body  "  ever  seen  by  human  eyes — the  corruptible  changed 
into  incorruption — the  mortal  into  immortality.  But  the 
sound  of  that  voice,  so  tenderly  remembered,  brought  with 
it  full  recognition  of  the  face  and  form. 

"  Rabbouni,"  said  she,  in  the  country  tongue  they  both 
loved  so  well — "  ]\Iy  Teacher !"  and  was  about  to  fall  on  His 
neck  in  uncontrollable  emotion. 

"  Touch  me  not,"  said  He,  drawing  back,  "  for  I  have  not 
yet  ascended  to  the  Father,  but  go  to  my  brethren,  and  say 
to  them,  I  ascend  to  my  Father  and  yom-  Fathc!r,  and  to  my 
God  and  your  God." 

Meanwhile,  the  other  women  had  come  near,  and  hearing 
and  seeing  what  had  passed,  kneeled  in  lowly  worship.  As 
they  approached,  Jesus  greeted  them  with  the  salutation 
they  had,  doubtless,  often  heard  from  His  lips — "All  hail!" 
— and  the  words,  and  the  sight  of  ]\Iary  adoring  Him,  left 
them  no  question  of  its  being  their  Lord.  He  had  with- 
held Mary  from  any  approach  to  the  tender  freedom  of 
former  days,  but  He  now  stood  still  while  the  lowly  band, 
]Mary  doubtless  among  them,  held  Him  by  the  feet,  and 
did  Him  lowliest  reverence.  Then,  as  they  kneeled,  came 
the  words,  grateful  to  their  hearts,   "  Be  not  afraid !      Go, 


APPEARANCES   OF  THE   RISEN   SAVIOUR.  587 

tell  my  brethren  to  go  into  Galilee,  and  they  will  see  me  caAP.  lxiv. 
there." 

So  saying,  He  was  gone. 

Losing  no  time,  Mary  of  Magdala,  and  the  othei's,  hurried 
back  to  Jerusalem,  and  found  that,  in  the  still  early  morn- 
ing, the  news  had  spread  to  all  the  Eleven,  that  their 
Master  was  alive,  and  had  been  seen  both  by  her  and  by 
them.  But  it  seemed  too  wonderful  for  simple  minds  to 
realize  at  once,  and  sounded  only  like  an  idle  tale  Avhich 
they  could  not  believe.  It  sufficed,  however,  to  rally  them, 
for  the  first  time  since  Gethsemane  ;  for  that  very  night  they 
once  more  assembled  as  of  old. 

No  detailed  narrative  of  the  successive  appearances  of 
Jesus  to  His  disciples,  after  His  resurrection,  has  been  left 
us,  each  narrati\'e  giving  only  special  cases,  which  had  par- 
ticularly impressed  the  mind  of  the  writer.  It  is  evident, 
indeed,  that  He  showed  Himself  on  many  occasions  of 
which  no  record  is  preserved,  for  St.  John  expressly  tells 
us,"  in  his  summary  of  the  Forty  Days,  that  besides  the»  ch.2o.ns3(^ 
sign  in  the  case  of  Thomas,  Jesus  did  many  others  before 
His  disciples,  which  are  not  Avritten  in  the  Gospel  bearing 
the  Apostle's  name,  and  He  had  promised  that  He  would 
manifest  Himself  again,  soon  after  His  death,  to  those 
who  continued  faithful  to  Him.  ^^  Had  we  a  full  narrative  »  joimi4.2i. 
of  the  mysterious  interval  between  Calvary  and  the 
Ascension,  it  would  doubtless  illustrate  more  vividly  than 
existing  records  permit,  the  fulness  and  variety  of  demon- 
stration which  alone  accounts  for  the  firm  and  triumphant 
proclamation  of  the  Resurrection  by  the  Apostles  and  early 
Church. 

One  characteristic  is  common  to  all  the  appearances  re- 
counted :  they  never  pass  outside  the  purely  spiritual 
bounds  we  instinctively  associate  with  the  mysterious  exist- 
ence on  which  Jesus  had  entered.  Even  when  most  closely 
touching  the  material  and  earthly.  He  is  always  seen 
speaking  and  acting  only  as  a  spirit,  coming  suddenly, 
revealing  Himself  in  an  imperceptibly  increasing  complete- 
ness which  culminates  at  last  in  some  unmistakable  sign, 
and  presently  vanishing,  as  suddenly  as  He  appeared.     He 


588  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lsiv.  no  longer  acts  or  suffers  as  before  His  death,  and  even  when 
condescending  most  to  the  seen  and  material,  only  does 
so  to  prove  Himself,  beyond  question,  the  same  Jesus  as 
formerly,  who  in  common  human  life,  shared  all  the  ex- 

"  Ewaid,Ti.87.  periencos  and  wants  of  His  foUowers.^^  To  some  He  made 
Himself  known,  as  to  Mary  and  the  women,  by  a  single  word 
or  l)y  brief  sentences,  the  voice  carrying  instant  conviction 
with  it :  to  others,  in  a  lengthened  communion,  as  with 
the  disciples  going  to  Emmaus ;  kindling  their  soul  by  the 
higher  sense  He  gave  to  the  Scriptures,  and  by  a  repetition 
of  the  symbolic  "  breaking  of  bread,"  which,  on  the  last 
night.  He  had  enjoined  on  the  Eleven:  to  others  again,  as 
to  Thomas,  by  an  outward  material  proof  from  the  Avounds 
on  His  person;  and,  to  still  others,  by  joining  them  in  their 
simple  repast,  as  with  the  disciples  on  the  shore  of  the  Lake 
of  Galilee. 

■2  1001.15.6.  It  would  seem,  from  a  notice  by  St.  Paul,^'  that  the  first 
appearance,  after  that  granted  to  the  women,  Avas  vouchsafed 
to  Peter,  perhaps  Avhile  still  in  the  garden.  The  complete- 
ness of  the  Apostle's  repentance  had  secured  as  complete  a 
forgiveness,  and  Jesus  could  not  forget  that  Peter's  home 
at  Capernaum  had  been  His,  or  how  true-hearted  he  had 
been  from  the  very  days  of  the  Baptism  on  the  Jordan, 
though  he  had  failed  for  a  moment,  when  off  his  guard. 
The  look  of  reproach,  mingled  with  love  and  pity,  had 
melted  Peter's  heart  while  the  denials  were  yet  on  his  lips, 
and  now,  the  look  and  tender  words  of  the  risen  Christ, 
bound  him  to  Him  for  ever.  He  had  been  the  foremost  in 
zeal  for  the  meek  and  lowly  Master,  Avhile  still  rejected  and 
despised,  but  when  that  Master  stood  before  him,  the  con- 
queror of  death,  and  the  glorified  Son  of  God,  his  zeal  rose 
to  a  passionate  devotion  that,  henceforth,  knew  no  abate- 
ment. 

The  news  of  the  resurrection  spread  fast  among  the  dis- 
ciples in  Jerusalem ;  still  it  required  time  to  reach  all,  and  even 
when  it  spread,  the  fact  was  too  great  to  be  realized  at  once, 
and  too  contraiy  to  pre\aous  expectations,  to  be  other  than 
slowly  understood.  Deep  dejection  reigned  throughout  the 
little   Christian  company.     In   spite   of  aU   their  IMaster's 


ON   THE   ROAD   TO   EMMAUS.  589 

warnings,  His  death  had  come  on  them  by  surprise,  and,  as  ' 
it  seemed,  had  destroyed  everything.  Cut  off  suddenly  from 
all  the  hopes  of  an  earthly  kingdom  they  had  cherished, 
notAvithstanding  the  constant  lessons  of  Christ's  life  and 
■words,  and  deeply  distressed  by  the  loss  of  their  Teacher 
and  Head,  they  appeared  to  be  left  helpless,  and  paralyzed. 
The  horrors  of  the  past  few  days  engrossed  their  thoughts 
and  conversation.  They  beUeved  Him  now  in  Paradise, 
but  no  one  dreamed  of  a  resurrection  so  soon.  John  had, 
indeed,  risen  in  some  measure  to  the  grandeur  of  the  truth, 
and  Peter  had  even  seen  Him,  but  the  bulk  of  the  disciples 
had  lost  well-nigh  all  hope.  The  report  of  the  einpty  grave 
and  of  the  vision  of  angels  and  of  their  announcement  that 
He  was  alive,  was  insufficient  to  break  their  gloom,  and  pro- 
longed their  perplexity  without  relieving  it. 

Midday  had  passed,  and  only  floating  rumours  were,  as 
yet,  abroad.  The  disciples  began  to  think  of  finally  sepa- 
rating, and  abandoning  all  hope ;  for,  without  their  Master, 
they  were  without  a  leader.  Two  of  them  determined  to  go 
home  to  Emmaus,  a  village  between  seven  and  eight  mUes 
north-west  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  high  slope  of  the  hills. 
The  way  to  it  was  over  hills,  and  through  valleys,  more  and 
more  barren  as  Jerusalem  was  left  behind,  but  Emmaus 
itself  looked  do-rni  into  a  hollow  through  which  a  rivulet 
spread  greenness  and  beauty.  Vines  and  olive-trees,  planted 
in  terraces  up  the  hill-side,  and  the  white  and  red  flowers  of 
the  almond-tree,  nowbui-sting  into  blossom  in  the  valley,  made 
the  end  of  the  journey  a  pleasant  contrast  to  its  beginning. ^^  ' 

The  two  travellers  were  not  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  and 
it  is  not  even  known  whether  they  had  been  in  the  number 
of  the  Seventy.  The  name  of  the  one  is  told  us — Cleopas, 
a  different  word  from  Clopas,  the  name  of  the  husband  of  one 
of  the  Marys  who  waited  on  Christ,  and,  thus,  no  hint  is 
furnished  by  it.  The  other  has  been  variously  fancied  as 
Nathanael,  Peter,  or,  even,  Luke  himself,  but  it  is  only  con- 
jecture. They  were  passing  on  their  way,  their  conversation 
turning  naturally  on  that  of  which  their  hearts  were  full — 
and  of  which  they  had  heard  and  spoken  so  much  that  day. 
Was  Jesus  the  Messiah  or  not?     If  so,  how  had  things 


590  THE   LIFE   OF   CnuiST. 

cBAP.usiv.  happened  as  tliey  had  ?  His  life,  His  Avords,  His  miracles, 
seemed  to  show  that  He  was  the  ilessiah,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  how  could  the  ]\Iessiah  have  been  crucified  ? 

Meanwhile,  a  stranger,  going  their  way,  overtook  them, 
and,  very  possibly  to  their  disappointment,  joined  them. 
He  had  heard  how  eagerly  they  were  disputing  and  reasoning, 
so  that  it  seemed  only  natural  when  He  asked  them  what 
subject  had  so  engrossed  them.  Half  impatient  that  He 
should  seem  unacquainted  with  a  matter  so  supreme  to 
themselves,  Cleopas  answered — "That  he  could  not  have 
thought  there  was  any  one  who  had  been  to  the  feast  in 
Jerusalem,  who  woidd  ask  the  subject  of  their  conversation, 
when  such  great  things,  still  in  every  one's  mouth,  had 
happened  in  these  last  few  days." 

"  What  things?"  asked  the  stranger. 

"What  but  respecting  Jesus  of  Nazareth?"  replied  Cleopas. 
"  He  was  a  prophet  of  God,  a  mighty  worker  of  miracles,  and 
a  gi'eat  teacher.  All  the  people  must  own  that  He  was  that. 
Do  you  not  know  about  him  ?  How  our  priests  and  Rabbis 
seized  Him,  and  condemned  Him  to  death,  and  forced  Pilate 
to  crucify  Him  ?  Yet  we  believed,  as  it  seemed  on  the  best 
grounds,  that  He  Avas  the  Messiah,  Avho  should  have  delivered 
Israel.  But  it  is  now  the  third  day  since  all  this  has 
happened.  Some  of  the  women  belonging  to  our  company, 
however,  have  created  no  little  perplexity  amongst  us.  They 
had  gone  eai-ly  in  the  morning  to  the  tomb,  but  found  it 
empty,  and  came  back,  saying  that  angels  had  appeared  to 
them,  who  told  them  that  He  was  alive  again.  On  this  some 
of  our  number  went  to  the  sepulchre,  and  found  the  women 
right  as  to  its  being  empty,  but  they  did  not  see  Jesus 
Himself." 

It  was  clear  that  the  spark  of  hope  kindled  by  the  first 
rejjort,  had  been  already  extinguished. 

The  stranger  had  listened  attentively,  and  now,  to  their 
surprise,  began  to  chide  them  for  their  doubt,  and  entered  into 
the  matter  that  so  engrossed  them,  with  the  earnestness  of 
one  who  felt  as  supremely  interested  in  their  ]\Iaster's  cause 
as  they  were  themselves,  and  with  an  intelligence  that 
arrested  their  closest  attention. 


AT   EMMAUS.  591 

"  What  is  there  in  all  this,  that  makes  you  so  dejected  and  chap,  lsiv. 
despairing  ?  "  asked  He.  "  0  ye  dull  of  understanding,  and 
sluggish  of  heart !  Why  not  grasp  moi'e  clearly,  and  believe 
more  readil}',  what  is  the  burden  of  all  the  prophets  ?  Had 
you  been  as  intelligent,  and  as  ready  in  your  hearts  as  you 
should  have  been,  to  understand  and  accept  the  witness  of 
Scriptui'e,  you  Avould  have  seen  that  it  had  been  prophesied, 
from  the  first,  that  the  Messiah  was  to  sufifer  and  die,  as  Jesus 
has  done.  Let  us  examine  whether  the  prophets  do  not  show 
that  the  Christ — the  IMessiah — must  needs  have  been  thus 
lowly,  entering  into  His  glory  only  after  suffering  death, 
though  you  have  foolishly  imagined  His  kingdom  was  to 
come  by  force  and  miracle  ? 

The  stranger  was  evidently  a  learned  Rabbi,  at  least ;  and 
had  won  their  anxious,  respectful  attention  already,  by  the 
novelty  and  force  of  this  appeal.  But,  now,  as  He  journeyed 
on  at  their  side,  their  wonder  and  delight  increased,  for  He 
quoted  passage  after  passage,  from  the  beghming  to  the  end 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  showed  them  how  the  whole  spirit  and 
contents  of  the  Holy  Books  pointed  to  such  a  Messiah  as  He 
had  indicated — a  IMessiah  founding  a  spiritual,  not  a  mere 
earthly  kingdom,  founding  it  by  love  and  self-sacrifice,  not 
by  force.  They  had  never  heard  such  discourse.  He  threw 
light  on  the  deep  things  of  Scripture  which  made  it  a  new 
book  to  them.  They  had  been  familiar  with  it  from  child- 
hood, but  now,  for  the  first  time,  found  that  their  ]\Iaster, 
ahke  in  His  life  and  death,  shone  out  from  every  page. 

Such  discourse  shortened  the  road,  and  found  them  still 
eagerly  listening  as  they  approached  Emmaus,  the  end  ot 
the  joiu'ney.  Climbing  the  hill  path  together,  through  the 
terraces  of  vines  and  olives,  and  passing  under  the  village 
gate,  they  were  presently  at  the  house  where  the  disciples 
were  to  stay.  And,  now,  the  stranger  bade  them  adieu. 
What  they  had  heard  from  Him,  however,  had  interested 
them  so  much,  that  they  longed  to  hear  more.  They  begged 
Him,  therefore,  to  lodge  with  them  for  the  night,  and  this, 
the  rather,  as  the  day  was  far  spent.  Accepting  the  invita- 
tion, all  three  went  into  the  house. 

It  must  have  been  no  small  wonder  to  the  Two,  who  the 


592  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

oHAP^rv.  mysterious  stranger  could  be.  Nothing  in  His  dress  or 
speech  gave  them  a  clue,  and  they  did  not  know  His 
features.  But  a  feeling  of  reverence  kept  them  from 
asking. 

Simple  refreshments  were  presently  set  before  them — 
among  the  rest,  bread  and  wine.  The  stranger,  as  was  His 
due,  had  the  place  of  honour  at  table,  and  it  fell  to  Him  to 
hand  what  was  before  them,  to  the  others.  Only  the  three 
■were  present. 

Presently  the  Unknown,  taking  the  bread,  offered  tlie  usual 
benediction — just  as  Jesus  had  done ;  broke  the  bread,  just  as 
Jesus  had  broken  it ;  handed  it  to  them,  just  as  Jesus  had 
handed  it.  Bearing,  voice,  and  manner  were  His.  And  now, 
as  they  look  at  Him  more  closely, — the  veil  He  had  assumed 
passes  away,  and  the  very  Face  and  Form,  also,  were  His. 

It  was  He !  MeauAvhile,  as  they  gazed  in  awful  wonder 
and  reverence,  He  vanished. 

No  instance  given  illustrates,  more  strikingly,  the 
adaptation  of  the  Risen  Saviour's  self-disclosures  to  the 
requirements  of  His  disciples.  Their  minds  were  first 
enlightened  and  their  hearts  warmed,  till  there  was  no 
longer  a  danger  of  affecting  their  senses  only,  but  a  security 
of  intelligent  conviction,  resting  on  impressions  left  by  the 
discourse  they  had  heard.  They  Avere  gently  led  on  till 
fully  prepared,  and  then  the  appearance  was  granted  in  a 
way  so  inexpressibly  touching  and  tender,  that  it  no  less 
fii'ed  their  love  than  established  their  faith. 

Left  to  themselves,  the  Two  could  speak  only  of  what  they 
had  heard  and  seen — of  how  their  hearts  had  glowed  in  their 
bosoms,  as  He  talked  with  them  along  the  road,  and  opened 
to  them  the  Scriptures.  Their  ecstatic  joy  at  having  seen 
Him,  whom  they  had  knoWn  as  the  earthly  Messiah,  now 
unveiled  to  them  as  the  Messiah,  risen  and  glorified — the 
conqueror  of  death — can  ojdy  be  faintly  imagined.  Neither 
life  nor  death  could  ever  efface  the  memory  of  it  from  their 
inmost  hearts.  But  their  brethren  must  know  the  great 
truth.  Hastening,  with  quickened  steps,  back  to  Jerusalem, 
to  reach  it  before  the  shutting  of  the  gates,  they  found  the 
Eleven,  and  a  number  of  the  disciples  gathered  together — 


Juhn  »:■   19— 


APPEARANCE  TO  THE  ELEVEN.  593 

the  amazing  riiinours  of  the  clay  the  one  engrossing  theme  chap.  lxiv. 
of  discussion.  Peter,  it  seemed,  had  told  them  that  Jesus 
had  appeared  to  him,  and,  now,  the  Two  added  their 
amazing  narrative.  It  was  a  thing  so  transcendent,  however, 
and  so  unheard  of,  that  any  one  should  rise  from  the  dead, 
that  the  company  still  fancied  the  women,  and  Peter,  and 
the  Two,  under  some  strange  delusion.  They  could  not 
credit  their  story  as  a  matter  of  fact. 

It  was  still  Sunday,  and  the  assembled  Eleven,  with  Markic.  i4- 
tlie  others,  had  gathered  at  the  table  couches,  to  eat  a  J'^'"'_|i,-  ^*~ 
simple  evening  meal  together,  before  parting  for  the  night. 
The  doors  were  fast  closed,  for  fear  of  any  emissary  of  the 
high  priests  and  Rabbis  discovering  them,  and  they  were 
still  discussing  the  strange  reports  they  had  heard,  and 
justifying  their  increduhty.  Suddenly,  through  the  closed 
doors,  a  form  appeared  in  their  midst,  which  they  at  once 
recognized  as  that  of  Jesus.  Presently,  the  salutation  they 
had  heai'd  so  often,  sounded  from  His  lips — the  common 
Jewish  greeting — Shalom  Lachem.     Peace  to  you  ! 

The  sight  terrified  and  alarmed  them.  They  could  not 
realize  that  it  was  really  Jesus  Himself,  but  fancied  it  was 
His  spirit. 

"  Why  are  you  in  such  fear,"  said  He,  "  and  why  do  you 
not,  at  once,  without  any  such  doubts  and  questionings  in 
your  minds,  recognize  me  as  Him  who  I  really  am  ?  " 
His  hands  were,  of  course,  exposed  beneath  the  sleeves  of 
His  abba,  and  His  feet  could  be  seen  through  His  sandals. 
Holding  up  the  former,  and  showing  the  marks  of  the  great 
iron  nails  of  the  cross  in  the  palms,  and  pressing  back  His 
abba,  and  disclosing  the  wounds  on  his  feet — He  went  on — 
"  Look  at  my  hands  and  my  feet — see  the  wounds  of  the 
nails — and  be  satisfied  that  it  is  I,  Jesus,  myself,  who  sj^eak. 
And,  that  you  may  know  that  it  is  not  my  spirit  you  see, 
but  the  same  Master  you  knew  of  old,  come  near  and  touch 
me,  for  a  spirit  has  not  flesh  and  bones  as  you  see  me  have." 

Evidence  so  convincing  could  leave  no  doubt,  except  from 
verj' joy  at  its  completeness;  for  the  retui'n  of  their  Lord, 
thus  triumphant  over  the  grave,  was  so  stupendous  a  miracle 
that  while  they  could  not  question  it,  their  gladness  would 

VOL.  II.  77 


594  THE   LIFE   OF    CHRIST. 

cnvp  T^i7.  scarcely  let  them  think  it  real.  But  still  further  proof  wa 
to  be  given.  Knowing  how  easily  the  idea  might  spread 
that  His  appearances  were  merely  those  of  a  disembodied 
spirit,  He  asked  them  to  let  Hiin  share  their  meal.  Tliey  had 
broiled  fish,''  and  having  set  some  before  Him  with  wondering 
awe,  He  ate  it  in  their  sight.  All  doubt  now  fled  :  it  was, 
indeed,  their  Risen  Lord. 

"Now  that  you  are  convinced  that  it  is  really  I,"  con- 
tinued Jesus,  "  let  me  remind  you  that  the  facts  you  have 
now  verified — that  I  should  die,  and  rise  again  from  the 
dead — are  the  fulfilment  of  what  I  said  to  you  while  I  was 
yet  with  you — that  all  that  was  written  respecting  me  in 
the  Scriptures,  must  be  fulfilled  in  this  way." 

As  the  "  Light  of  the  World,"  He  then  proceeded  to  recall 
to  their  minds  and  explain  more  fully,  the  prophecies  re- 
specting Himself  in  the  Books  of  Moses,  the  Prophets,  and 
the  Psahns, — the  three  divisions  under  which  all  the  Holy 
Books  were  classed  by  the  Jews ;  and  showed  their  wonderful 
vividness  as  inspired  anticipations  of  what  had  really  hap- 
M  RivaBathre,  pencd  in  His  OAvn  person. ^^ 

"  You  see  thus,"  added  He,  after  giving  this  summaiy  of 
the  testimony  of  Scripture,  "  that  it  was  necessary,  in  the 
Divine  Counsels,  that  instead  of  founding  an  earthly  kingdom, 
as  you  expected,  the  Messiah  should  suffer  as  I  have  done, 
and  that  He  should  rise  from  the  dead,  the  third  day,  as  ye 
see  has  been  the  case  Avith  me.  The  purposes  of  God  now 
further  require  that  the  need  of  repentance,  and  the  promise 
of  the  remission  of  sins  to  be  obtained  through  my  death 
and  resurrection,  should  be  preached,  henceforth,  as  the 
great  end  of  all  I  have  suffered,  and  as  the  Salvation  I  w^as 
sent  as  the  Messiah  to  secure,  not  for  Israel  only  but  for 
all  mankind.  These  truths  you  are  to  proclaim  to  all  nations, 
but  you  are  to  begin  at  Jerusalem,  that  Israel  may  have 
still  another  opportunit}'^  of  accepting  me,  and  of  being 
saved  through  my  name,  now  I  am  risen  and  glorified ;  though 
they  rejected  me  in  my  humiliation.  And  you,  my  disciples, 
are  the  witnesses  through  whom  God  will  spread  abroad  this 
message  of  mercy  to  Jews  and  Heathen,  and  proclaim  His 
new  Heavenly  Kingdom  founded  by  me." 


COJIMISSION    OF   THE    APOSTLES.  595 

The  Avondoring  disciples  now  saw  that  He  was  about  to  chap,  lxiy. 
leaxe  them,  once  more.     As  He  prepared  to  do  so,  however, 
He  added : — 

"  Peace  be  Avith  you  !  As  my  Father  sent  me,  so  I  send 
you.  Go  ye  into  all  the  Avorld,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature.  He  who  believes  and  is  baptized,  will  be 
saved,  but  he  who  does  not  believe  will  be  condemned.  And 
these  miraculous  signs  will  be  granted  those  who  believe,  for 
a  confirmation  of  their  faith,  and  that  they  may  win  others. 
They  will  cast  out  devils  in  my  name  ;  they  will  speak  with 
tongues  new  to  them ;  they  will  take  up  serpents  Avithout 
harm  to  themselves ;  if  they  drink  any  deadly  thing  it  Avill 
not  hurt  them;  and  they  Avill  lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and 
they  will  recover. 

"  To  fit  you  for  your  great  work  I  shall  presently  send 
you  the  Helper  promised  b}'  my  Father,  but  stay  in  the  city 
till  you  are  clothed  with  this  power  from  on  high." 

There  Avei'e  only  ten  of  the  Eleven  present,  for  Thomas 
was  absent,  but,  these,  He  noAV  gathered  before  Him.  As  an 
earnest  of  the  fuller  endoAvment,  hereafter,  He  Avas  about  to 
impart  to  them  a  special  consecration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  to 
their  office  as  Apostles.  He  had,  Himself,  compai-ed  the 
influence  and  entrance  of  the  Spirit  to  the  breathing  of  the 
wind,  and,  now,  prefacing  His  intended  Avords  by  the  sym- 
bolical act  of  breathing  on  the  Ten^He  said : 

"  ReceiA'e  ye  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  government  of  the 
Church  is  committed  to  your  charge.  As  a  special  gift  for 
your  Avork  as  founders  of  my  Kingdom,  divine  insight  is 
granted  you  to   'discern  the  spirits'  of  men,^^  that  so  you"  icor.n.io. 

n  J  I  T  J  John  20.  22. 

may  knoAV  their  true  state  before  God.  Through  you,  there- 
fore, henceforth,  as  through  Me  till  noAv,  He  aauU  announce 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  it  will  be  granted  by  God  to 
those  to  whom  you  declare  it.  Through  you,  moreover.  He 
Avill  make  known  to  others  that  their  sins  are  not  forgiven, 
and  to  him  to  Avhom  you  are  constrained  to  speak  thus,  to 
him  his  sins  Avill  not  be  forgiven  by  God  till  you  announce 
their  being  so." 

Having  said  this,  He  vanished  from  their  sight. 

It  is  impossible  to  realize  the  emotions  of  the  little  band 


596  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lsiv.  of  Apostles  and  disciples  at  these  appearances.  They 
knew  that  Jesus  had  been  put  to  death  :  they  had  fancied 
themselves  permanently  deprived  of  His  presence  and  help, 
and  they  had  not  known  what  to  think  respecting  Him. 
But  Avhen  He  stood  amidst  them,  once  more,  after  He  had 
risen,  a  sudden  and  strange  revolution  took  place  in  their 
minds.  They  saw  before  them  Hini  whom  they  had  revered 
as  the  Messiah  while  clothed  in  human  weakness,  now 
raised  to  an  unimaginable  glory  Avhich  at  once  confirmed 
and  sublimed  their  former  faith.  They  saw  Him  victorious 
over  the  grave,  and  clothed  with  the  attributes  of  the  eternal 
world.  In  a  moment,  the  whole  sweep  of  the  truth  respect- 
ing Him,  hitherto  only  half  realized,  had  become  a  radiant 
fact,  even  to  their  senses.  The  hesitating  and  imperfect 
belief  in  His  heavenly  dignity,  and  power  to  fulfil  all  He  had 
promised,  here  and  hereafter,  which  had  slowly  rooted  itself 
in  their  hearts  while  He  still  lived,  had  seemed,  aftiir  all, 
from  the  catastrophe  of  these  last  disastrous  three  days,  a 
fond  and  beautiful  delusion.  But,  now,  at  length,  as  He 
stood  amongst  them,  triumphant  even  over  death,  it  broke 
all  restraints  and  flooded  their  whole  soul  with  sacred  light 
as  never  before,  for  the  revulsion  from  despondency  to  the 
purest  and  holiest  joj^  gave  it  additional  strength. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  the  effect  of  such  sights  of 
their  Risen  Master,  on  the  minds  of  those  who  were  thus 
favoured  with  them.  The  whole  life  of  one  who  had  seen 
Him  and  stood  near  Him,  perhaps  touched  Him,  after  He 
had  risen,  became  a  long  dream  of  wonder.  Such  an  one 
felt,  henceforth,  even  in  the  midst  of  his  commonest  occupa- 
tions, as  if  Christ  were  still,  though  unseen,  beside  him : 
he  saw  Him,  as  it  were,  radiant  before  his  eyes  :  he 
seemed  still  to  hear  His  words  of  infinite  love,  and  lived  in 
habitual  communion  with  Him,  as  with  One,  hidden  it  might 
be,  for  the  moment,  in  the  upper  light,  but  to  be  expected 
as  a  visible  form,  at  any  instant.     We  see  this  in  every  page 

i«  Ewaid,Ti85.  of  the  Gospels  and  the  Epistles.^" 

Only  the  immeasurable  force  of  the  thought  that  the  Son 
of  God  Himself,  the  true,  glorified,  Messiah,  had  appeared 
to  them ;  not,  as  hitherto,  in  the  veil  of  the  flesh,  but  in  a 


INFLUENCE    ON    THE    APOSTLES.  597 

heavenly  transfiguration  ;  ^•ictorious  over  death  ;  that  He  chap,  lsiy. 
had  stood  among  them,  had  quickened,  and  inspii-ed  them ; 
perhaps  had  let  Himself  even  be  reverently  touched — could 
have  created  such  effects.  Henceforth,  he,  only,  was  recog- 
nized as  an  Apostle  in  the  fullest  sense,  who  had  seen  Him 
in  His  spiritual  body  during  this  mysterious  interval,  when 
He  seemed  ready  to  soar  to  heaven  as  His  rightful  home, 
and,  though  still  on  earth,  was  no  longer  of  it.  Nothing 
could  be  more  amazing  than  the  iX'Sult  of  such  a  sight  of  Him 
thus  glorified,  on  the  Apostles.  From  despair  they  passed 
at  once  to  triumphant  confidence — from  incapacity  to  believe 
that  the  Messiah  could  have  suifcred  as  He  had  done  to 
the  most  fervent  and  exulting  faith  in  Him  as  the  Messiah, 
on.  account  of  these  very  sutFerings.  They  became,  suddenly, 
men  into  whom  the  very  spirit  of  Christ  seemed  to  have 
passed ;  their  spiritual  nature  had  been  wholly  changed, 
and  they  were  bound  to  Him,  henceforth,  with  a  deathless, 
and  ecstatic  devotion."  „  Ewau.ri  ss. 

The  appearances  vouchsafed  during  the  day  of  the  Resur- 
rection had  now  ended.  On  the  part  of  the  priests  and 
Rabbis  there  had  been  gi-eat  anxiety,  for  they,  as  well  as  the 
disciples,  had  early  heard  the  rumours  of  His  having  risen. 
Some  of  the  watch,  after  having  fled  in  terror  before  the 
descending  angel,  had  come  into  the  cit}*,  and  reported  what 
had  happened.  A  hasty  meeting  of  the  chief  men  of  the 
party  had  been  held,  and  the  whole  matter  laid  before  them. 
Their  perplexity  was  extreme,  but  at  last  their  Sadducee 
leaders  invented  a  specious  story.  Not  believing  in  angels, 
they  affected  to  think  that  the  soldiers  had  been  frightened 
away  by  some  clever  trick  of  the  disciples,  who  had  thus 
got  possession  of  the  body  of  their  Master.  There  were 
indeed,  difficulties  in  the  way  of  spreading  such  a  story,  but 
it  would  be  fatal  if  the  rumour  spread  that  angels  had 
appeared.  The  people  would  naturally  think  it  a  proof 
that  Jesus  had  been  what  He  said  He  was,  and  they  would 
turn  to  Him  Avith  more  ardour  than  ever.  The  guard  were 
therefore  instructed,  with  the  inducement  of  large  bi'ibes, 
to  say  that  they  had  fallen  asleep,  and  found  the  body  stolen 
when  they  woke.     The  hierarchy  were  aware  that  it  was 


598  THE   LIFE    OF   CIIKIST. 

cHAPjmv.  death  for  a  sentry  to  sleep  at  his  post,  but  removed  this 
difficulty  by  the  promise  that,  in  case  the  story  reached  the 
ears  of  Pilate,  they  would  explain  that  it  was  only  an  inven- 
tion, to  keep  the  people  quiet. 

A  whole  Aveek  elapsed  before  the  next  appearance  recorded. 
On  Sunday;   knoAvn,  henceforth,  as  the  "first  day  of  the 

•e  John 20.       Aveek,"!^  in  contrast  to  the    Jewish  Sabbath,  the  seventh 

■«Eev.i.  10.  day;  and  as,  especially,  "  The  Lord's  Day;"^^ — the  Eleven, 
having  once  more  assembled,  as  they  had  done  daily 
through  the  week,  and  continued  to  do,  Jesus,  honouring 

«» Acts  2. 40.  His  resurrection  day,^"  once  more  stood  in  the  midst  of 
them.  Thomas,  known  as  Didymus,  or  The  Twin,  had  not 
been  j)resent  on  the  Sunday  before,  and  in  his  grave,  earnest 
way,  refused  to  believe  that  Jesus  had  risen  and  had 
api)eared  to  the  Ten,  till  he  himself  had  had  what  he  deemed 
indisputable  proof  "  Except  I  see  in  His  hands  the  prints 
of  the  nails,"  said  he,  "  and  put  my  finger  into  them,  and 
put  my  hand  into  His  side,  where  the  spear-thrust  made  the 
gash,  I  will  not  believe."  No  one  could  desire  more  to  see 
his  jMaster  again,  but  his  temperament  demanded  what  he 
thought  demonstration,  of  so  amazing  a  fact  as  the  rising  of 
one  from  the  grave. 

On  this  first  Lord's  day  after  the  Resurrection,  however, 
his  doubts  were  for  ever  dispelled.  The  disciples  had 
gathered   in  their  common  room,  which  held,  at   least,  a 

t'  Acts  1.16.  hundred  and  twenty.'^^  The  doors,  as  before,  had  been 
carefully  closed,  for  fear  of  spies  from  the  Temple,  and  the 
approaches  were,  doubtless,  carefully  watched.  Suddenly, 
however,  the  words  were  heard  in  the  midst  of  the  company 
— "  Peace  to  you!" — and,  looking  up,  Jesus  stood  before 
them.  He  had  not  been  near,  so  far  as  the  senses  could 
perceive,  when  Thomas  had  uttered  his  doubts,  but  He 
knew  them  not  the  less.  Turning  to  the  faithful  but  still 
incredulous  one — Avhose  presence  there  showed  how  eagerly 
he  wished  to  believe  the  transcendent  news,  Jesus,  to  his 
amazement,  addressed  him — 

"Thomas,  thou  saidst  thou  wouldst  not  believe,  unless 
thou  couldst  put  thy  finger  in  the  wounds  of  my  hands,  and 
feet,  and  side.    Reach  hither  thy  finger — here  are  my  hands ; 


APPEARANCE   TO   THOMAS. 


599 


and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  put  it  into  my  side,  and  be  charlxiv. 
not  faithless,  but  believing." 

To  hear  his  own  words  thus  repeated  by  one  who  had  not 
been  present  when  they  were  spoken :  to  see  the  hands,  and 
feet,  and  side  :  to  receive  such  condescension  from  one  who 
he  now  felt  was,  indeed,  his  loved  Master ;  yet  no  longer  a 
mortal  man,  but  the  Lord  of  Life,  the  glorified  Messiah 
who  had  triumphed  over  death,  overwhelmed  him  with  awe. 
No  words  could  express  his  emotion.  He  could  only  utter 
his  one  deepest  thought,  that  he  had  before  him  his  Lord 
and  his  God. 

"Thomas,"  said  Jesus,  "thou  hast  beheved  at  last  because 
thou  hast  seen  me :  blessed  are  they  who,  without  having 
seen  me,  believe,  as  thou  now  dost,  that  I  have  risen  from 
the  dead." 

Hitherto,  the  Risen  Saviour,  in  all  His  appearances,  so  far 
as  they  are  recorded,  had  designed  to  prove  to  His  disciples 
that  He  was  really  alive  again.  Convinced  of  this,  there 
was  much  to  tell  them,  of  "  the  things  pei'taining  to  the  king- 
dom of  God,"  22  which  they  were  to  spread  abroad  through  =^  Acta  1.3. 
the  earth.  Before  His  death,  He  had  told  them  that  He  had 
many  things  to  say  to  them,  which  were,  as  yet,  too  hard 
for  them  to  understand  or  receive.  These  He  had  now  to 
communicate  ;  for  what  would  have  been  incomprehensible 
before  His  sufferings  and  Resurrection,^^  was  dark  no  longer,  "  john  le.  la 
when  seen  in  the  strong  light  of  the  cross  and  the  empty 
grave. 

He  did  not,  however,  mingle  among  them  and  live  in 
their  midst  as  of  old.  They,  doubtless,  expected  that  now 
He  Avas  ali-\'e  again  on  earth.  He  would  once  more  gather 
them  round  Him,  and  stay  permanently  with  them,  and 
they  even  fancied,  that  surely  now  at  last  he  would  set  about 
the  establishment  of  that  earthly  kingdom  of  Israel,  to  which 
they  so  fondly  clung.-^  But  to  have  stayed  thus  familiarly  «  Acta  1.6. 
with  them,  was  no  longer  in  keeping  Avith  His  glorified 
innnortality.  Till  they,  too,  had  put  on  incorruption.  He 
was  separated  from  them,  by  the  infinite  distance  and 
difference  of  time  and  eternity.  They  belonged  to  the 
former.  He,  now,  to  the  latter. 


600  THE   LIFE    OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  LsiY.  JJe  sliowecl  Himself,  therefore,  to  them  in  such  a  way 
that  they  could  never  count  on  His  taking  up  His  abode 
with  them  again,  as  in  former  days;  that  so  they  might  be 
accustomed  gradually  to  His  absence,  as  in  no  measure 
breaking  or  weakening  their  connection  mth  Him.  He, 
hence,  vouchsafed  them  only  intermitted  appearances ; 
that,  on  the  one  hand,  they  might  be  in  no  doubt  of  His 
really  having  risen  from  the  dead ;  and,  on  the  other,  that 
they  might  become  familiar  with  the  idea  of  His  leaving 
them.  He  showed  Himself  as  One  about  to  quit  the  world, 
and  as  no  longer  belonging  to  it,  but  delaying  His  departure 
for  a  time,  for  their  good.  His  intercoui-se  with  them  was, 
thus,  almost  like  that  of  the  angels  with  their  fathers  in  the 
early  ages,  when  they  came  to  their  tents,  conversed  with 
them,  and  even  ate  and  drank  what  was  offered  them,  but, 
presently,  left  again  and  disappeared,  till  some  new  occasion 

»  J.  J.  Hess,      brou<jht  them  back.-^ 

(jeach.  Jesii,  o 

iii. 413  (1773).  Hence  we  are  no  more  told  the  place  of  His  stay  in  these 
forty  days,  or  of  His  journeys,  or  other  details,  as  other- 
wise we  might  have  expected.  He  appears  only  at  intervals, 
and  we  have  no  trace  Avhence  He  has  come,  or  whither  He 
vanishes.  He  does  not  travel  back  with  His  disciples  to 
Galilee  after  the  feast,  as  was  usual,  but  only  names  a 
mountain  on  which  He  will  meet  them.  They  never  ask 
Him,  as  He  is  about  to  leave  them,  whither  he  is  going,  or, 
when  He  comes,  whence  he  has  done  so  ?  His  whole  bearing 
toM'ards  them  was  like  that  to  Mary  of  Magdala — "  Think 
not  that  my  Resurrection  restores  me  to  you  as  the  com- 
panion of  your  daily  life.  Rejoice  not  over  my  reappear- 
ance as  if  I  were  to  stay  now,  abidingly,  with  you.  I  go  to 
my  Father,  and  your  Father — to  my  God,  and  yours." 

He  had  told  the  women  at  the  sepulchre,  to  say  to  His 
disciples  that  he  would  meet  them  on  a  mountain  in  Galilee, 
which  He  named,  and  He  had,  doubtless,  repeated  this  to 
the  company  when  in  their  midst.  The  most  of  them  were 
Galila?ans,  and  would  return  home  after  the  feast  week. 
Galilee  had  been,  moreover,  the  special  scene  of  His  labours, 
and  of  His  success,  and  a  gi-eater  number  could  be  gathered 
together  there  than  in  Judea.     Jerusalem  was  not  to  be 


O'll-r  Alt 


APPEARANCE    ON  LAKE    OF   GALILEE.  601 

their  scene  of  action  as  j^et.     They  could  not  begin  their  chap,  lxiv. 

great  ApostoUc  -work  while  their  ]\Iaster  was  still  on  earth, 

and,  besides,  they  needed  not  only  many  counsels  before  He 

left  them,  but  the  power  which  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  was 

not  yet  given,  could  impart.     When  they  returned,  to  attend 

the  Feast  of  Pentecost,  seven  weeks  after  the  Resurrection, 

they  would  receive  their  full  heavenly  consecration. 

The  future  was  still  unknown  even  to  the  Apostles,  and 
hence,  though  they  held  themselves  at  the  command  of 
their  Lord,  the  interval  before  He  required  their  permanent 
service,  saw  them,  once  more,  at  their  former  callings. 
They  seem  to  have  had  no  idea  that  this  visit  to  their  homes 
would  be  the  last  they  would  ever  make  to  them  as  such,  or 
that,  -nathin  a  few  weeks,  they  would  remove  to  Jerusalem, 
to  stay  there  for  a  time,  and  then  wander  forth  to  all  lands, 
and  see  their  native  country,  rarely,  or  never  again.  But 
the  long  attendance  on  their  Master  had  prepared  them  for 
finally  leaving  everything  for  Him,  and  had  fitted  them,  un- 
consciously, for  the  duties  that  lay  before  them. 

Simon  Peter,  Thomas  the  Twin,  Nathanael  of  Cana,  John 
and  James,  sons  of  Zabdai,  and  two  whose  names  are  not 
given,  apparently  because  they  were  not  Apostles,  had, 
among  others,  betaken  themselves  to  the  well-known  shores 
of  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  and  had  quietly  set  themselves,  once 
more,  to  the  occupation  familiar  to  most  of  them — that  of 
fishermen.  They  had  been  out  on  the  Lake  all  night,  but 
had  caught  nothing,  and  were  rowing  to  land  in  the  early 
dawn,  when  they  saw  on  the  shore  a  stranger,  whom  they 
could  not  recognize  in  the  twihght,  as  any  one  they  knew. 
It  was  nothing  strange  that  a  person  should  come  to  them 
as  they  were  landing,  to  buy  their  catch.  The  simple  habits 
of  the  East,  moreover,  made  it  common  to  sell  even  single 
fish,  Avhich  were  prepared  and  cooked  on  the  spot,  in  the 
open  air,  by  the  buj-er.  They  thought  nothing,  therefore, 
of  the  stranger  presently  asking  them,  with  a  kindly  famili- 
arity not  unusual  in  antiquity  in  addressing  the  humbler 
classes,^^  "  Children,  have  ye  anything  to  cat?";  as  if  \\dsh-2«  Meyer, Kom. 
ing  to  buy  for  his  morninj?  meal.  "Nothing  at  all,"  cried  Mntt'.2s.ie. 
the  fishermen. 


602  THE    LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

cHAP-LMv.  "  If  you  cast  your  net  once  more  on  the  right  side  of  the 
boat,  you  will  find  fish,"  said  the  stranger,  and  they,  think- 
ing, perhaps,  that  he  had  noticed  a  shoal  they  had  over- 
looked, were  only  too  glad  to  do  so.  But,  now,  the  net 
sank,  overloaded,  so  that  they  could  hardly  draw  it  after 
them  as  they  rowed  to  land. 

There  was  no  further  question  who  the  stranger  could 
be ;  for  what  was  this  incident  but  the  repetition  of  a  well- 
remembered  miracle  of  tlieir  Master,  almost  at  the  same 
spot?  "It  is  the  Lord,"  whispered  John  to  Peter.  The 
name  was  enough.  They  were  only  about  a  hundred  yards 
from  land,  but  the  ardent,  impulsive  Peter  could  not  wait. 
He  was  standing,  naked,  in  the  boat,  after  having  SAVum 
round  with  the  net,  to  sweep  the  waters,  as  is  the  custom 
on  the  Lake  of  Tiberias  still ;  but  he  instantly  drew  on  his 
upper  garment,  and,  jumping  into  the  water,  swam  ashore, 
to  be  the  first  to  see  if  it  really  Avere  his  Master.  The  others, 
meanwhile,  were  slowl}^  pulling  to  the  shore,  and  presently 
reached  it.  The  beach  had  been  bare  a  moment  before,  but 
now,  strangel}'^  enough,  they  saw  a  fire  burning,  with  a  little 
fish  on  it,  and  bread  at  hand,  as  if  the  stranger  had  intended 
them  for  Himself. 

"  If  you  would  like  to  eat  with  me,"  said  He,  "  bring 
some  of  the  fish  you  have  just  caught." 

Peter  had  not  dared  to  speak,  for  the  awe  of  his  Lord's 
heavenly  gi-eatness,  as  one  belonging,  now,  to  a  higher  life, 
was  on  him.  But  he  instantly  ran  to  the  boat,  dripping,  as 
he  stood,  and  dragged  ashore  the  net,  which  was  found  to 
have  caught  a  hundred  and  fifty-three  large  fish,  without 
being  rent.  All  were  convinced  that  it  was  Jesus,  but  they 
were  dumb  with  amazement ;  and  though  they  wished  to 
ask,  their  awe,  and  their  very  eyesight,  which  told  them 
that  it  was  no  other  than  their  Master,  kept  them  from 

>'  Chrysostom,    doiug  SO."^ 

They  had  sat  down  on  the  white,  dry  beach,  round  the 
fire,  at  His  invitation,  and  He  noAv,  once  more,  as  of  old, 
took  His  place  as  Head  of  the  little  group.  Taking  first 
bread,  and  then  the  fish.  He  divided  them,  just  as  He  had 
done  while  He  was  with  them,  and,  as  He  did  so,  His  face 


TIIE    RISEN    CHRIST   AND   PETER.  603 

and  bearing  were  so  exactly  what  they  had  been,  that  the  chap,  lxiv. 
fear  produced  by  the  suddenness  of  His  appearance,  and  the 
undefined  difference  in  Him  which  had  struck  them  at  first, 
soon  abated.  His  every  word  was  now  doubly  weighty, 
and  hence  John  gives  us  a  more  than  usually  circumstantial 
narrative  of  what  followed.  The  meal  being  finished,  He 
turned  to  Peter,  as  if  to  show  him  by  a  further  proof,  how 
entirely  his  shortcoming  had  been  forgiven,  and  the  com- 
pleteness of  his  restoration  to  his  apostolate.  He  commonly 
called  him  Peter,  but  now  addressed  him  as  He  had  done 
three  years  before,  when  they  first  met,-^  and  only  once -' Jotn  1 42. 
since,  when  he  made  his  grand  confession  of  belief  that  his 
Master  was  the  Messiah.-^  "Simon,  son  of  Jonas,"  asked  =»  Matt. le. is. 
He,  "  carest  thou  for  me  more  than  my  other  disciples  ? " 
"  Yes,  Lord,"  ansAvered  Peter,  "  Thou  knowest  that  I  love 
Thee."  "  Go  and  feed  my  little  ones — my  sheep,"  replied 
Jesus  ;  "for  love  to  me,  care  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  all 
who  know  and  love  me,  as  a  shepherd  sees  that  his  flock  be 
duly  fed."  The  same  question,  in  the  same  words,  was  then  • 
repeated.  "  Yes,  Lord,"  answered  Peter,  more  eagerly  than 
before,  "  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee."  "  Then,  tend 
my  sheep,"  replied  Jesus.  "  Not  only  nourish,  but  care  for 
them,  as  committed  to  thy  charge."  A  third  time  the  same 
question  was  asked — "Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou 
me  ? "  The  treble  repetition  had  something  in  it  tender 
and  warning.  It  was  not  a  reproof,  yet  it  was  fitting  that 
the  disciple  who,  a  few  days  before,  had  thrice  denied  Him, 
should  be  made  to  think  as  often  of  his  weakness.  Peter  felt 
it,  and  almost  thought  that  Jesus  doubted  his  trustworthi- 
ness. "Lord,"  said  he,  "Thou  knowest  all  things;  Thou 
knowest  that  I  love  Thee."  "Then,"  replied  Jesus,  "feed 
my  sheep — the  oversight  of  my  flock  is  thine,  to  see  that 
they  are  fed." 

"Hear  now,"  He  continued,  "  what  awaits  you.  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  to  you.  Hitherto  you  have  girded  youi'self  and 
gone  whither  you  pleased,  and  you  do  so  stiU ;  but,  in  your 
old  age  you  will  stretch  forth  your  hands  helplessly,  and  will 
give  yourself  up  to  others,  who  will  gird  you  with  chains, 
and  lead  you  ofl:'  where  you  would  fain  not  go — to  the  place 


604 


THE   LITE    OF   CHRIST. 


OHAP.  LxiY.  of  judgment."  An  assurance  of  safety  for  the  present,  and 
a  timely  warning  of  what  the  future  Avould  bring !  There 
was  a  brief  pause,  and  then  the  Avords,  "  Follow  mo,"  sum- 
moned the  Apostle  once  more,  as  of  old ;  but  spoken  this 
time,  by  the  risen  and  glorified  Saviour — it  called  him  to 
follow  Him  in  a  martyr's  death,  and  then,  to  the  glory 
beyond. 

Peter,  taking  the  last  words  literally,  foncied  he  was  to 
follow  his  Master  as  before,  and  as  Jesus  seemed  now  leaving 
them,  had  done  so  a  few  paces,  when,  turning  round,  he 
saw  John  coming  after  him.  Unwilling  to  separate  from 
one  endeared  by  long  companionship  as  a  fellow-disciple, 
he,  therefore,  ventured  to  ask,  in  hope  that  John,  too,  Avould 
be  allowed  to  come  with  them — "Lord,  what  will  this  man 
do  ?"  But  things  were  not  as  in  old  days  of  common 
fiimiliar  connnunion.  "  If  I  should  please  that  he  live  till 
my  return,  Avhy  should  you  seek  to  know  it?"  replied  Jesus. 
"  From  you  I  require  that  you  follow  me  in  the  path  in 
which  I  have  gone  before  you." 

St.  Paul,  about  twenty-five  j'cars  after,  mentions  another 

>i  Cor.  15.0;   appearance,^"  Avhich  was  no  doubt  the  same  as  is  related, 

written  I  1  ;  ^  ^     1 

more  fully,  by  St.  Matthew.'''^  It  took  place  in  a  mountain, 
appointed  for  the  purpose  by  Jesus  Himself,  doubtless  as  a 
well-known  spot.  Here,  a  large  number  of  disciples,  includ- 
ing, as  we  know,  the  Eleven,  gathered  at  the  time  fixed. 
It  was  a  moment  of  sujireme  solemnity,  for  it  was  the  close, 
so  far  as  we  know,  of  His  ministry  in  Galilee.  A  mountain 
had  been  chosen,  alike  for  privacy  and  because  all  who 
might  come  would  be  able  to  see  their  Master.  Over  five 
hundred  had  gathered  when  Jesus  appeared  in  their  midst ; 
some  of  them  long  since  dead  when  Paul  wrote,  but  the 
majoritj'  still  alive.  With  beautiful  frankness,  the  Evange- 
list tells  us  that  some,  who  likely  had  had  no  other  witness, 
still  doubted  a  miracle  so  stupendous,  but  they  were  so  few 
that  he  could  say  of  the  multitude,  as  a  whole,  that  they 
worshipped  Jesus  as  their  Lord. 

Before  this  numerous  assemblage  Jesus  declared  Himself, 
in  the  loftiest  sense,  the  Messiah.  "  All  power,"  said  He, 
"  is  given  me,  in  heaven  and  in  earth.     As  I  have  before 


(Hemsen' 
Paul  us). 
31  Matt.  28. 
16—20. 


PARTESTG   WOEDS.  605 

commissioned  my  Apostles,  so  now  I  commission  you  all,  in  chap,  lsiv. 
the  fulness  of  the  authority  thus  given  me,  to  go  into  the 
whole  world,  and  announce  to  all  men  that  I  live,  and  am 
exalted  to  be  the  Lord  and  the  Messiah.  Go,  gather  dis- 
ciples to  me  from  among  all  nations,  and  consecrate  them 
by  baptism,  to  faith  in  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit,  b}^  whom  God  will  speak  and  act  through  your 
means.  What  commands  I  have  given  you  as  my  disciples, 
give  you  to  them,  and  urge  them  to  keep  them.  Nor  must 
you  think  j^ourselves  alone  while  thus  working  in  my  name, 
for  lo,  I  am,  and  shall  be,  with  you  always,  till  the  end  of 
the  world."  As  at  the  first,  so,  now,  at  the  last,  the  word 
was  the  only  weapon  by  which  His  Kingdom  was  to  be 
spread.  Resting  on  persuasion  and  conviction  from  the 
beginning,  it  was  left  on  the  same  basis  now  He  was  about 
to  ascend  to  heaven. 

Only  two  or  perhaps  three  more  appearances  are  re- 
corded— one  to  James  alone,  and  one  to  all  the  Apostles.^-  "  i  cor.  is.  7. 

I  -l  _  Acts  1.  3—8. 

The  last  known  meetings  with  the  Eleven  took  place  im- 
mediately before  the  Ascension.  It  was  the  Parting  for 
Ever,  so  far  as  outward  and  visible  communion  on  earth 
was  concerned — the  final  delegation  of  the  interests  of  His 
Kingdom  to  them,  as  His  chosen  heralds  and  representa- 
tives. They  were  instructed  to  wait  in  Jerusalem  till  the 
promise  of  the  Father  was  fidfiUed ;  that  He  would  send 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  them,  as  their  Helper  and  Advocate, 
in  place  of  their  departed  Master — a  promise  which 
Jesus  Himself  had  made  known  to  them.  "  For  John," 
said  He,  "truly  baptized  with  water,  but  the  promise 
which  even  he  announced,  that  you  would  be  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Spirit,  will  be  fulfilled  before  many  days." 

The  Apostles,  acquainted  as  they  were  vnth  the  Old 
Testament  prophecies,  which  foretold  that  the  fulness  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  would  be  poured  out  in  the  times  of  the  Messiah,^^  ^  joei3.i,a 

•^  ,       '^  .  .         '  Acta  2.16. 

seem  to  have  fancied  that  there  was  an  indirect  promise  of 
the  establishment  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom,  as  they  con- 
ceived it,  in  these  words.  It  appears  as  if  an  interval  had 
elapsed — apparently  only  a  part  of  the  same  day,  between 
the    appearance    at  which  the   renewed  assurance    of    the 


606  THE  LIFE    OF  CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lsiv.  bestowal  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  given,  and  that  at  which 
the  question  they  Avere  now  to  ask  Avas  put.  AVhen  they 
had  come  together  again,  Jesus  once  more  stood  among 
them,  and  then — so  hard  is  it  to  uproot  fixed  preconceptions 
— they  resolved  to  find  out,  if  possible,  whether  they  had  any 
grounds  for  their  fond  hopes. 

"Lord,"  asked  they,  "wilt  Thou  at  this  time  restore  the 
fallen  kingdom  of  the  Israelitish  nation '?"  They  had  not 
yet  received  the  illumination  of  the  Spirit,  which  was  to 
raise  them  at  once  and  for  ever  above  such  narrow  and 
national  views,  and  Avere  still  entangled  in  Jewish  fimcies, 
Avhich  regarded  the  IMessiah  as  sent  to  the  Jewish  people,  as 
such,  for  its  earthly  glory  as  Avell  as  spiritual  good. 

Jesus  Avould  not  ansAver  such  a  question.  Tiiere  Avas  much 
in  their  expectations  Avhich  Avould  never  be  realized ;  yet  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit  Avould  really  be  the  true  setting  up  of  the 
Kingdom  of  the  Messiah.  Of  its  final  proclamation  and  full 
establishment  in  its  glor}',  Avhich  Avould  take  place  at  His 
final  return.  He  Avould  say  nothing.  It  lay  hidden  in  the 
depths  of  the  future,  and  Avas  of  no  advantage  to  them  to 
knoAv.  "  It  is  of  no  use  to  you,"  said  He,  "  to  know  the 
time  or  the  circumstances  of  these  great  revolutions  in  tlie 
ages  to  come.  The  Father  has  kept  these  as  a  secret  of  His 
own  omniscience.  Be  it  enougli  for  you  to  know  what.Avill 
happen  immediately  on  my  departure.  You  Avill  receive  the 
poAvers  of  tlie  Holy  Spirit  in  rich  measure,  and  inspired  by 
these,  and  prepai'ed  by  them  in  all  points,  you  Avill  go  forth 
as  witnesses  for  me,  and  of  my  resurrection,  not  only  to 
Jerusalem  and  Judea,  but  to  hated  Samaria,  and  to  the 
heathen  throughout  the  whole  earth ;  for  mine  is  a  uni- 
versal kingdom,  open  to  all  mankind,  Avithout  distinction 
of  race,  or  rank ;  of  bond  or  free  ;  of  barbarian  or  Greek  ; 
of  JcAv  or  Gentile." 

This  last  intervicAv  had  taken  place  in  Jerusalem,  but  He 
had  left  it  before  He  closed,  leading  them  out  toAvards 
Bethany.  He  may  have  Avalked  through  the  Avell-known 
streets,  A'eiled  from  His  enemies,  or  He  may  haA'e  appointed 
the  meeting-place  for  them,  AA'here  He  had  so  often,  in  His 
last  days,  retired  in  tlieir  company.     The  place  Avhere  He 


THE   ASCENSION.  607 

assembled  them  is  not  minutely  recorded,  l)iit  Avas  on  the  o^ap.  lxiv. 
]\Iount  of  Olives.  It  was  the  last  time  they  were  to  see 
Him.  He  had  prepared  them,  as  far  as  their  dulness  made 
possible,  for  His  leaving  them,  and  had  fitted  them  to  re- 
ceive the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  which,  within  a  few  days, 
would  illuminate  their  intellects  and  hearts. 

He  wished,  however,  to  leave  them  in  such  a  way  that 
they  should  not  think  He  had  simply  vanished  from  them, 
and  wait  for  his  present  re-appearance.  He  would  show 
them,  as  far  as  it  could  be  shown,  that  He  returned  from 
the  earth  to  His  Father ;  that  God  took  Him  to  Himself  as 
He  had  taken  Elias.  They  would  be  able  to  tell  men,  when 
they  asked  where  He  now  was,  that  they  had  seen  Him  leave 
the  world,  and  pass  through  the  skies  to  the  eternal  kingdoms, 
in  His  human  body  ;  to  sit  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 
The  thought — He  lives  :  He  is  with  the  Father  !  was, 
henceforth,  to  be  the  stay  and  joy  of  His  foUoAvers  in  all 
ages. 

We  know  not  with  what  last  parting  words  he  let  them 
see  He  was,  now,  finally,  to  leave  them.  All  that  is  told  us 
is,  that  He  gave  them  His  blessing,  with  uplifted  hands. 
Step  by  step.  He  had  raised  their  conceptions  of  Him  nearer 
the  unspeakable  grandeur  of  His  true  nature  and  work. 
At  first  the  Teacher,  He  had,  after  a  time,  by  gradual  dis- 
closures, revealed  Himself  as  the  Son  of  God,  veiled  in  the 
form  of  man ;  and,  now,  since  His  crucifixion  and  resurrection, 
He  had  taught  them  to  see  in  Him  the  Messiah,  exalted  to 
immortal  and  divine  majesty,  as  the  conqueror  of  death  and 
the  Lord  of  all. 

The  transcendent  miracle  which  closed  His  earthly  com- 
munion AA^ith  His  chosen  ones  is  most  fully  nai-rated  by 
St.  Luke : — 

"When    He  had  spoken  these  things,  while  they  were 
looking  at  Him,  He  was  taken  up  into  heaven,^^   and  a «  aco  i.  a-n. 
cloud  received  Him  out  of  their  siojht" — that  cloud  which    ■"■      ' 

D  Luke  24.  51. 

symbolized  the  presence  of  God.  "  And  as  they  were  gazing 
earnestly  into  the  heavens,  as  He  ascended,  behold  two  men 
stood  by  them,  in  white  apparel,  and  said  to  them — 'Ye 
men  of  Gahlee,  why  stand  ye  gazing  into  the  heavens? 


608  THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST. 

CHAP.  Lsiv.  This  same  Jesus,  who  is  even  now  taken  from  you  into 
heaven,  will  come,  in  the  same  way  as  ye  have  seen  Him 

go.'" 

"  Earth,^^  thou  grain  of  sand  on  the  shore  of  the  Universe 
of  God  ;  thou  Bethlehem,  amongst  the  princely  cities  of  the 
heavens ;  thou  art,  and  remainest,  the  Loved  One  amongst 
ten  thousand  suns  and  worlds,  the  Chosen  of  God  !  Thee 
will  He  again  visit,  and  then  thou  wilt  prepare  a  throne  for 
Him,  as  thou  gavest  Him  a  manger  cradle ;  in  His  radiant 
glory  wilt  thou  rejoice,  as  thou  didst  once  drink  His  blood 
and  His  tears,  and  mourn  His  death  !  On  thee  has  the  Lord 
a  gi'cat  work  to  complete  !" 


FINIS. 


NOTES.  609 


NOTES    TO    VOLUME     II. 


CHAPTER     XXSIIL 


*  According  to  the  traditions  of  the  Rabbis,  Josliua,  on  his  distribution  of  the  country, 
had  made  the  fishing  in  the  Lake  of  Galileo  free  to  all,  so  that  their  nets,  &c.,  did  not 
interfere  with  the  navigation. — Baca  Kama,  Ixsxi.  1,  2.  Nowadays,  the  fishing  is  a 
monopoly  of  tine  Turkish  Government,  and  is  virtually  extinct. 

Jerome  translates  Capernaum  as  '■  The  Lovely,"  from  2"i":  "i3  (Kephiir  Xaim). 
Origen,  on  the  contrary,  translates  it  "  The  Village  of  Consolation"  (  c"3.  ~?) 

*»  Had  He  gone  with  Peter  He  would  have  cured  the  apostle's  mother-in-law,  without 
waiting  till  after  He  came  from  the  synagogue  next  day. 

■=  The  Jews,  in  their  extravagant  way,  spoke  of  "  possession  "  as  having  chai-acterized 
all  ages,  but  there  is  no  notice  of  it  in  tho  Old  Testament,  unless  the  case  of  Saul  bo 
supposed  to  be  an  instance  of  it,  which  is  doubtful. 

■"  Ha !  is  the  proper  translation  of  ta,  which  is  not  the  imperative  of  eaiu,  but  an 
interjection. 

ifv  SiSa(rK'jii>,  en  didaskon  (Mark  i.  21),  marks  the  continuance  of  his  teaching,  as  a 
stated  practice. 

"  The  New  Testament  leaves  us  in  no  doubt  of  the  belief  in  the  reality  of  these 
demoniacal  possessions,  on  the  part  of  Jesus  jind  the  Evangelists,  and  to  my  mind  tbia 
at  once  closes  the  question.  Hodern  criticism  has  sought  to  attribute  the  phenomena 
associated  w-ith  possession,  to  physical  or  mental  causes  only,  but  the  fact  that  disease 
takes  the  same  foniis  from  apparently  natural  causes  as  it  assumed  from  the  action  of 
evil  spirits,  leaves  the  possibility  of  its  being  associated  with  their  presence  in  the  cases 
recorded  in  the  New  Testament,  wholly  untouched.  There  are  more  things  in  heaven 
and  earth  than  are  dreamt  of  in  our  philosophy.  To  quote  the  foolish  superstitions  of 
the  Rabbis  respecting  tho  relations  of  demons  to  our  race,  as  a  reason  for  discrediting 
the  belief  in  "  possession  "  in  any  case,  is  as  absurd  as  to  urge  the  fantastic  notions  of 
the  ignorant  respecting  the  spirit  world  at  large,  as  a  ground  for  turning  Sadducoe  and 
denying  the  existence  of  spirits  altogether.  Nor  is  it  worthy  of  more  weight  to  traco 
the  belief  among  the  Jews,  in  spirits  good  and  bad,  in  greater  or  lesser  measure  to 
Eastern  sources.  It  would  be  as  reasonable  to  reject  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  because  it  was  more  clearly  held  in  Egypt  than  in  Palestine.  Truth  is  truth,  from 
whatever  quarter  it  may  reach  us,  and  that  would  bo  a  narrow  theology  which  would 
limit  revelations,  for  untold  ages,  to  the  upl.ands  of  Judea.  The  light  may  have  shone 
most  brightly  there,  nor  is  it  a  question  that  it  did  so,  but  who  can  tell  how  many  rays 
shone  down  on  other  lands  through  rifts  in  the  clouds  that  only  too  darkly  covered 
them? 

Tho  fact,   corroborated  by  tho  widest  evidence,  that  there  are  still  seen  in  half- 
enlightened  countries,  such  as  India,  phenomena  which  seem  explicable  only  on  tho 
theory  of  "  possession "  is  striking.      Take,  for  instance,  the  following  extract  descrip- 
tive of   a    scene   witnessed   in   India   by  tho   writer:* — "Tho   circle    is   formed;    tho  *  Deraonolatry. 
tiro  is  lit :  the  offerings  aro  got  ready — goats  and  fowls,  and  rice,  and  pulse,  and  sugar,      ^^en.Esq.r 
and  ghee,  and  honey,  and  white  chaplets  of  oleander  blossoms  and  jasmine  buds.     The      Contemporary 
tom-toms  aro  beaten  more  loudly  and  rapidly,  tho  hum   of  rustic  converse  is  stilled,  and     Review. 
a    deep  hush  of  awe-struck   expectancy  holds  tho   motley  tissembly.      Now,   the  low      Fel).,  1876 
rickety  door  of  the  hut  is  quickly  dashed  open.    The  devil-dancer  staggers  out.    Between 
the  hut  and  the  dark  shadow  of  the  sacred  banyan,  Kes  a  strip  of  moonlit  sand  ;  and  as 
be  passes  this,  the  devotees  can  clearly  see  their  priest.     He  is  a  tall,  haggard,  pensive 
man,  with  deep-sunken  eyes  and  matted  hair.     His  forehead  is  smeared  with  ashes,  and 
there  are  streaks  of  vermilion  and  saffron  over  his  face.     He  wears  a  high  conical  cap, 
white,  with  a  red  tassel.     A  long  robe,  or  aiigi,  shrouds  him  from  neck  to  ankle.     On  it 

VOL.  II.  78 


610  NOTES. 

are  worked,  in  red  silk,  roprcsontations  of  tlie  goddess  of  small-pox,  m\irder,  and  cliolera. 
Kound  his  anklos  aro  massivo  silver  banglps.  In  his  ri^lit  hand  he  holds  a  staff  or  spear, 
that  jingles  harshly  every  time  the  ground  is  struck  by  it.  The  same  hand  also  holds 
a  bow,  which,  when  the  strings  are  pulled  or  struck,  emits  a  dull  booming  sound.  In 
his  left  hand  the  devil-priest  carries  his  sacrificial  knife,  shaped  like  a  sickle,  with  quaint 
devices  engraved  on  its  blade.  The  dancer,  with  uncertain  staggering  motion,  reels 
slowly  into  the  centre  of  the  crowd,  and  there  seats  himffolf.  The  assembled  people  show 
him  the  offerings  they  intend  to  present,  but  he  ajipoars  wholly  unconscious.  He  croons 
an  Indian  l«iy  in  a  low  dreamy  voice,  with  dronpcd  eyelids  and  head  sunken  on  his 
breast.  He  s\\ings  slowly  to  and  fro,  from  side  to  side.  Look!  You  can  see  his  fingers 
twitch  nervously.  His  head  begins  to  wag  in  a  strange  uncanny  fashion.  His  sides 
heave  and  quiver,  and  huge  drops  of  perspiration  exude  from  his  skin.  The  tom-toms 
are  beaten  faster,  the  pipes  and  reeds  wail  out  more  loudly.  There  is  a  sudden  yell,  a 
stinging,  stunning  cry,  an  ear-piercing  shriek,  a  hideous  abominable  gobble-gobble  of 
hellish  laughter,  and  the  devil-dancer  has  sjnnmg  to  his  feet,  with  eyes  protruding, 
mouth  foaming,  chest  heaving,  muscles  quivering,  and  outstretched  arms  swollen  and 
straining.  Now,  ever  and  anon,  the  quick  shai-p  words  are  jerked  out  of  tho  siiliva-chokod 
mouth — 'I  am  God,  I  am  tlio  true  God  !'  Then  all  around  him,  since  he  and  no  idol  is 
regarded  as  tho  present  deity,  reeks  tho  blood  of  sacrifice.  .  .  .  Shrieks,  vows, 
imprecations,  prayers,  and  exclamations  of  thankful  praise,  rise  up,  all  blended  together 
in  one  infernal  hubbub.  Above  all,  rise  the  .gluistly  guttural  laughter  of  the  devil- 
dancer,  and  his  stentorian  howls — '  I  am  God,  1  am  the  only  true  God  !'  He  outs  and 
hacks,  and  hows  himself,  and  not  very  uufrequontly  kills  himself  there  and  then.  Hours 
pass  by.  Tho  trembling  crowd  stands  rooted  to  the  spot.  Suddenly  tho  dancer  gives  a 
great  bound  into  tho  air ;  when  ho  descends  he  is  motionless.  The  fiendish  look  has 
vanished  from  his  eyes.  His  demoniacal  laughter  is  still.  Ho  speaks  to  this  and  that 
neighbour  quietly  antl  reasonably.  He  lays  aside  his  garb,  washes  his  face  at  the  nearest 
rivulet,  and  walks  soberly  home,  a  modest,  well-conducted  man  ?" 

The  Jewish  superstitions  respecting  demons  were  very  curious.  The  chief  of  the 
diabolical  empire  was  Beelzebub,  a  Phenician  god,  but  the  Persian  Aeschma  Daeva,  also 
was  transferred  to  Judaism  as  Asmodous,  and  with  him  an  endless  crowd  of  other  spirits, 
or  "devs," — Asahel,  Sammael,  and  tho  like, — who  were  unknown  to  earlier  and  purer 
ages. — JCualiTs  (Jeschichle,  iv.  2C9.  Gfriirer,  i.  395.  Hemich,  c.  6.  f.  Kcim,  Jes.  v.  N. 
ii.  187.  According  to  tho  Book  of  Henoch,  tho  demons  are  the  souls  of  tho  giants  who 
corrupted  themselves  with  the  daughters  of  men,  but  .losephus  regarded  them  as  the 
spirits  of  dead  men. — Be/I.  Jml.  vii.  G.  3.  They  were  so  numerous  that  every  man  has 
10,(100  of  them  on  his  right  hand,  and  1,000  on  "his  left.  It  -was  their  delight  to  work  all 
possible  evils  on  men  and  oven  on  beasts,  and  hence  all  the  sicknesses  and  calamities  that 
hajjpened  to  living  creatures  were  ascribed  to  them.  Even  headaches  had  a  special 
demon  who  caused  them. 

Tho  casting  out  of  these  demons  was,  thus,  a  main  task  of  Jewish  professional  life, 
though  evil  spirits  trembled  especinlly  before  tho  Rabbis,  as  they  knew  the  secret  names 
of  God.  Tho  angels  had  told  Xoah  tho  cures  of  all  tho  diseases  caused  by  demons,  and 
their  modes  of  temptation,  and  how  the  virtues  of  plants  could  overcome  them ;  and 
Noah  had  written  them  in  a  book  known  to  the  Uabbis. — Jubilees,  10.  In  all  cases,  how- 
ever, it  was  tho  name  of  God  in  tho  exorcism,  that  was  supremely  potent.  Forms  of 
words  were  iised,  which  acted  as  spells.  One  of  many  such  formulae,  preserved  in  the 
Talmud,  is  as  follows  : — "  O  thou  demon  who  art  hidden  ;  thou  son  of  foulness,  thou  son 
of  abomination,  thou  son  of  uncleannoss,  be  thou  cursed,  crushed,  anathematized,  as 
Sehanigas,  Marigas,  and  Istemaa." — Subbath  Bab.  (i7  a.  Strange  gesticulations,  burnings 
of  incense,  tying  and  unloosing  of  knots,  and  the  use  of  certain  plants,  were  among  tho 
other  aids  of  exorcism.  "  Take  incense,"  says  Raphael  to  Tobit.  "  and  lay  part  of  tho 
heart  and  the  liver  of  the  fish  on  it,  aud  burn  tho  incense,  and  tho  demon  will  smell  it 
and  fly  away,  and  come  back  no  more." — Tob.  vi.  16,  17.  The  root  Baara,  which  grew 
Dear  Machaorus,  and  was  red  like  flame,  throwing  out  fiery  gleams  by  night,  was  a  great 
remedy.  When  any  one  tried  to  pull  it  up,  it  shrank  into  the  ground,  and,  if  ho  left  any 
part  of  it  in  tho  earth,  he  died.  Tiiose  who  gathered  it,  therefore,  wisely  tied  a  dog  to 
it,  and  forced  him  to  drag  it  up.  When  the  root  broke  the  dog  died ;  but  tho  root  could 
now  be  handled  w  ith  safety.  When  brought  near  one  possessed  with  a  doDion,  the  demon 
fled,  and  the  sick  man  got  better. — Bell.  Jud.  vii.  6.  3.  Josephus  also  tells  another  mode 
of  exorcism  which  he  saw  employed  before  Vespasian,  his  sons,  his  staif,  and  many  of 
his  soldiers,  by  a  Jew  named  Eleazar.  Tho  magician  put  a  ring  that  had  in  it  a  root  of 
one  of  the  plants  mentioned  by  Solomon,  to  the  nostrils  of  the  possessed  man,  and  after 
doing  so  ho  drew  out  tho  demon  through  his  nostrils.  When  the  man  forthwith  fell 
down,  he  abjured  the  devil  to  return  to  him  no  more,  making  still  mention  of  Solomon, 
and  reciting  tho  incantations  wlfich  he  had  composed.  And  when  ICleaznr  would 
persuade  and  demonstrate  to  the  spectators  that  he  had  such  a  power,  he  set,  a  little 
way  oft*,  a  cup  or  basin,  full  of  water,  and  commanded  the  demon,  as  he  went  out  of  tho 
m.an,  to  overturn  it,  and  thereby  to  let  all  know  that  ho  had  loft  the  mar,  which  ho  did. 
— Ant.  vii.  2.  5.     Compare  with  this  tho  grand  simplicity  of  tho  Gospels  when  tho  Word 


NOTES.  611 

of  Jesus  alone  is  nsed ;  and  does  not  one  see  the  contrast  between  reality  and   super- 
stitious wildness? 

See  Langen's  Jmknthum,  297 — 331  ;  Winor,  7?.  W.B.,  Art.  '-Besessene  ;"  Bihel.  Lex. 
Art.  "Besessene;"  Herzog,  Art.  "  Diimonischo  ;"  Trench  on  Miracles,  151  ff ;  Eleim,  Jesu 
V.  N.  ii.  ISS— 204;  Hausrath,  i.  110,  112,  &c..  Ac,  &c. 

A  passage  from  Canon  Tristram's  Great  Sahara  bears  curiously  on  this  interesting 
subject.  I  appenil  it,  with  a  letter  I  have  had  the  honour  of  receiving  from  him  on  tho 
subject.  Tho  scene  was  Algiers  ;  the  dramatis  personce  members  of  a  fanatical  Mussul- 
man sect. 

"  The  floor  of  tho  centre  was  paved  with  bright  tosselatod  tiles.  In  the  midst  squatted 
the  dervishes,  or  Beni  Yssou.  Round  throo  sides  the  musicians  sat  on  the  ground, 
beatiug  large  tambourines  and  swinging  their  heads  as  they  accompanied  their  voices  in 
a  low  measured  chant,  which  never  varied  more  than  three  semitones.  Nothing  could 
sound  to  our  ears  more  monotonous  than  this  unvaried  wailing  cadence,  no  music  less 
capable  of  inspiring  frenzy.  The  fourth  side  of  the  square  was  occupied  by  a  young 
man  sitting  cross-legged  before  a  low  table,  on  which  lay  a  bundle  of  papers  and  a  long 
lighted  candle.  Near  him  was  a  chafing-dish  over  which  he  frequently  baked  the 
tambourines.  One  of  the  musicians,  in  lieu  of  a  tambourine,  held  a  huge  earthen  jar, 
with  a  parchment  cover  stretched  over  its  mouth,  which,  by  incessant  drumming  pro- 
duced a  bass  groan  deeper  even  than  the  other  instruments.  Shrouded  spectators 
occupied  tho  background  ;  and  a  few  Jloors,  and  one  or  two  Frenchmen,  the  front  and 
sides,  without  the  pillars.  Wo  were  accommodated  with  a  form,  and  courteously  sup- 
plied with  coffee  and  pipes  from  time  to  time.  Meanwhile  the  courtyard  filled,  and 
became  a  vapour-bath.  The  dervishes  having  now  worked  up  the  steam,  a  huge  negro, 
with  grizzled-grey  moustache,  rose,  plunged  forward  with  a  howl,  and  swayed  his  body 
to  and  fro.  He  was  supported  by  the  attendants,  stripped  of  his  turban  and  outer 
garments,  and  accommodated  with  a  loose  white  burnous  ;  he  then  danced  an  extempore 
sai'aband  in  front  of  the  lights.  Meanwhile,  ho  had  been  anticipated  in  his  excitement 
by  a  little  boy  in  the  rear,  whom  we  had  noticed  on  tho  stairs  behind,  for  tho  last 
twenty  minutes,  gradually  working  himself  into  an  ecstasy,  rolling  his  head  and  sw,aying 
himself  on  his  seat,  apparently  unconscious  aud  unobserved.  The  black  had  now 
becomo  outrageous ;  his  eyeballs  glowed  and  rolled  as  he  grunted  and  growled  like  a 
wild  beast.  The  musicians  plied  the  sheep-skins  with  redoubled  energy,  and  the  din 
became  deafening.  The  negro  craved  for  aliment.  They  brought  him  a  smith's  shovel 
at  a  red  heat.  He  seized  it,  spit  on  his  fingers,  rubbed  them  across  its  heated  edge, 
found  it  not  sufficiently  tender,  blew  on  it,  and  struck  it  many  times  with  the  palm  of 
his  hand.  He  licked  it  with  his  tongue,  found  it  not  yet  to  his  taste,  and  handed  it  back 
to  the  attendants  with  evident  disgust ;  squatted  down  again,  glared  carnivorously,  and 
was  gratified  by  an  enti'emet  of  a  live  scorpion.  This  ho  ate  with  evident  relish,  com- 
mencing carefully  with  tho  tail ;  but  his  voracity  was  still  unabated.  Nest,  a  naked 
sword  was  handed  to  him,  which  ho  tried  to  swallow,  but  failed,  the  weapon  being 
slightly  curved,  and  about  a  yard  long.  He  recommenced  the  sarab.ind,  brandishing  the 
naked  sword  after  a  fashion  very  promiscuous,  and  not  at  all  satisfactory  to  the  spec- 
tators, as  ho  cut  the  candle  to  pieces,  and  made  tho  musicians  dive  to  avoid  him.  He 
then  attempted  to  bore  his  cheek  with  the  point :  then  to  pierce  himself  in  the  abdomen  ; 
setting  the  liilt  at  times  against  a  pillar,  then  against  tho  ground.  A  friendly  fanatic 
assisted  him  by  jumping  on  his  shoulders,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  He  was  evidently,  for 
the  nonce,  one  of  the  pachydermata ;  his  hide  would  rival  the  sevenfold  shield  of  Ajax. 
Now  several  maniacs  simultaneously  howl,  stagger  forth  to  the  centre,  and  repeat  the 
same  extravagances ;  not  omitting  tho  dainty  taste  of  scoi-pions.  Three  of  them  at 
length  knetd  befoi'e  the  presiding  Marabout,  or  chief  of  tho  dervishes,  who  benevolently 
feeds  them  with  the  leaf  of  the  prickly  pear,  which  they  bite  with  avidity,  and  masticate 
in  large  mouthfuls,  spines  and  all.  Others  repeat  tlio  shovel  exploit ;  and  one  sturdy 
little  fellow,  a  Marocain, naked  to  the  waist, balances  himself  on  his  stomach  on  the  edge 
of  a  drawn  sword,  held  up,  point  and  hilt,  by  two  men.  Then  he  stands  on  it,  supporting 
a  tall  man  on  his  shoulders.  Altogether,  the  dio  of  the  musicians,  the  pleased  "  Sah, 
Bah "  of  the  spectators,  tho  howls  of  tho  maniacs  with  tlieir  waving  figures  and 
dishevelled  hair  (for  the  dervishes  do  not  shave),  the  heat  and  stench  of  the  apartment, 
the  wild  confusion  of  the  spectacle,  might  make  a  visitor  fancy  ho  was  looking  on  some 
mad,  unearthly  revel,  where  fanaticism  had  turned  fiendish,  and  demoniac  worship 
domineered  it  over  men." — The  Great  Ha/Lara,  by  H.  R.  Tristram,  Jl.A.  London,  1860. 
12—15. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  Canon  Tristram's  letter,  to  which  I  have  referred : — 
"  I  need  hardly  say  that  I  thoroughly  agree  with  your  views  on  demoniacal  posses- 
sion, but  I  fear  I  canuot  aid  you  by  supplying  any  facts  with  which  you  are  n^t  already 
familiar.  In  tho  first  chapter  of  my  book.  The  Great  Sahara,  I  gave  a  full  description 
of  what  I  witnessed,  certainly  not  overdrawn,  but  I  have  nothing  to  add  to  it.  I  cer- 
tainly never  received  any  rational  physical  explanation  of  the  eating  of  prickly  pear- 
leaf,  the  exti-aordinary  hardness  of  tho  skin,  muscles,  &c. ;  and  the  whole  is  in  complete 
accord  with  what  we  road  of  demoniacs  in  the  New  Testament. 


612  NOTES. 

"  One  tiling  is  certain,  these  feats  are  not  jugglery.  Jugglers  are  well  known  in 
those  countries,  and  perform  as  they  do  here,  but  no  native  ever  dreams  of  confounding 
the  two.  The  dervish  perfonns  only  when  wrought  up  to  this  state  of  frenzy,  and 
cannot  do  anything  extraordinary  at  other  times  ;  and  the  people  all  believe  it  to  be  by 
a  species  of  suj'eruatural  possession.  I  never  hoard  of  the  exhibition  except  as  a 
religious  one.  There  are  vet  stranger  stories  told  of  the  feats  of  these  'possessed' 
dervishes  ;  but  I  only  state  what  I  have  myself  seen.  It  was  not  that  the  spine  of  the 
prickly  pear,  Ac,  did  not  hurt  them  ;  it  did  not  prick  them.  I  am  not  prepared  to  affirm 
that  it  is  demoniacal  possession,  but  I  should  be  very  far  from  denying  it.  If  wo  believe, 
as  we  do,  that  we  are  living  in  the  midst  of  a  spirit  world,  who  shall  say  what  manifesta- 
tions may  not  bo  possible,  if  God  pemiit  them  ?" 

'  The  Rabbis  say.  He  who  meditates  on  the  Law  of  God  by  "  day,"  and  spends  the 
night  in  prayer,  will  never  hear  evil  tidings. — Benichoth  f.  14.  1. 

e  Jesus  uses  the  two  words — w6kus.,  cities;  and  /ciojuairifAeis,  country  towns  possessing 
a  synagogue. 

^  Greswell  {Har.  Kvan.  48)  makes  the  date  of  the  circuit  from  June  to  September. 

'  Leprosy  could  not  be  readily  cansht  by  contact.  To  sleep  with  a  leper  might  give 
it  (Winer),  and  it  was,  as  I  have  said,  hereditary,  but  it  was  not  contagious  in  the 
ordinary  sense. —  Trench,  Miracles  211.  Yet  popular  feeling,  doubtless,  thought  it  so,  for 
even  in  Spain  at  this  day  it  is  universiilly  believed  that  even  a  leprous  corpse  gives 
leprosy  to  corpses  round  it  in  the  churchyard. — Sorrow's  Bible  in  Spain. 

''  Abigail  falls  at  David's  feet  (1  Sam.  ssv.  24).  The  Shunammite  fell  at  the  feet  of 
Elisha  (2  Kings  iv.  37).     The  servant  falls  at  the  feet  of  his  fellow-servant  (Matt,  xviii. 

211  )•  "■^^  s"  ""• 

'•Lord"  (itupios)  was  the  equivalent  of  our  "Master,"  "Sir" — or  of  the  French 
"  Monsieur  "  or  Gorman  "  Herr."  It  is  used  by  a  son  to  a  father  (Matt.  xxi.  30),  by  a 
servant  to  a  master  (Matt.  xiii.  27),  to  the  Roman  Procurator  (Matt,  xxvii.  G3),  and  even 
in  the  respeciful  intercourse  of  daily  life. 

'  It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  the  examination  of  the  leper  was  still  left  to  the 
priests  in  the  days  of  Jesus,  as  the  Rabbis,  in  their  hostility  to  the  priesthood,  had 
managed,  under  Hillel,  to  make  a  rule  that  a  leper  might  be  examined  by  any  one,  and 
on  his  declaration  was  to  be  pronounced  clean  by  the  priest.  The  purification  would 
still,  however,  rest  with  the  priest. — JJcrenbourg,  Palestine,  186. 

"  avviipxovro.  Imperfect  of  repeated  and  continuous  action.  See  Winer,  Grammatik, 
252. 


CHAPTER     SSXIV. 


"  The  Rabbis  are  mentioned  by  different  names  in  different  passages  of  the  Gospels. 
1.  They  are  called  Scribes  {ypafi.iiaTfXs') — the  equivalent  of  the  Hebrew  Sopherim  (from 
~=?  Saphar — to  write.  The  Rabbinical  law  was  known  as  the  *'  words  of  the  Sopherim," 
Ezra  was  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  order,  and  was  specially  known  as  Ezra  the 
Sci'ibe.  It  was  their  special  function  to  promote  reverence  for  the  Law,  liy  devoting 
themselves  to  its  study,  teaching  it  to  the  people,  and  securing  its  transmission  intact 
by  the  most  careful  transcription.  Their  decisions  on  various  points,  at  first  transmitted 
to  each  generation  orally,  were  finally  collected  in  the  Talmud,  and  overlaid  the 
divine  original  with  endless  subtleties  and  refinements,  known  as  "the  traditions  of  the 
Fathers." 

2.  A  second  name  was  "lawyers"  (voijukoi,  nomikoi),  and  a  third  (3)  vonoiiZiaKdKoi, 
nomodidaskaloi,  "  doctors  of  the  Law."  Acts  v.  34.  They  are,  also,  often  referred  to  as 
'■  the  Pharisees,"  from  the  great  majority  belonging  to  that  party  ;  but  all  Rabbis  were 
not  Pharisees,  nor  all  Pharisees  Rabbis.  In  the  same  way,  many  priests  were  Rabbis, 
but  many  Rabbis  were  not  jtriests. 

'  Dr.  Thomson  (^Land  and  Book)  supposes  the  house  to  have  been  like  one  of  the  Arab 
houses  of  the  pi'esent  diiy — a  low  one-story  building  with  a  flat  roof,  slo])ing  downwards 
to  the  back.  By  the  courtyard  he  supposes  is  meant  a  space  enclosed,  before  the  house, 
by  a  rough  stone  wall,  a  door  in  which  furnished  the  means  of  entrance, 

Dr,  Delitzseh  (Ein  Tag  in  Capeniawn,  40)  supposes  the  house  was  built  on  four  sides 
of  a  hollow  square :  two  windows  on  each  side  facing  the  inner  space.  This  interior 
court,  Sepp  thinks,  might  have  an  awning  over  it,  and  be  the  place  where  Jesus  taught 
(^Leuen  Jesu,  ii.  276).  But  was  Peter  able  to  boast  of  a  house  like  this,  which  was,  rather, 
four  houses  built  together  ? 

Roskofif  (Art.  •'  Dach,"  in  Bibd  Lexicon),  Lightfoot  (in.  loc),  Ewald  (v,  375),  think  the 
house  was  of  two  stoiies,    Keim,  Hausratb,  and  Thompson  think  it  was  of  one. 


NOTES.  613 

•  Delitzsch  supposes  the  opening  was  made  by  lifting  up  a  square  patch  of  bricks 
from  an  aperture  in  the  roof,  used  ia  summer  as  a  way  from  within,  but  closed  in 
winter  and  not  yet,  at  the  time,  re-opened.  A  slitrht  framework  over  this  in  the  dry 
months  would  keep  out  the  sun,  while  it  admitted  the  air,  and  a  stair  from  the  room 
below  would  give  easy  access  to  the  roof,  on  which  a  great  part  of  the  time  is  spent  in 
Palestine,  in  summer,  in  the  mornings  and  evenings. — Ein  Tag,  n.  42. 

^  "When  it  was  day,  we  all  took  up  onr  beds — I  my  sheet  and  my  shawl,  the  rest 
their  cotton  or  straw  mats,  which  they  roUed  up  and  put  in  a  corner." — Furrer,  Wander- 
ungen,  115. 

"  Latin,  Publicanus,  one  connected  with  the  revenue,  or  publicum.  The  farmers  of  the 
revenue  were  called  publicans,  says  Ulpian — "  quia  fruuntur  publico " — because  they 
live  from  the  public  revenues. 

'  Even  among  the  publicani  were  some  whom  all  men  praised.  The  towns  of  Lesser 
Asia  raised  inscriptions  to  the  father  of  Vespasian,  as  "  the  good  publican."  Josephus 
speaks  of  the  Publican  Johannes,  in  Casarea,  as  the  representative  of  the  religious 
interests  of  tho  people,  and  the  Talmud  praises  Rabbi  Zeira  as  one  who  lightened,  not 
increased,  the  public  burdens. — iiuet.  ^'e^p.  1.  Jos.  Bell.  Jud.  ii.  14.  4.  Light  foot.  295, 
344. 

8  Buxtorf  gives  the  list  of  things  unbecoming  in  a  Rabbi,  as  follows : — Sis  things  are 
to  be  condemned  in  a  disciple  of  the  Wise  (that  is,  of  a  Rabbi,  and,  of  course,  much 
more  so  in  a  Rabbi  himself.)  1.  To  go  out  to  the  street,  after  anointing  himself.  2.  To 
go  out  at  night  alone.  3.  To  go  out  with  patched  shoes.  4.  To  speak  with  a  woman,  or 
hold  discour.s6  with  her.  (How  this  touched  Jesus,  in  the  eyes  of  the  disciples,  at  the 
well  of  Sychar  !  )  5.  To  sit  down  to  eat  with  the  common  people.  6.  To  be  last  in  entering 
the  synagogue. —  Buxtorf,  Lex.,  114(1. 

It  will  throw  Ught  on  many  passages  to  quote  a  few  more  Rabbinical  details.  A 
Rabbi,  as  I  have  said,  was  foi-mally  made  so  by  the  Semicha,  or  laying  on  of  hands.  But 
the  '•  degree,"  if  I  may  so  say.  was  conferred  not  by  laying  on  of  hands  only.  Before 
Hillel's  day,  if  one  accredited  Rabbi  said  to  another,  '•  I  create  thee  a  Rabbi ;  a  Rabbi  be 
thou,"  it  was  sufficient.  After  Hillel's  day,  however,  no  one  could  confer  the  degree  but 
the  president  of  the  great  Sanhedrim  and  the  '•  Father  of  the  House  of  Judgment,"  in 
tho  presence  of  two  witnesses.  Further,  it  could  on  no  account  be  done  outsirte  the  land 
of  Israel.  A  degree  could  be  confen'ed  on  an  absent  person,  however,  and  sent  abi'oad 
to  him.  Any  number  of  degrees  could  be  conferred  at  the  same  time — that  is,  any 
number  of  Rabbis  created.  The  powers  conferred  by  the  title  were  various,  and  a  Rabbi 
might  be  authorized  to  execute  some  and  not  others,  or  his  powers  might  be  given  only 
for  a  time.  He  might  be  appointed  a  judse,  but  not  to  teach  respecting  things  allowed 
and  forbidden ;  or  he  might  be  authorized  to  teach  respecting  these,  and  not  to  judge  in 
money  causes  ;  or  he  might  be  authorized  to  judge  money  causes  and  not  criminal.  A 
Rabbi  did  not,  however,  get  his  title  till  he  who  nominated  him  was  dead.  Till  then  he 
was  a  Haber.  or  '•companion,"  or  '-disciple,"  or  "friend."  He  was  also  called  "a 
disciple  of  the  wise,"  and  was  felt  worthy  to  be  a  Rabbi,  though  it  was  thought 
ind.'oorous  to  claim  equal  honour  with  his  nominator  by  assuming  the  title.  A  new 
Rabbi — that  is,  a  disciple — either  sat  on  the  ground  while  his  patron  taught,  or  stood. 

These  facts  are  taken  from  various  passages  of  the  Talmud,  &c.,  as  quoted  by  Buxtorf, 
1498,  1499. 

"  That  is,  the  James  who  is  called  tho  brother  of  Jesus ;  thought  by  many  to  have 
been  the  same  as  James  the  son  of  Alphaeus — that  is,  His  cousin, 

'  The  phrase,  "  Go  ye  and  learn,"  was  the  usual  form  of  expression  among  the  Rabbis. — 
y^orl;  5'J. 

'^  Mercy.  "="  (Hesed)  kindness,  love,  zeal  for  the  good  of  any  one.  The  passage 
is  strictly  parallel  to  that  in  Micah  vi.  8,  "  What  dolh  the  Lord  require  of  thee  but  to  do 
justly,  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God?  "  It  is  noteworthy  that  Hosea 
(B.C.  780)  and  Jlicah  (B.C.  720)  were  among  the  very  earliest  of  the  prophets.  So  long 
had  the  noblest  practical  religion  been  taught  in  Israel. 

'  The  Greek  imperfect  of  "  habit "  is  used  (Luke  v.  33). —  Winer's  Grammatik,  327. 

°  Ewald  assumes  that  the  zeal  of  the  disciples  of  John  had  roused  the  Pharisees  to 
greater  activity  than  usual. — Cieschichte,  v.  379. 

"  "  He  who  makes  prayer  a  daily  mechanical  task  work,  his  prayer  is  no  prayer.  — 
Berachoth,  4.  4.  "  Few  words  ar«  to  be  used  in  prayer  before  God." — Berachoth  Bah., 
64  a. 

"  Old  bottles  are  frequently  patched  and  mended  with  skin  and  pitch.  The  manu- 
facture of  these  slcin  bottles  is  very  simple.  The  animal  is  skinned  from  the  neck  by 
simplv  cutting  off  the  head  and  legs  and  then  drawing  the  skin  back,  without  making 
any  slit  in  tho  belly.  Tho  skin  in  this  state,  with  the  hair  on,  is  then  steeped  in  tannm,  and 


614  NOTES. 

fiUod  with  a  decoction  o!  bark  for  a  few  •wcelts.  .  .  .  Thoy  are  then  sowa  up  at  the 
neck,  tbe  sutures  being  carefully  pitched.  Tbey  are  then  exposed  to  tho  sun,  on  the 
ground,  for  a  few  days,  covered  with  a  strong  decoction  of  t.mnin  and  water  pumped 
on  them  from  time  to  time,  to  keep  them  on  the  stretch  till  sufficiently  saturated.  Dry 
bottles  crack.  The  hair  on  the  skins  prosorves  them  from  friction  in  travelling.  .  . 
An  old  skin  is  not  able  to  bear  the  distention  of  new  wine  in  the  process  of  fermoatation, 
and  would  burst  with  it. — Tristram's  Nat.  Hist,  of  Bible,  93,  412.  I  have  throughout 
adopted  tho  correct  text,  which  varies  a  little  from  our  version,  though  not  so  as  at  all 
to  change  its  general  meaning. 


CHAPTER     XXXV. 


•  Meyer,  in  a  striking  passage  (Matt.  viii.  10)  shows  that  the  Kabbia  must  have  under- 
stood Daniel's  phrase — "the  Son  of-Man" — as  used  by  Jesus,  of  His  claim  to  be  the 
Messiah. 

'  Winer  thinks  the  name  Zebedee  comes  from  the  district  Zebedani,  between  Baalbek 
and  Damascus  (ii.  711).  Smith's  Dictionanj  of  the  Bible  notices  that  Zabdai  is  nearly 
identical  in  meaning  with  John,  as  if  the  father  had  given  his  son  a  name  more  in  favour 
than  his  own,  and  yet  of  the  same  import. 

"  Hausrath,  in  A  rt.  ••  Apostel,"  in  Bibet  Lex.,  thinks  them  the  sons  of  the  same  AlphsBus, 
who  is  also  known  in  the  Gospels  as  Cleophas,  the  husband  of  Mary — apparently  the 
sister  of  our  Lord's  mother. — John  xix.  25.     Matt,  xxvii.  56.     Mark  xv.  40. 

^  Ewald  thinks  that  John,  and  of  course  his  brother  James,  were  related  to  the  priestly 
race,  through  his  mother.  Ho  supposes  b.ith  her  and  JIarv,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  to  have 
been  of  tho  tribe  of  Levi,  and  quotes  the  tradition  in  Eusebius  that  Joliu,  in  his  old  ago, 
woro  the  TtfroKov  (petalon),  or  ])riestly  coronet. — -Geschichte,  v.  24G.  Tlio  petalon  was  a 
gold  plate  fastened  on  tlio  brow  of  the  high  priest  with  a  purple-blue  cord.  It  bore  tho 
words  in  Hei)rew,  "  Holy  to  Jehovah."  Ewald  thinks  that  its  uso  was  open  to  all 
Levites. — Alt.  31to,  Hufntunn,  30.  Tho  sacerdotal  tendencies  of  the  post-apostolic  age 
may  have  invented  this,  as  it  did  many  other  traditions.  Huther  [Jacobus,  i4j  treats  it 
as  of  no  value. 

•  "Fishermen  with  the  easting  net"  (the  net  used  by  Peter  at  tho  tinio  of  the 
miraculous  draught),  at  the  present  day  work  stark  naked,  with  the  excepti»n  of  a  thick 
woollen  skull-cap.  **  On  tho  Egyptian  monuments,  all  persons  catching  fish  and  water- 
fowl trilk  nets  are  depicted  naked.  The  custom,  therefore,  appears  to  bo  ancient  and 
widespread." — Tristram's  Nat.  Jlislori/  of  Bible,  290. 

Dr.  Tristram  questions  whether  they  could  have  been  quite  naked  in  the  "  more 
civilized  davs  "  of  Peter,  "with  a  dense  population  on  the  shore."  But  this  admirable  and 
accomplished  writer  will  doubtless  remember  that  at  the  Greek  games  introduced  by  Herod 
(Jos.  Atit.  xvi.  5.  1),  which  were  very  popular  with  young  men,  in  spite  of  the  Rabbis, 
the  competitors  were  in  many  cases  quite  naked.  So  that  nudity  was  less  regarded,  even 
by  many  Jews,  then,  than  now,  doubtless  through  the  univer.sal  presence  of  more  or  less 
Greek  feeling. 

'  Simon  is  called  tho  Canaanito,  in  Matt.  x.  4,  and  Mark  iii.  18,  .and  in  Luke  vi.  15 
Zelotes.  Tho  word  used  by  Matthew  is  Kat/cwlrris  (Cananites),  from  Heb.  >*,-?.  (Kanna), 
Aram.  'iSiPx  (Kannan)  jea/oas,  and  of  this,  Zelotes  (^tjAoit^s)  is  a  translation.  Tho  zealots 
in  later  years,  possibly  even  in  Christ's  day,  liad  become  a  society  like  the  Italian  Car- 
bonari, or  the  German  Fehmgerichte  of  the  middle  ages,  striking  secretly  at  alleged 
*'  enemies  of  tho  Law,"  at  the  order  of  their  superiors,  without  trial. 

For  the  Old  Testament  uses  of  >^-7-  see  Buxtorf,  2050.  The  zealots  took  their  name,  as 
has  been  said,  from  a  remembrance  of  the  words  of  tho  dying  Mattatliias,  the  father  of  the 
Maccal)a;an  heroes.  "  Now  hath  pride  and  oppression  gotten  strength,  and  it  is  a  time  of 
desolation  and  bitter  fury.  Now,  therefore,  my  sons,  be  ye  zealots  ioT  the  Law,  and  give 
your  lives  for  the  covenant  of  your  fathers." — 1  Mac.  ii.  49,  50.  The  sentiment  was 
lofty,  and  such  as  only  spirits  of  a  noble  devotion  and  earnestness  would  grasp.  The 
remembrance  of  Gideon  overcoming  Midian  in  spite  of  its  hosts,  with  His  chosen  three 
hundred,  and  of  the  victories  against  similar  od.ls,  recorded  so  often  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  in  the  History  of  the  Maccabees,  fired  them  to  dare  even  tho  awful  power  of 
Rome.  The  buttle  was  the  Lord's,  not  man's,  and  there  was  no  restraint  wiih  Him  to 
save  by  many  or  by  few.  1  Sam.  xiv.  6 ;  2  Chron.  sx.  15.  They  were  at  first  called 
Galilaians  :  Galilee  being  their  favourite  ground  of  action,  from  tho  facilities  it  offered 
for  gathering  and  keeping  together  their  guerilla  bands.  The  Galileans  were  more 
quick-blooded,  moreover,  than  their  southern  brethren,  and  were  always  brave  soldiers. 
See  Jos.  Bell.  Jud.  vii.  10.  1.    Ant.  xviii.  1.  G. 


NOTES.  615 

Josephns  speaks  with  the  bitterness  of  a  renegade  of  the  little  bands  that  rose  from 
timo  to  time,  after  the  example  of  Judas  the  Galilaean,  in  the  fond  hope  that  the  Messiah 
would  appear,  and  givetlieiu  the  victory  over  the  8tran;:;er.  He  calls  them  robbers  and 
traitors.  Josephus,  no  doubt,  looked  on  our  Lord  and  His  followers  as  the  leader  and 
dupes  of  such  a  baud,  and  classed  Him  and  them  in  the  same  category  of  "  traitors,"  &c., 
else  he  would  have  spoken  more  of  Him. 

*  Mark  ix.  111.  In  the  Sinaitic,  Alexandrian,  and  Vatican  MSS.  the  words  are,  "  He 
answereth  unto  them  *'  (the  disciples)  "  not  answered  him  *' — the  father  of  the  child. 

''  Sepp  (Jenisalem  u.  d.  H.  Land,  ii.  126)  thinks  the  Sermon  on  the  Blount  was  de- 
livered somewhere  in  the  Decapolis  or  Perea.  Bunsen  decides  for  Karun  Hattin 
(Bibehi-erk,  ix.  313),  while  De  Wette,  Meyer,  Robinson,  Fritzsche,  Keim,  and  others  think 
the  particular  hill  impossible  to  identify. 

'  Hofmann  gives  examples  of  alphabetical  prayers,  each  petition  beginning  with  the 
letter  after  that  with  which  the  preceding  one  commenced  ! — Lthen  Jedu,  &c.,  -75. 


CHAPTER     SXXVI. 


*  Luke  (vi.  20 — 49)  gives  a  shorter  report  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  I  shall  notice 
any  variations  of  importance.  The  best  MSS.  show  that  verses  3  and  4  of  St.  Matthew, 
chapter  v.,  should  be  tiansposed. — Herzog,  ii.  183. 

^  It  must  not  be  thought  that  there  was  no  true  religion  in  the  world  before  Jesus,  or 
in  the  economy  Ho  came  to  supersede.  The  Law  and  the  Prophets  had  spoken  with  no 
doubtful  voice  respecting  the  true  conditions  of  acceptance  with  God.  Even  the  un- 
canonical  literature  of  the  Jews  was  often  healthy  and  spiritual  in  its  tone.  '*  If  ye  subdue 
your  own  understanding,  and  reform  your  hearts,"  said  the  Fourth  Book  of  Esdras 
(xiv.  34),  "  ye  shall  be  kept  alive,  and  after  death  ye  shall  find  meroy."  •*  The  angels 
know,"  says  the  Book  of  Enoch,*  "what  will  happen  to  the  spirits  of  the  humble  and  of  •  Dillmann'a 
those  who  mortify  tbeir  hesh  and  receive  the  reward  from  God,  and  of  those  who  were  Bush  Henoch, 
evilly  used  by  the  wicked ;  who  loved  God,  not  gold  or  silver,  or  any  of  the  things  of  ^^^  chapter, 
this  life,  but  gave  up  their  body  to  suffer  ;  and  who,  through  life,  did  not  crave  after 
earthly  food,  but  looked  ou  themselves  as  a  passing  breath,  and  lived  accordingly,  and 
were  often  proved  by  the  Lord,  but  their  spirits  were  found  pure,  to  pr.ii30  His  name. 
He  has,  therefore,  given  them  the  reward  for  this,  because  they  were  fo-md  to  love  the 
eternal  heaven  more  thun  life,  and  praised  JIo  even  when  they  were  trodden  down  by 
evil  men,  and  had  to  listen  to  their  revilings  and  blasphemings."  Tee  resemblance  and 
the  contrast  between  this  and  the  teaching  of  Jesus  are  both  significant. 

It  is  curious  to  note  the  abuses  which  have  sprung  from  words  apparently  so  clear  as 
those  of  the  Beatitudes.  The  Synod  of  Cordova  (a.d.  850 — S5!))  had  to  pass  stem  laws 
against  the  custom  prevalent  among  the  monks  of  deliberately  infuriating  the  Mahom- 
modans  of  Spain  to  obtain  martyrdom  at  their  hands. — Herzog,  xix.  354. 

Lightfoot  quotes  from  the  Rabbis  a  striking  passage  illustrative  of  the  corrupt  and 
corrupting  ideas  of  purity  too  prevalent  among  the  Pharisees.  *'  Come  and  see,"  says 
R.  Simeon  Ben  Eleazar,  "how  far  the  purity  of  Israel  extends  itself;  when  it  is  not  only 
appointed  that  a  clean  man  eat  not  with  an  unclean  woman,  but  that  a  Pharisee  v.-ho  has 
a  shameful  disease  eat  not  with  a  common  person  who  has  it." — Hone  Ileb.  ii.  Ui). 

"  "  Sixty-five  houses  in  Lady  Stanhope's  village  were  rented  and  filled  with  salt. 
These  houses  have  merely  earthen  floors,  and  the  salt  next  the  ground  in  a  few  years  is 
entirely  spoiled.  I  saw  large  quantities  of  it  literally  thrown  into  the  street,  to  be 
trodden  under  foot  of  men  and  beasts." — Land  and  Book,  381. 

The  salt  of  this  country,  when  in  contact  with  the  ground,  becomes  insipid  and  useless. 
From  the  mode  in  which  it  is  collected,  much  earth  and  other  impurities  are  necessarily 
collected  with  it. — Land  and  Book,  3S:i. 

Maundrell  relates  that  he  visited  the  salt  district  near  Aleppo  and  broke  off  a  piece 
of  rock-salt  which  had  quite  lost  i  s  savour,  though  further-in  the  salt  was  quite  strong. 
The  earth,  &c.,  with  which  the  salt  was  mixed,  had  caused  the  outer  layer  to  effloresce 
and  become  tasteless. 

Josephus  records  that  the  salt  in  Herod's  magazines  having  once  become  spoiled,  he 
strewed  the  forecourts  of  the  Temple  with  it,  "  that  it  might  bo  trodden  under  foot  of  the 
people." 

Pressel  gives  much  curious  information  on  the  subject. — Herzog,  xiii.  345. 

^  "Jot  or  tilth."  The  jot,  the  Greek  iota,  is  the  Hebrew  letter  YodC)  the  smallest  in 
the  Hebrew  alphabet.  The  tittle  is  the  xepam  (keraia)  ht. — a  horn — the  least  part  of  any 
letior  or  the  ornaments  added  by  the  Scribes  to  some  of  them.     Seven  letters  were  thus 


616  NOTES. 

decorated,  V  3  f  3  t3  J?  C-  Three  small  points  were  added  at  the  head,  or  heads  of 
each  letter,  and  one  of  those  points  was  tho  "  tittle." 

Many  passa!;^cs  occur  in  tho  Talmud  illustrative  of  the  superstitious  revereuco,  amon-^ 
tho  Raljljis,  for  even  the  jots  and  tittles  of  the  Law.  Thus.  Once  on  a  time,  the  Book 
of  Deuteronomy  came  hefore  God,  and,  falling  prostrate  hefore  Him,  said,  '*  0  Lord  of 
tho  universe  !  in  me  hast  Thou  written  Thy  Law.  But  if  a  law  be  altered  in  any  part 
it  is  altered  in  all.  Boholil,  Solomon  is  attempting  to  root  out  Yod."  (When  he  took 
many  wives  he  was  said  to  have  at  tho  same  time  taken  tho  Yod,  which  marks  the  plural, 
from  the  verse  Dent.  xvii.  17,  "He  shall  not  multiply  wives — n-'rl^^,  nashim — to  him- 
self.") God,  ever  hlessed,  answered;  "Solomon  and  a  thousand  like  him  shall  perish,  but 
not  a  tittle  "  (tho  fragment  of  one  of  tho  ornaments  of  the  letters)  "  shall  perish." 

In  the  same  way,  God  was  said  to  have  taken  the  Yod  which  was  dropped  from  tho 
name  Sarai  when  it  was  changed  into  Sarah,  and  ])ut  it  in  the  name  of  Joshua.  It  had 
been  at  tho  end  of  tho  woman's  name,  hut  was  honoured  by  being  put  in  front  of  the 
manV,  when  Moses  changed  the  name  of  Hoshea  to  Jehoshua,  or  Joshua — ^Ir?^  changed 
into  !■■.■J1~^  Num.  xiii.  8 ;  Ex.  xvii.  9.  Thus,  God,  rather  than  let  even  the  smallest 
letter  of  one  of  the  words  of  the  Law  be  lost,  added  it  to  another  word.  See  GfriJrer's 
Jahrlmndert  i.  23.5;  Meyer's  Matlhiius,  147;  Kitto's  Cyi/o.  ii.  6G3;  Lightfoot's  Horce, 
Heb.  ii.  101,  102;  Elsey'a  Annotations,  i.  95. 

So  exact,  indeed,  were  the  Rabbis,  that  to  change  the  letter  n  (Cheth)  into  n  (He)  was 
declared  to  be  "to  destroy  the  world;"  and  the  same  undefined  ruin  is  said  to  be  in- 
volved in  the  change  of  3  (Uaph)  into  3  (Both)  or  of  T  (Daleth)  into  1  (Resh). 

Incidentally,  the  words  of  Christ  show  that  tho  present  square-shaped  letters  were  in 
use  in  His  day. — Dillmann,  in  Her:oij,  ii.  14.5. 

The  Book  of  Jubilees  (c.  6)  tells  us  that  all  the  Rabbinical  laws  are  copied  from  tho 
books  of  heaven,  and  are  from  etornity.  The  whole  world,  says  the  Talmud,  is  not  as 
much  worth  as  one  word  of  the  Law. — Sepp,  iv.  115. 

•  "  The  Law  "  included  the  five  Books  of  Moses.  "  The  Propliets  "  were  divided  into 
a  "  first  "  and  "  last "  section,  which,  however,  were  joined  as  a  whole.  The  first  part 
included  Joshua,  tho  Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings ;  tho  second  part,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel, 
Isaiah,  and  the  minor  prophets.  It  was  a  striking  illustration  of  the  inferior  value  set  on 
"  The  Projjhots  "  that  they  were  never  read  entirely  ;  only  Eclectod  lessons  were  used. — 
Bibel  Lex.  Art.  "  Bibol,"  by  Jieuss. 

'  On  each  Monday  and  Thursday  three  sections  of  tho  Law  were  read  in  tho  syna- 
gogue; on  each  feast  or  fast  day,  five;  on  Sabbath  morning,  seven;  on  Sabbath  after- 
noon, tlireo ;  while  in  the  week  only  one  section  of  tho  Prophets  was  read. — Pressel. 

'  Tho  local  courts  could  put  to  death  by  tho  sword ;  the  Sanhedrim  could  put  to  death 
by  stoning  also,  but  only  with  permission  of  the  Roman  authorities. — Sdiiirer,  403,  404  ; 
Ehey,  i.  102. 

'  For  the  meaning  of  R.ica,  see  Tholuck's  Birgpredigt.,  175.     Lightfoot,  ii.  113. 

Ona  of  tho  middle-age  Rabbinical  books — "  Sohar  " — has  adopted  the  words  of  Jesus. 
It  says,  "He  who  calls  his  neighbour  Raca  shall  be  thrust  into  hell." — AVm,  ii.  2.")0. 

Gehenna  is  tho  word  here  translated  "  hell-fire."  It  was  originally  Gu  bone  Hinnom, 
the  v.alloy  of  tho  sons  of  Hinnom,  under  the  soutli  walls  of  Jerusalem.  Children  wore 
burned  alive  there  to  Moloch  till  the  days  of  King  Josiah,  2  Kings  xxiii.  10.  The 
bowlings  of  the  infants  and  tho  foul  idolatry  made  it  the  symbol  of  hell,  and  this  was 
strengthened  by  its  being  afterwards  used  as  the  place  whore  tho  refuse  of  tho  Temple 
sacrifices  was  burned  up  continually  in  a  fire  that  was  never  quenched. — Sc/i«>cr,  596  ; 
Liiihlfoot,  ii.  109;  Funer,  53;  llerzog,  iv.  710;  Godu-i/n,  14:5;  Dns  Buck  Henoch, 
329.  iol. 

'  Raca  often  occurs  in  the  Talmud.  It  is  equivalent  to  a  worthless  person  in  a  light 
nnd  frivolous  sense. — Biixtorf,  22.54.  "It  is  a  word  used  by  one  that  despises  another 
with  the  utmost  scorn." — Liiihlfoot,  ii.  109. 

Tho  Rabbis  had  many  refineoients  respecting  homicide.  Thus,  "He  is  a  manslayer, 
whosoever  shall  strike  his  neighbour  with  a  stone  or  iron,  or  thrust  him  into  tho  water 
or  fire,  whence  he  cannot  come  out,  so  that  he  die.  Ho  is  guilty.  But  if  he  thrust 
another  into  the  water  or  fire,  whence  he  might  come  out,  if  he  die,  ho  is  guiltless." — 
Hanlied.  ix.  1  ;  Hone  Heb.  ii.  110.  Again,  "  Wnosoever  shall  slay  his  neighbour  with  his 
own  hand,  beliold,  such  a  one  is  to  be  put  to  death  by  the  Sanhedrim.  But  he  that  hires 
another  by  a  reward,  to  kill  his  neighbour,  or  who  sends  his  servants  aud  they  kill  him, 
or  he  tliat  thrusts  him  violently  upon  a  lion  or  some  other  beast,  and  ho  kill  him,  is  a 
shedder  of  lilood,  and  is  liable  to  death  iy  the  hand  of  God,  but  he  is  not  to  be  j>unished 
with  death  by  the  Sanhedrim." — Bubijloiiian  Geiiiera  in  Hor.  Heb.  iii.  111. 

"  Fool "  (^oipiis)  muros — is  an  expression  of  contempt  for  one  as  wicked  and  lost.  It  was 
equivalent  to  imprecating  damnation  on  one. — Hor.  Heb.,  ii.  1 12.     Buxtorf  (744)  quotes 


NOTES.  617 

from  the  Talmud  that  he  who  calls  his  brother  a  slave  is  to  be  excommunicated  j  he  who 
calls  him  "  a  bastard"  is  to  bo  beaten  with  forty  stripes,  and  he  who  calls  him  "a  wicked 
person  "  is  to  be  stripped  of  all  he  has. — Also  lloi:  Huh.  ii.  112. 

''  "Gift "  is  the  word  Corban,  Mark  vii.  11;  Matt,  xxvii.  6.  No  interruption  of  an 
offering  was  permitted,  especially  before  the  libation  after  the  sacrifice. — -Sc/iw7((/e»,  35. 
Passages  somewhat  similar  to  our  Lord's  are  found  in  the  Talmud.  Thus,  "  He  that 
offers  an  oblation,  not  restoring  what  he  has  unjustly  taken  away,  does  not  do  that  which 
is  his  duty.  The  day  of  expiation  atones  for  what  a  man  has  committed  against  God, 
but  not  for  what  he  has  done  against  his  neighbour,  until  he  has  been  reconciled  with  him." 
Ilor.  IIA>.  ii.  113;  Sf/iii/t.,  G3.  But  such  expressions  are  rare  and  had  little  weight, 
because  with  the  Rabbis  the  formal  offering  covered  everything,  apart  from  the  state  of 
heart.  Indeed,  there  is  no  real  parallel  to  the  words  of  Jesus,  for  the  very  idea  of  an 
interruption  in  a  sacrifice  was  a  horror  to  the  Jew. — Keim,  ii.  251.  Lightfoot  notices, 
moreover  that  the  reference  is  almost  always  to  pecuniary  matters.  The  idea  of  recon- 
ciliation from  a  charitable  and  brotherly  heart,  or  from  any  other  feeling  than  a  formal 
self-justification  before  God,  is  not  thought  of. 

Jesus  lays  stress  on  the  reconciliation  from  an  humble,  loving,  penitent  heart  bein^ 
made  for  any  oftence  whatever.     Tt — "any  whatever." 

'  The  Babbis  have  somewhat  similar  expressions,  but  they  are  too  gross  to  be  copied. 
To  look  upon  a  woman's  heel,  or  her  little  finger,  was  denounced  as  not  less  guilty  than 
open  impurity.  But  there  is  the  immense  difference  between  Jesus  and  these  purists 
that  while  they  condemn  what  is  perfectly  innocent,  attaching  guilt  even  to  letting  the 
eyes  meet  the  form  of  a  woman,  our  Saviour  only  condemns  the  looking  with  evil 
thoughts.  The  Rabbis  walked  with  tiieir  faces  to  the  earth,  lest  they  should  see  a  woman. 
Christ  speaks  with  her  of  Samaria,  and  has  women  minister  to  Him  throughout  His  whole 
public  life.  How  utterly  impure  the  affected  purity  which  needs  to  bo  blind  not  to  offend, 
and  makes  nothing  of  the  eye  of  the  mind,  if  only  the  outward  sight  be  clean  !  An 
extract  may  bo  of  use.  "  Rabbi  Gedal  and  R.  Johanau  were  wont  to  sit  where  the  women 
bathed  naked,  and,  when  spoken  to,  R.  Johanan  replied,  '  I  am  the  seed  of  Joseph,  over 
whom  evil  passions  have  no  power.'  " — Ilor.  Heb.  ii.  118;  Buxtorf,  1-175  ;  also,  1 13. 

■»  Dent.  sxiv.  1.     See  Hor.  Ilth.  ii.  122 ;  Keim,  ii.  253. 

°  Jesus  does  not  prohibit  an  oath  under  all  circumstances,  for  Ho  Himself  did  not 
shrink  from  tho  most  solemn  public  oath  (Matt.  xxvi.  G3).  The  oaths  He  condemns  are 
the  light  and  thoughtless  words  of  the  streets  and  tho  markets,  or  of  ordinary  life.  The 
early  Waldenses,  like  the  Friends  of  this  day,  would  take  no  oaths,  resting  their  objection 
on  the  words  of  Jesus  in  this  place. — llerzuij,  xviii.  508. 

To  swear  by  heaven  as  equivalent  to  swearing  by  God,  whose  name  they  dared  not 
use,  was  very  common. — -BuxtorJ]  2441, 

°  It  was  the  same  in  ancient  Rome.  For  personal  injury  or  damage  to  property,  the 
injured  person  could,  in  lighter  cases,  demand  an  indefinite  compensation;  if,  however, 
a  member  of  the  body  were  lost,  the  maimed  person  could  demand  an  eye  for  an  eye, 
and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth. — Mommsens  Rum.  i.  153. 

p  The  ziiz.  in  the  Talmud,  is  tho  sixth  part  of  a  denarius,  which  was  nominally  equal 
to  7^d.  of  our  money,  but  from  the  different  Value  of  money  then  may  have  been  worth 
forty  pence  of  our  coin. 

One  hundred  zuzees  would  thus  be  actually  worth  nearly  £3. — Hor.  Heb.  ii.  11"; 
Tiscliendorf,  xlvi. 

'  Buxtorf  quotes  a  Rabbinical  proverb.  "If  your  comrade  call  you  an  ass,  put  an  ass'a 
saddle  on  you ;"  bear  slander  or  wrongs,  lest  by  more  strife  there  come  more  trouble. 
But  this  is  very  far  from  the  meekness  prompted  by  love  that  seeks  to  win  the  evil-doer 
to  repentance  for  his  own  sake. 

'  "  Coat,"  xiTia!'  (chiton),  generally  understood  of  the  tunic,  or  inner  garment,  worn  next 
the  skin,  mostly  with  sleeves,  and  reaching  usually  to  the  knees,  rarely  to  the  ankles. — 
Diet,  of  Ant.  "Tunica."  Cloak,  ijuorioy  (himation),  generally  understood  of  the  outer  gar- 
ment, the  mantle  or  pallium,  and  as  diff'ereut  from  the  x^rwc,  and  worn  over  it.  Dr. 
Thomson  {Laud  and  Boot,  118)  thinks  tho  coat  was  the  sw/to/i,  an  outer  jacket,  now 
worn  in  Palestine. 

Lightfoot,  however,  says  that  the  chiton  was- the  tallith.  quoting  the  Talmud  in  proof. 
In  this  upper  garment,  or  cloak,  were  woven  the  s.icred  fringes  which  were  to  put  the 
wearer  in  mind  of  the  Law.     It  was  thus  a  dishonour  as  well  as  loss  to  take  this. 

"  Press  theo."  The  word  is  ayyapevu  (angarouo).  It  is  a  Persian  word  derived  from 
the  letter  furnished  by  auihority,  which  empowers  the  holder  to  press  into  his  service 
persons,  conveyances^  and  beasts,  for  a  journey,  &c.  Tne  word  is  translated  ''compel" 
in  Jlark  xv.  21.     See  Buxtorf,  132. 

Chavdin,  in  his  travels,  gives  a  different  etymology  of  the  word.  He  says  it  comes 
from  hangar,  "  a  dagger  "  worn  by  Persian  couriers  as  a  mark  of  authority. — ii.  242. 


618  NOTES. 

Wbore  bodily  hurt  was  done,  the  Rabbis  bad  established  five  different  fines.  For 
maiminfi,  if  tlio  person  were  njaiiucd  ;  for  pain,  for  the  rare,  for  the  reproach  brought  on 
the  suii'crer  by  tho  indignity,  and  for  Me  time  lost  during  convalescence. — Jlor.  lleb.  u. 
132. 


CHAPTER     XXXVII. 


*  Baur  has  a  splendid  essay  on  the  preparation  of  the  ivoild,  Jewish  and  Heathen,  for 
Christ,  in  tho  beginning  of  his  GeschidUe  d.  Christlichen  Kin-lie. 

^  Some  have  been  disposed  to  ascribe  the  special  teaehing  of  Josus  to  the  lessons  of 
the  Rabbis,  but  if  tlio  proofs  I  have  already  given  be  not  enough,  let  me  quote  the  words 
of  a  man  of  genius  than  whom  no  one  was  more  entitled  to  speak,  by  bis  very  antagonism 
to  much  that  is  acooptod  by  the  Chi'istian  world  at  large — Dr.  Ferdinand  Christian  Baur. 
"If  one  considers  tlio  development  of  Christianity,"  says  he.  "  its  whole  historical  sig- 
nificance hangs  only  on  tho  character  of  it^  founder.  How  soon  would  all  that 
Christianity  has  taught  of  true  and  impressive,  have  been  relegated  to  tho  roll  of  long- 
forgotten  sayings  of  the  noble  friends  of  man,  and  the  thoughlfid  minds  of  antiquity,  if 
its  doctrines  had  not  become  words  of  eternal  life  in  tho  mouth  of  its  founder?" — 
Gescliir/ile,  Mli.  Ileruuiun  Weiss  {.'iiiiiillo.sii/leit  Jesti,  Horzog,  xxi.  205)  well  says,  that 
"  the  attempt  to  invalidate  the  divine  originality  and  perfection  of  Christ  and  of  Chi'is- 
tianity,  by  quoting  Jewish  or  Heathen  moral  utterances  as  already  containing  the  essence 
of  the  doctrine  of  Jesus,  has  now  fairly  died  out."  It  would  be  strange  indeed,  if  in  the 
interminable  dust-heaps  of  the  Talmud,  of  which  the  Babylonian  alone,  including  the 
Rabbinical  commentaries  on  it,  till  twenty-four  volumes  folio  (Vienna,  1682)  did  not 
contain  some  stray  pearls.  Among  the  many  Rabbis  of  successive  centuries,  whose 
sayings  are  repoi-ted  in  it,  or  whose  expositions  are  appended  to  it,  there  was  here  and 
there  a  man  of  genius,  or  of  pure  and  lofty  aspirations  who  has  left  traces  of  his  finer 
or  more  religious  nature  in  sayings  well  worthy  ])re96rTation.  Such  is  the  sentence, 
"Number  thyself  among  the  oppressed  ;  not  among  the  oppressors:  hear  reproach  and 
answer  not  again  :  do  all  fmm  love  to  God,  aud  rejoice  in  tribulation." — 5a6i«'. Ixxxviii. 
C.  Hess.,  Rijin.  u.  Jems  137.  This  also  is  tine — "  Tho  Thora  (Law)  has  grown  to  bo  a 
wide  sea,  but  it  will  some  day  shrink  into  this  one  command — "Walk  before  God  and  bo 
holy." — j/enor/,  xii.  4S7.  But  glimpses  of  piofound  metaphysics,  stray  parables  of 
Teal  beauty,  and  occasional  sentiments  of  true  si>irilual  breadth  and  elevation  are  only 
tho  rare  giains  of  whe.at  in  mountains  of  chalT.  Tlieie  has  boon  of  late  a  tendency  to 
exalt  the  Talmud  at  tho  exjiense  of  the  New  Testament,  but  let  any  one  take  up  a 
translation  of  any  part  of  it,  or  even  turn  to  the  illustrations  of  different  laws  I  have 
drawn  from  it  (chap,  xvii.),  and  tho  exaggeration  of  such  an  estimate  will  at  once  be 
Seen.  The  Talmud  is  divided  into  six  great  sections,  and  of  these,  the  first — The  Seder 
Scraim  (Laws  of  seeds) — take  uj)  one  folio;  the  second,  The  Laws  of  the  Feasts,  three 
folios;  The  Laws  of  Women,  two  folios;  The  Laws  of  Inquiries,  three  folios;  The  Laws 
of  Consecrations  (treating  of  sacrifices),  two  folios ;  and  the  Seder  Taharoth,  or  Purifica- 
tions, one  folio.  Each  Seder  is  divided  into  a  greater  or  less  number  of  Massichthoth  or 
treatises  ;  these  again  into  Perakim  or  chapters,  and  every  chapter  into  more  or  fewer 
Jlischnaioth  or  "  Teachings  " — tho  so-called  "  Traditions  of  the  Elders  "  mentioned  in  tho 
New  Testament.  In  all,  there  are  seventy  treatises,  in  525  chapters  and  4,187  seclions, 
or  *'  Traditions  of  the  Elders."  The  contents  of  one  treatise  may  be  given  as  a  sample 
of  the  whole.  Let  it  be  tho  fourth  of  the  Seder  Taharoth.  It  treats  of  the  "water  of 
sprinkling,"  and  is  called  "  Tho  Cow."  Tlie  water  was  made  of  the  ashes  of  a  rod  cow 
and  flowing  water,  and  was  used  for  the  purification  of  men  and  things  that  had  been 
defiled  by  the  presence  of  a  dead  body.  Tho  contents  aro  divided  into  twelve  chaptei'S. 
Of  these,  the  1st,  which  is  divided  into  four  "  Teachings  "  or  sections,  treats  of  tho  age 
of  the  red  cow,  of  that  of  the  young  cow,  in  Dent.  21,  and  of  that  of  other  animals  for  sacri- 
fice. Tho  2nd  in  four  sections.  How  to  decide  if  they  aro  fit  or  unfit.  Tho  3rd,  in 
eleven  sections.  Of  the  separation  of  the  priest  who  is  to  kill  the  red  cow  ;  of  tho 
loading  it  ont.side  tlie  camp  (or  city),  tho  slaughtering,  and  the  burning  it,  and  of 
the  gathering  up  of  its  ashes.  The  4th  in  four  sections.  Possible  ways  in  which 
victims  may  bo  made  tmfit.  The  5th  in  nine  sections.  Of  the  vessels  to  be  used  for 
the  water  of  sprinkling.  The  Gth  in  five  sections.  Of  the  oases  in  which  the  ashes  or 
the  water  mixed  with  them  are  uuHt.  The  7th  in  twelve  sections.  How  the  act  (of 
preparing  the  water  of  sjjrinkling)  must  not  be  interrupted.  Tho  8th  in  eleven  sections. 
Of  the  keeping  of  the  water  of  sprinkling ;  of  sea-water  and  other  kinds  of  water  in 
relation  lo  the  water  of  sprinkling.  Tho  yth  in  nine  sections.  Continuation  of  the  same. 
The  10th  in  six  sections.  How  clean  men  and  vessels  may  become  unclean  (in  connection 
with  the  sprmkling).  Tho  11th  in  nine  sections.  Of  the  hyssop  to  bo  used  in  sprinkling. 
The  12th  in  eleven  sections.  Of  the  persons  who  may  be  sprinlUed. — Presscl,  Thaltnud, 
Herzog,  sv.  637. 


NOTES.  619 

Dr.  Liglitfoot's  opinion  of  the  Talmud,  was  that  of  a  man  fitted  beyond  most  by  a 
life-long  study  of  it,  and  by  his  candour  and  integrity.  Ho  thus  expresses  it : — "  The 
almost  unconquerable  difficulty  of  the  style,  the  frightful  roughness  of  the  language, 
and  the  amazing  emptieoss  and  sophistry  of  the  matters  handled,  do  torture,  vex,  and 
tire  beyond  measure,  him  who  reads  these  volumes.  They  everywhere  abound  in  trides 
in  that  manner,  as  tliough  they  had  no  mind  to  be  read ;  with  obscurities  and  difficulties, 
as  thout'h  they  had  no  mind  to  be  understood ;  so  that  the  reader  has  need  of  patience  all 
along,  to  euable  him  to  bear  both  trifling  in  sense  and  roughness  in  expression." — Ded. 
of  Hot.  Iltb.  on  Matthew. 

"  Aurelius  and  Trajan  were  Spaniards,  and  Hadrian  was  of  Spanish  descent.  Severus 
was  an  African.     Seneca  and  Martial  were  Spaniards. 

■i  Authorities  on  this  whole  subject— Hansrath,  i.  353 — 357,  Meyer's  Malllicius,  158. 
Hess.  Rom.  137.  Keim,  ii.  61,  97,  257.  Bihel.  Lex.  iv.  168  ;  v.  32.  Herzog,  xxi.  206, 
652.  Derenbourg,  220.  138.  Keim's  Chiistus,  89.  Ui/lel  und  Jesus,  29.  £cce  Homo, 
chap.  xii.     Elsey,  i.  115,  &c.  &c. 

•  There  is  a  fine  sentence — a  pearl  in  the  vast  dust-heaps  of  the  Talmud — "  The 
Thora  (Law),  has  become  a  great  sou,  but  it  will  be  brought  back  some  day  to  this  one 
point — -walk  before  God  and  be  holy." — " Rabbinismus  "  by  Piessel,  Herzog,  xii.  487. 

'The  word  used  in  the  Hebrew  version  of  Matthew  was,  doubtless,  '^  p,"'-i — Tsedakah, 
righteousness. 

8  So  in  the  Vatican  and  Sinaitic  MSS. 

I"  The  names  of  large  givers  to  the  poor  were  called  out  in  the  synagogues. — Sepp,  ii. 
350. 

'  The  corruption  of  the  day  had  forgotten  the  merit  attached  to  secrecy  even  by  the 
Rabbis.  Godly  Jews  were  not  wanting  who  dropped  their  alms  into  the  famed  "  treasury 
of  the  silent  ""  in  the  Temple,  and  a  Rabbi  had  taught  that  "  He  that  doeth  his  alms  in 
secret  is  greater  than  Moses  himself." — //or.  Heb.  ii.  Ul.  R.  Jaiinaius,  seeing  some 
one  give  alms  publicly,  said  to  him,  "It  would  have  been  better  for  you  if  you  had  not 
given  them." — Buxtorf,  1891.     Another  proverb  was — "Charity  is  the  salt  of  riches." 

'  Lightfoot  gives  illustrations  of  the  "  babbling  "  of  Roman  prayers.  Thus — Antoninus 
the  pious,  the  gods  keep  thee.  Antoninus  the  merciful,  the  gods  keep  thee.  Antoninus 
the  merciful,  the  gods  ikeep  thee,  and  so  on. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  priests  of  Baal  "  called  on  the  name  of  Baal  from 
morning  to  noon,  saying,  "  0  Baal,  hear  us !"  Some  phrases  are  repeated  thirty  times  in 
ilahommeilan  prayers. — Land  and  Book,  26.  1  Kings  xviii.  26.  "La  illalu  illah  allah, 
was  repeated  over  and  over." — Sepp,  it  328.  The  Ephesians  (Acts  six.  3-t)  repeated 
"Great  is  Diana,"  for  two  hours.  The  repetition  condemnod  was  "  dcorum  aures  con- 
ttmdere  "  to  stun  the  ears  of  the  gods,  as  if  they  could  not  or  would  not  hear,  "  nisi  idem 
dictum  sit  centies,"  unless  the  same  thing  were'ropeated  a  hundred  times.  The  Hindoos 
repeat  the  name  of  Ram,  over  and  over  thousands  of  times.  In  Rome,  no  priest  or 
magistrate  could  pray  for  the  people  except  in  the  very  words  of  prescribed  forms. 
Some  one  always  stood  by  to  watch  that  no  word  was  omitted  or  added,  and  that  there 
was  no  interruption,  that  the  prayer  might  not  lose  its  effect.  Among  the  Jews,  the  exact 
time  for  each  prayer  was  rigidly  fixed. — Schiirer,  505.     Sepp,  ii.  328. 

'  It  is  always  pleasant  to  note  parallels  between  the  words  of  Jesus  and  those  of  the 
Rabbis,  though  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  far  the  latter  are  original.  There  was  no 
written  collection  of  Ral)biuical  literature  for  at  least  500  years  after  Christ.  Indeed, 
it  was  thought  a  religious  offence  to  commit  any  examples  to  writing.  Moreover, 
the  earliest  attempt  to  gather  any  body  of  tradition  together,  to  be  committed  to 
memory,  dates  only  from  the  time  of  jehudah  the  Holy,  who  died  about  ad.  220. 
Jost,  ii.  120.  It  is  therefore  impossible  to  tell  how  much  in  the  Rabbis  that  harmonizes 
more  or  less  with  the  sayings  of  Jesus  may  not  have  been  borrowed  from  Christian 
sources.  Yet,  with  the  Law'aod  the  Prophets,  why  should  not  gracious  souls,  here  and 
there,  have  expressed  themselves  graciouslv?  Gfrijrer,  who  took  special  pains  to  search 
for  the  Lord's  Praver  in  the  Talmud,  found  that  it  could  not  be  traced  in  any  measure 
to  older  Jewish  sources.  Parallels  may  be  found  to  detached  phrases,  but  one  need  only 
look  at  the  illustrations  in  Lightfoo't,  to  see  how  entirely  independent  our  Lord's 
utterance  was  of  anything  afloat  in  the  minds  of  the  nation. 

The  following  are  the  closest  analogies  in  Rabbinical  expressions  to  those  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer:— -'The  necessities  of  Thy  people  Israel  are  many ;  may  it  be  Thy  holy 
pleasure  to  give  each  what  is  needed  for  his  support." — Bab.  Berach,  1. 19.  -. 

"For  Thy  name's  sake,  0  Lord,  pardon  my  sin.     Forgive  all  my  Bm.'—larg.  l^s. 

XXT.  11.  .   ,     ,, 

The  day  of  expiation  does  not  bring  forgiveness  unless  thou  makost  peace  with  tny 
neighbour. — Jomu,  I.  85.  2. 


620  NOTES. 

Rabbi  Judah  was  wont  to  pray,  "  May  it  bo  Thy  holy  ploaanra  to  deliver  U3  from  the 
froward  and  fro<u  frowardness,  from  the  ovil  man,  from  the  evil  companion,  from  the 
evil  neighbour,  from  Satan  the  destroyer,  from  the  hard  judge  and  from  the  hard 
adversary." — Berae.  f.  10.  2. 

"  Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  deal  so  with  us  as  Thou  hast  promised  by  the 
prophets." 

One  of  the  synagogue  prayers,  of  uncertain  age,  however,  begins,  "  May  Thy  great 
name  be  magnitied  and  sanctified  in  the  world,  and  may  He  make  His  kingdom 
reign. 

"  The  wants  of  Tliy  people  Israel  are  groat  and  their  knowledge  small,  so  that  they 
know  not  how  to  disclose  their  necessities  ;  let  it  be  Thy  good  pleasure  to  give  to  every 
man  what  sufficeth  for  good.  He  who  made  the  day  prepares  also  the  food  that  man 
needs  for  it.— Keiin,  ii.  278.  iVorA-,  43.  Li(jlilfuol,  ii.  "l50.  &pp,  iii.  203.  Dukes,  G8. 
J'tiil.  llamlwerk.  Leben,  22. 

"  The  doxologv  in  Luke,  and  in  Matthew  is  wanting  in  the  early  Fathers  and 
chief  MSS. 

°  In  1  Chron.  ii.  24,  iv.  5,  there  is  a  name  Ashur  ;  presumably,  as  Buxtorf  thinks,  of 
one  who  had  made  his  face  black  and  haggard  by  extreme  fasting  (234).  Chronicles 
belong  to  the  post-exile  period.  The  care  of  the  hair  and  beard  was  a  matter  of  groat 
importance  amongst  the  Jews.  Not  to  dress  and  anoint  them  was  the  sign  of  tho 
extremest  sorrow. — Ilerzoy,  xiii.  821,  xvi,  321. 

_•  Monebazus,  tho  friend  of  Izates,  Prince  of  Adiabene  on  the  Tigris,  a  convert,  with 
his  prince,  to  Judaism,  about  the  time  of  the  death  of  Christ,  figures  largely  in  the 
Talmud.  After  wild  exaggeration  of  his  wealth,  tho  narrative  goes  on  to  say  that  his 
brothers  and  friends  came  to  him  and  said,  "  Thy  fathers  gathered  treasures  and  added 
to  the  treasures  of  their  fathers,  but  thou  scattcrest  them."  He  answered  them,  "  My 
fathers  had  their  treasures  below  (that  is,  says  the  Jerus.  Talmud,  in  tho  earth)  ;  I, 
above  (that  is,  iu  heaven)  ;  my  fathers  had  their  treasures  where  the  hands  (of  men) 
may  lay  hold  of  them,  I,  where  no  hand  can  do  so.  My  fathers  treasures  that  yield  no 
fruit,  but  I  collect  what  gives  fruit.  Jly  fathers  stored  away  mammon,  I,  treasures  of 
the  soul ;  my  fathers  did  it  for  others,  I,  for  myself.  My  fathers  gathered  them  for  tho 
world,  1,  for  the  world  to  come." — BiiTloi)'.  1224. 

For  a  fine  account  of  Izates  and  Monebazus  and  of  Queen  Helena,  mother  of  Izates, 
see  Renan's  AjMire.i,  2.-i6  ff. 

Tho  Rabbis  held  the  very  commendable  opinion,  though  they  were  far  from  always 
carrying  it  out,  that  to  marry  for  money  was  sure  to  bring  tho  displeasure  of  God  on  a 
family. — Buxtorf,  148. 

p  Buxtorf,  Lex.  Thai.  1217  'li-^  (Mamon).  Wealth— riches.  The  Greek  and 
Latin  have  "mammon."  The  Talmud  says  well,  "  The  salt  of  riches  (mammon)  is  alms- 
giving." 

Mammon  was  a  Syrian  idol — tho  God  of  Riche-s— like  the  Greek  Plutus. —  Vaihinr/er, 
tn  lleizog,  viii.  775.     The  love  of  money  is  thus  personified  in  tho  text. 
Milton  Bays  of  Mammon: — 

"  The  least  erected  spirit  that  fell 
From  heaven  ;  for  even  in  heaven  his  looks  and  thoughts 
Were  always  downwards  bent,  admiring  more 
Tho  riches  of  heaven's  pavement,  trodden  gold, 
Than  aught  divine  or  holy  else  enjoyed 
In  vision  beatific." — Paradise  Lost,  i.  678. 
<  In  the  Talmud  we  find  tho  following  : — "  Hast  thou  seen  a  bird,  or  a  beast  of  the  wood 
tfcat  got  its  living  by  toil  ?     God  feeds  it  with  its  labour,  and  yet  it  is  made  only  to  serve 
man.    Does  it  then  become  man,  who  knows  his  higher  calling — to  serve  God — to  be  the 
only  creature  who  cares  for  his  bodily  wants?  "—Kiddusdi.  iv.  14. 

'  Dry  weeds  and  grass  are  used  in  Palestine  as  fuel. — Land  and  DmIc,  341. 

•  He  who  has  what  he  needs  for  to-day,  and  says,  "  What  shall  I  eat  to-morrow  ?"  baa 
not  faith.     Ho  who  creates  the  day,  creates  the  food  for  it. — Talmud,  in  Buxtorf,  2017. 

«  This  was  a  Jewish  proverb.     See  Buxtorf  2080,  Hor.  Ilek  ii.  158. 

°  "The  masterless  dogs  are  conntless,  as  they  have  been  from  the  earliest  times  in 
Eastern  towns.  They  are  hateful-looking,  yellow  beasts,  with  sharp  muzzles.  The 
prophet  vividly  describes  their  mode  of  life  by  day,  as  I  often  noticed  it : — *  They  are  dumb, 
they  do  not  bark,  they  dream,  and  lie  about  and  like  to  sleep.'  Isai.  Ivi.  10.  After  sunset, 
however,  they  are  active  enough,  and  swarm  through  the  streets,  breaking  the  quiet  of 
tho  night  with  their  dissonant  noise.  At  the  same  time  thi-y  act  like  sanitary  police. 
Whatever  is  unclean,  useless,  or  unholy  according  to  Jewish  (or  Eastern)  ideas,  is  thrown 
out  on  the  streets.  (The  heads  and  offal  of  animals,  for  example.)  Tho  dogs  come  and 
eat  all  this  up." — Funer's  Palaestina,  31. 


NOTES.  621 

Every  Oriental  city  and  Tillage  abounds  with  troops  of  hungi'yand  half-savage  dogs, 
which  own  allegiance  to  the  place  rather  than  to  persons,  and  wander  about  the  streets 
and  fields,  howling  dismally  at  night,  and  devouring  even  the  dead  bodies  of  men  when 
they  can  reach  them.  Ps.  lix.  1 4,  15  ;  1  Kings  xxi.  19,  23,  24  ;  Pa.  xxii.  16  ;  Phil.  lii. 
2  ;  Rev.  xxii.  15. — Tristram's  Nat.  Hist,  of  Bible,  7!). 

Swine  and  dogs  were  the  ideal  of  uncleannoss.  Swine  were  eaten  and  even  oiTered 
in  sacritico  by  the  Canaanites,  and  though  the  Jews,  themselves,  did  not  keep  swine, 
they  were  largely  kept  by  others  for  the  heathen  market.  The  population  of  Galilee, 
and  of  the  districts  beyond  Jordan,  were  largely  foreign  and  heathen,  and  created  a 
demand  for  tho  flesh  of  swine.  The  herds,  fed  on  the  hills  and  wastes,  seem  often  to 
have  become  half  wild,  like  pigs  fed  in  the  Bush  in  Canada. 

'  An  incidental  allusion  like  this  shows  that  bread  and  fish  were  the  staples  of  food  in 
Galilee.     Near  the  lake  fish  was,  in  fact,  the  flesh  used  by  the  community  generally. 

There  is  an  ancient  Greek  proverb — to  give  a  scorpion  for  a  perch — which  may  have 
been  current  in  Palestine,  in  our  Lord's  day. 

Scorjiions  are  so  common  in  Palestine,  that  every  stone,  however  small,  must  be 
turned  over  before  a  tent  is  pitched,  to  guard  against  their  presence, 

'  Philo's  words  are — k  tis  Traeeii/  exflaipti  /it;  voifiv  mT6ii. — Euseb.  Prcep.  Ev.  viii.  7. 
6.     Tho  date  of  Tobit,  according  to  Ewald,  is  B.O.  333. 

'  The  characterisic  of  these  men  is  an  impure,  but  often  zealot-like  heroism  of  faith, 
which  made  them  capable  of  outward  miracles,  but  remained  without  influence  on  their 
inner  spiritual  life,  as  Paul  describes,  1  Cor.  xiii.  2.  Men  of  the  same  class  are  found  at 
all  times,  especially  those  of  unusual  religious  excitement. — JJei/er,  Matthiins  in  he. 
See  also  De  Wette  in  toe. 

"»  I  have  united  the  parallel  passages  in  Matthew  vii.  24 — 27,  and  Luke  vi.  47 — 49. 


CHAPTER     5XXVIIL 


'  Wieseler  (Herzog,  xxi.  54G)  supports  Purim  ;  so,  also,  do  Olshausen,  Farrar,  and 
others.  Sepp,  Andrews,  Ligbtfoot,  and  many  more  favour  the  Passover  ;  Xeander  aud 
Ewald  (v.  370)  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  ;  while  Vaihinger  thinks  ho  can  prove  it  to  have 
been  Pentecost. — Herznrj,  xi.  4.S3.  It  is  useless  to  trouble  the  reader  wilh  the  rival 
arguments.  Tbe  article  is  wanting  in  the  received  text,  so  that,  as  it  stands,  the  words 
are  "a  feast  of  the  Jews.''  Had  it  been  ^^  the  feast,"  it  would  have  meant  the  Passover. — 
\Vincr,  118.  Tischendorf  inserted  the  article  in  his  second  edition,  but  not  in  his 
seventh,  and  yet  Davidson  has  adopted  it  in  his  English  version  of  Tischendorf's  latest 
text  (N'ew  Test.,  1875).  The  Sinaitic  MS.  has  it,  and  there  are  many  other  MSS.  in 
its  favour. 

Hofmann  (Leben  Jesn,  356)  states  the  reasons  for  its  rejection  very  forcibly. 

"■  The  cisterns  he^vn  out  in  the  rock  of  the  Temple  Hill,  under  the  courts  of  the 
Temple,  held  ten  millions  of  gallons.  One  alone  would  contain  2,000,000  gallons.  Tbe 
sacrifices  entailed  endless  cleansings,  to  remove  the  blood,  &c.,  of  countless  slaughtered 
animals. — Recovery  of  Jerusalem,  17. 

'  Arnold  (Ilerzog,  ii.  117)  derives  Bethesda  from  the  Aram.  ^'v^H  '^"?  (Beth  Hesda)— 
"  The  house  of  mercy."  He  identifies  it  apparently  wrongly  with  the  Birket  Israel,  at 
tho  north-east  angle  of  the  Temple  enclosure.  That  pool  is  360  English  feet  long,  130 
broad,  and  75  to  SO  deep.  At  the  south-west  two  huge  vaults  have  been  found  hewn  130 
feet  down  into  tbe  rock. 

Sepp  gives  other  derivations,  iv.  38.  See  also  Ewald,  v.  370.  The  Sinaitic  MS. 
reads  Bethzatha,  which  is  very  like  Bozetha,  "the  new  town"  in  which  the  "twin 
pools"  stood.     Indeed,  it  is  called  Bezetha  by  Eusebius. —  Winer,  R.  W.  B. 

The  altered  Sinaitic  and  the  Alexandrian  read  "  in  the  sheep  market,  a  pool."  In 
verse  3  tho  Sinaitic  and  the  Vatican  omit  "r/reat."  The  Sinaitic,  Vatican,  and  later 
altered  Alexandrian  omit  "waiting  for  the  moving  of  the  water." 

The  Sinaitic  and  Vatican  omit  the  fourth  verse  entirely.  In  other  versions  it  is 
marked  as  doubtful.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  gloss  or  explanation  written  at  first  on  the 
margin  of  some  MS.,  and  after  a  time  incorporated  by  mistake,  with  tho  text.  The 
Alexandrian  Fathers  rejected  it ,  and  even  so  cautious  a  writer  as  Sepp  regards  it  as 
spurious. — ii.  38. 

■■  Robinson  (i.  341)  himself  noticed  the  intermittent  character  of  this  fountain.  Ho 
was  informed  that  it  ■'bubbled  up  at  in-egular  intervals,  sometimes  two  and  three 
times  a  day,  and,  in  summer,  sometimes  once  in  two  or  three  days." 

Captain  Wilson,  R.E.  (Reeovery  of  Jerusalem,  25)  says,  "  At  intervals  the  water  rises 


622  NOTES. 

■with  some  force,  and  runs  tliroiifrh  a  roct-bewn  passnge  to  Siloam,  Those  iEtermitfent 
flows  appear  to  bu  dependent  on  tlie  rainfall.  In  winter  there  are  from  three  to  five  a 
day;  in  summer,  two;  later  on  in  the  autumn  only  one,  and,  after  a  faihire  of  the  early 
rains,  but  once  in  three  or  four  days."  He  adds,  " The  taste  of  the  water  is  decidedly 
unpleasant  aud  sliglitly  salt,  arising  from  its  having  filtered  through  the  mass  of  rubbish 
and  tilth  on  which  the  city  stands." 

I   should   certainly  prefer  the    "troubling"   from   the  red   sediment   brought   into 
Bethesda  by  heavy  rains  to  any  possible  ebb  and  How  of  its  waters. 

•  Curious  legends  -were  told  of  the  fabulous  spring  of  Miriam.  See  Nork,  RalMnixche 
Qiie!/e7i,  172.  Hofmann'a  Lcben  Jesu,  SoG.  In  v.  4  iv  means  into,  as  in  the  English 
version. —  ]Vi?ier,  385. 

'  Palestine  abounds  in  sufferers  fi-om  rheumatic  diseases  and  palsy.  The  scanty 
clothing  worn  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  the  sleeping  by  night  on  the  roofs,  or  in  the 
open  air,  with  little,  if  any,  extra  covering,  iu  the  frequently  cold  nights,  is  perhaps  the 
cause.  See  Kraiiklieit,  Herzog,  viii.  40. 

'  This  explains  why  those  who  were  not  in  immediate  danger  came  to  Jesus  after 
sunset  on  Sabbath — that  is,  when  the  Sabbath  was  over. — Mark  i.  32. 

''  The  German  Jews  will  not  carry  a  walking-stick  on  Sabbath.  To  walk  on  grass  is 
forbidden,  as  it  is  a  kind  of  threshing.  A  handkerchief  is  a  burden  if  carried  in  the 
pocket,  but  not  if  it  be  tied  round  the  waist  as  a  girdle. 

'  iroTt'po  XZiov.     His  father  in  a  special  sense,  thus  marked  with  eni])hasis. 

'  This  is  Tischcndorfs  rendering.  Ewald  makes  it  the  second  Sabbath  after  the  one 
that  followed  the  second  day  of  the  Passover.  The  Sabbaths  from  the  Passover  to 
Pentecost  were  known  as  the  first,  second,  Ac,  the  first  being  counted  from  the  second 
day  of  the  feast.     Lightfoot's  explanation  is  the  same. — ii.  lli-l. 

'  A  Sabbath  day's  journey  was  2,000  cubits,  which  were  reckoned  equal  to  six  stadia. 
A  stadium  was  (HKj  feet  Cinches  X  C  =  <^,G'i^  feet  =  1,213  yards.  No  distance  waa 
Fpoken  of  by  Jlcsos,  but  it  was  couinianded  that  no  one  should  go  outside  the  camp  to 
;:et  manna.  The  Levitical  towns  were  to  have  a  district  of  2,0()U  cubits  in  breadth  on 
all  sides  (Xuni.  xxxv.  5).  and  there  was  to  be  the  same  distance  between  the  ark  and 
the  people  of  Israel  in  their  march  behind  it.  From  this  the  Rabbis  concluded  that  that 
■was  the  distance  between  the  Tabernacle  and  the  edge  of  the  camp,  out  of  which  no  one 
■Nvas  to  go. —  Whiet;  kaUial/iuet/.     JJiUL  Lex.  v.  125,     liiixUirf,  ii.  582. 

"■  Iloi:  JIdt.  ii.  lilfl.  Orientals  rise  very  early,  and  the  morning  service  was  not  over 
till  the  third  hour — nine  a.m. 

"  The  Jews  could  not,  on  the  Sabbath,  oven  lift  up  and  eat  fruit  which  had  fallen  from 
a  tree. — Liylitjhot. 

°  The  punisbmont  for  Sabbath-breaking  was  death  by  stoning. — Ex.  xxxi.  14  ;  xxxv. 
2.     Num.  XV.  32.     Miwimtt  Suiihed.  vii.  8.     Jesus  was,  thus,  in  immiuent  peril. 

f  How  closely  this  answer  pi-essed  the  Rabbis,  may  be  judged  by  the  following 
extract  from  the  Jiilhit  liuheui,  fol.  127,  col.  2: — "Where  David  found  nothing  but  the 
shewbread,  ho  said  to  the  priest,  'Give  nie  of  this  that  I  may  not  die  of  hunger  ;'  for 
whore  life  is  in  danger,  the  strictness  of  the  Sabbath  is  no  longer  in  force." 

■>  It  had  been  a  great  subject  of  discussion  •whether  the  Passover  lamb  could  be  slain 
on  the  ri{;ht  day,  if  that  day  chanced  to  fall  on  a  Sabbath.  Hillel  had  carried  the  lawful- 
ness of  slaying  it  by  reminding  iheni  that  the  daily  sacrifice  was  offered  on  Sal.baths, 
but  especiidly  by  quoting  in  his  support  the  testimony  of  Schemaia  and  Abtalion,  two 
famous  Rabbis  of  the  preceding  generation.  That  ho  should  have  been  able  to  do  so  not 
only  settled  the  matter  as  he  arcued,  but  raised  him  bv  acclamation  to  the  rank  of  Nasi, 
or  head  of  the  Sanhedrim.— iip,-e«iw(!V7,  178.  "There  ■was  no  Sabbath-rest  in  the 
Temple." — ilaimonides  in  Nork,  70. 

'  The  Herodians  were  such  Jews  as  favoured  Herod  Anlipas,  and  tluis,  outwardly  at 
least,  -vvere  friends  of  Rome,  whose  vassal  Antipas  was.  Antipas  had  seen  Judeaand 
Samaria  made  a  Roman  procuratori-hip,  and  longed  to  get  them  lack  for  himself,  as  a 
eon  of  Herod,  of  whose  kingdom  they  had  been  part.  Intrigues  to  gain  this  end  led  Jo 
standing  enmity  between  him  and  the  rest  of  the  family  on  the  one  side,  and  the  pro- 
curators on  the  other. — Luke  xxiii.  12.  Disapf  ointmentat  the  results  of  annexation  to 
Rome  had  made  some  look  with  kindlier  feeling  on  the  Idumean  dynasty,  whicli  in  ils  turn 
felt  itself  endangered  by  the  claims  of  Jesus  to  set  up  a  new  kingdom.  The  Herodians 
in  the  end,  (iot  their  wi.sh,  when  Agrippa  I.  (a.d.  37)  was  appointed  king,  and  a  Herod 
kingdom  was  thus  again  set  up  for  a  time.  Even  the  Pliarisaic  or  national  party,  indeed, 
c.inie  in  the  end  to  favour  this  scheme,  in  their  deadly  hatred  of  Rome.  The  alliance 
with  the  Herodians  against  Jesus,  was  the  first  step  in  this  new  political  path. 


NOTES.  623 


CHAPTER     XXXIS. 

'  iiommsen (^Geschichtf,  ii.  79)  says,  that  all  the  miseries  of  negro  slavery  were  a  drop 
to  the  ocean,  compared  to  those  of  the  slaves  of  antiquity.  See,  also,  Doll'ingor,  Gentile 
and  Jew,  &c.,  ii.  230,  231.  Eliot's  Ilia/ory  of  Liberty,  vol.  ii.  pt.  1,  18.5,  ft".  Liddell's  Rome, 
303.  Aristotle,  Kt/iics,  viii.  xi.  6  (Sir  A. 'Grant's  edition,  ii.  273),  ranks  a  slave  as  a 
thing,  not  as  a  person,  and  prescribes  the  same  kind  of  attention.  '•  The  instrument" 
he  says,  "receives  just  so  much  care  frcm  its  master  as  will  keep  it  in  proper  condition 
for  the  exercise  of  its  functions." 

^  Elders — wpeaffurfpai. — Heb.  D'J'.J — Zekanim.  They  were  the  same  as  the '-rulers" 
"the  rulers  of  the  Synagogue."  JIark  .v  22;  Luke  viL  3;  Acts  xiii.  15.  They  were 
also  called  Parnasim,  or  shepherds,  a  title  employed  of  Christian  elders,  by  implication, 
in  Acts  xs.  28.  1  Pet.  v.  2.  They  formed  the  goveming  body  of  the  Synagogue,  under 
the  "chief  ruler  of  the  Synagogue"  (Luke  viii.  41,  4'J ;  xiii.  14),  having"  the  care  of 
ecclesiastical  order  and  discipline,  in^-luding  the  infliction  of  civil  punishments,  such  as 
excommunication  (John  ix.  22 ;  xii  42;  xvi.  2).  They  also  attended  to  the  charities 
of  the  Synagogue.  They  were  apparently  ex-officio  members  of  the  local  Sanhedrim, 
which,  however,  included  other  members.  Thus,  they  formed — in  a  nation  where  Church 
Law  was  also  Civil  Law — the  bench  of  magistrates  of  the  locality. 

By  some  strange  slip.  Dr.  Fariar,  in  his  learned  and  admirable  Life  of  Christ,  has 
confounded  the  elders  of  the  Synagogue  with  the  "  Batlanim,"  who  were  a  body  of  ten 
men  paid  by  the  Synagogue  to  attend  every  service,  that  the  legal  number  required  for 
worship  might  be  always  present.  They  were  apparently  poor  men,  past  work,  to  whom 
the  duty  was  a  pretext  for  giving  chaiity. — -Leijrer  in  Herzog — Synagogen  d.  Juden.  xv.  313. 
Buxtorf,  Lex.  201. 

"  Disease  was  regarded  as  the  result  of  direct  agency  of  evil  spirits.  Luke  xiii.  11. 
"  A  spirit  of  iuBrmity."  The  same  idea  explains  St.  Paul's  threat  of  delivering  offenders 
to  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh.  1  Cor.  v.  5.  See  Winer,  M.  W.B.  Art.  "Satan." 
BiOel  Lex.  i.  414.  It  pervades  the  whole  of  the  Gospels,  as  any  one  may  see  who  examines 
for  lumself. 

^  The  Talmud  says,  "  Whosoever  sees  a  dead  corpse  and  does  not  accompany  it  to  its 
burial,  is  guilty  of  that  which  is  said — "  He  that  mocketh  the  poor,  reproacheth  his 
neighbour" — for  no  man  is  so  poor  as  the  dead. — Bab.  Berach.  fol.  6.  1. 

'  Burial  followed  almost  immediately  after  death.  Mill  (^Nablus,  150)  says,  that  a 
woman  who  died  at  eleven  in  the  forenoon,  was  buried  at  three  in  the  afternoon.  Even 
in  Eogland  the  fear  of  pollution  by  having  a  corpse  in  a  house  on  the  Jewish  Sabbath, 
often  causes  Jews  who  have  died  at  sis  on  Friday  evening,  to  be  buried  about  half-past 
seven  of  the  same  day.  One  witness  before  the  London  United  Synagogue  Council, 
deposed  (1876),  that  ho  had  seen  "  corpses  "  move  their  hands  and  feet,  and  that  ho  had 
seen  bodies  buried  while  still  warm. — Daily  Telegraph  report,  April,  1876. 

'  Keim  thinks  six  months.     Ewald  (v.  428)  over  a  year. 

8  The  Kabbis  understood  such  passages  of  Isaiah  to  refer  to  the  times  of  the  Messiah, 
and  hence  John  would  at  once  perceive  the  force  of  Christ's  quotation  and  symbolical 
acts.  The  Pesichta  Rabbalhi,  p.  29c. ,  and  .Talkut  Schimeoni,  i.  p.  78  c.  say,  that;  "  When 
the  Messiah  comes,  '  The  eyes  of  the  blind  will  be  opened,  and  the  ears  of  the  deaf 
unstopped.'  (Isaiah  xxxv.  5,  6.)  This,  indeed,  hippened  of  old,  for  it  is  written  in 
Exodus  xix.  8  :  '  And  all  the  people  answered  and  said,'  &c.,  therefore  there  were  no  deaf 
or  dumb  among  them.  Again,  Exodus  xx.  18  :  'And  all  the  people  saw  the  lightning.' 
Hence  there  were  no  blind.  So,  also,  Exodus  xix.  17 :  '  Moses  led  the  people  out  of  the 
camp,'  i&c.  This  shows  there  was  no  lamo  person  in  Israel !  Under  the  Messiah,  the 
tongues  of  the  dumb  will  sing  (Isaiah  xxxv.  6).  This  also  happened  of  old.  Exodus 
xix.  8  :  'And  all  the  people  answered.'"  Jonathan,  the  student  of  Uama'.iel,  gives  the 
passages  of  Isaiah  a  spiiitual  rendering.  '•  Then  will  the  eyes  of  the  House  of  Israel, 
which  had  been  blind  to  the  Law,  he  opened,  and  their  ears,  which  had  been  deaf  to  the 
words  of  the  prophets,  will  hear."  Elias  had  not  died,  and  it  was  therefore  expected 
that  he  would  come  to  call  Israel  to  repentance — for  he  was  the  greatest  preacher  of 
repentance  under  the  Old  Economy — and  that  he  would  then  die,  as  all  men  must.  The 
belief  in  his  appearance  was  as  wide-spread  as  that  of  tue  Messiah.  Jesus  pointed  to 
John  as  the  Elias  to  come  ;  but  a  spiritual  appearance  like  John's  did  not  satisfy  them, 
and  hence,  believing  that  Elias  had  not  come,  they  concluded,  and  still  believe,  that  the 
Messiah,  also,  is  yet  future.     See  Langen,  ./udenthum,  491. 

i"  "  The  reed  of  Egypt  and  Palestine  is  the  Arundo  donax,  a  very  tall  cane,  growing 
twelve  feet  high,  -with  a  magnificent  panicle  of  blossom  at  the  top,  and  so  slender  and 


624  KOTES. 

yiolding  that  it  will  lie  perfectly  flat  nndor  a  gust  of  wind,  and  immodiatoly  resume  its 
upright  position.  It  grows  in  groat  cauo  brakes  iu  many  parts  of  Palestine,  especially 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Dead  Sea,  where,  nourished  by  the  warm  springs,  it  lines  the 
shore  for  several  miles  witli  an  impenetrable  fringe — tlio  luir  of  wild  boars  and  leopards 
— to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  vegetation.  There,  it  attains  a  gig.intic  size.  On  the 
banlis  of  the  Jordan  it  occuis  in  great  patches,  but  is  not  so  lofty. — Trislram,  Nat.  Ilist. 
of  Bible,  437. 

'  i>  5e  fjLiKp6T€pos.  The  comparative.  It  never  stands  for  the  superlative,  as  it  is  made 
to  do  in  the  English  version.     See  Winer,  21 G. 

''  Tho  reappearanco  of  Elijah  before  the  Messiah  was  a  settled  article  of  Rabbinical 
faith.  Thus,  in  the  Mischna,  we  read,  "  R.  Josua  said,  I  have  received  the  tradition  from 
K.  Jochanan  Ben  Sakkai,  and  ho  received  it  from  his  teacher  in  unbroken  and  direct 
transmission,  as  a  tradition  which  JIosos  received  at  Sinai,  that  Eliaa  will  come,  &o," — 
Edujoth,  viii.  7,  quoted  bi/  6churer,  580. 


CHAPTER    XL. 


"  It  has  been  thought  that  this  "  feast "  was  the  same  as  the  one  mentioned  in  Matt, 
xxvi.  G.  in  tho  house  of  Simon,  the  Leper.  Tho  name  was,  however,  a  very  common  one, 
for  Josephus  mentions  about  twenty  Simons,  and  there  are  nino  mentioned  in  the  New 
Testament. — Trench  on  the  Parahlea,  2t^t).  It  was  tho  same  with  Jude,  for  there  are 
nine  of  that  name  in  tho  Now  Testament. — Robinson's  Lex.  Tho  mere  similarity  of 
name,  therefore,  amounts  to  no  more  than  the  occurrence  of  Smith  or  Brown  with  us,  on 
different  occasions. 

'  In  the  room  where  we  were  received  (at  dinner),  besides  the  divan  on  which  we  sat, 
Ihere  were  seats  all  round  the  walls.  Many  came  in  and  took  their  place  on  these  side 
i*,»ats,  uninvited  and  unchallenged.  They  spoke  to  those  at  table  on  business  or  tho  news 
of  the  day,  and  our  host  spoke  freely  to  them. — Nanalive  of  a  Mission  to  the  Jews,  i.  92, 

"  It  was  not  unusual  to  p-iy  this  mark  of  profound  respect  to  Rabbis. —  Webstein,  in 
toe. 

'  Nicodemus,  Joseph  of  Aiimathea,  he  on  whose  ass  Jesus  rode  into  Jerusalem — the 
host  at  whose  bouse  Christ  celebrated  the  Passover — the  friendly  Samaritans,  and  many 
others,  ai-e  examples. 

•  See  page  IIU.  tf>v\aKTiipiop — a  protection,  an  amulet.  Heb.  Totaphoth — bands, 
fillets — later  Heb.  Tephillln,  from  the  verb  to  pray. — Bvxt.  T^ex.  1743.  On  the  whole 
subject  of  tho  jirivate  lifo  of  Jesus  with  His  disciples,  see  Keim,  ii.  2S0 — 280,  to  whom  I 
am  largely  indebted. 

'  The  words,  "and  of  an  honeycomb,"  are  wanting  in  the  Alexandrian,  Vatican,  and 
Sinaitic  MSS. ;  but  they  aro  supported  by  witnesses  like  Justin  and  Athenagoras,  who 
are  older  than  our  oldest  MSS.  In  the  Talmud  the  Galilasans  are  represented  as  poor — • 
sparing  of  their  wine  and  milk,  mixing  their  eye-paint  with  water,  and  thinking  oven  a 
wick-end  worth  saving. — liaschi  on  Schabhath,  78a  and  47a. 

5  Delitzsch  evidently  takes  the  "  seven  devils  "  as  a  Hebraism  for  special  sinfulness. 
Evil  desires  were  often  figuratively  spoken  of  as  demons.  Many  cases  occur  in  tho 
Talmud.  See  Nork,  l;i.").  Lightfoot,  iii.  87.  Sepp,  iii.  244.  But  tliis  is  common  to  all 
languages,  for  we  speak  of  the  "  demon  of  drink,"  itc,  itc. ;  and  yet  it  is  contrary  to  tho 
whole  tenor  of  tho  New  Testament  to  understand  the  "seven  devils"  as  a  more  figure  of 
Fjiecch.  Hellor,  in  Herzog's  Eney.  Art.  "  JIaria  JIagdalena,"  supports  Delitzsch's  opinion, 
but  Dr.  Herzog  himself,  in  a  note,  questions  its  coiTectness.  Sepp,  as  might  bo  expected, 
agrees  with  Heller;  but  the  great  body  of  scholars  reject  the  idea  of  Mary  having  been 
;v  "Magdalene."  The  Talumd  derives  her  special  name  from  "  Jligdala" — a  plaiting  or 
curling  of  tho  hair  usual  with  abandoned  women,  and  speaks  of  Mary  Magdalene 
"  tho  plaiter  of  women's  and  of  young  men"s  hair,"  as  a  married  woman  who  had 
committed  adultery.  But  there  is  every  reason  to  bihevo  that  this  was  only  done  to 
depreciate  her  as  one  of  the  women  who  waited  on  our  Lord,  against  whom  no  slander  is 
too  gross  to  be  retailed  by  the  Rabbis. 

■■  This  is  one  of  tho  best  attested  sayings  of  Jesus,  not  in  the  Now  Testament. — 
Angers  iSi/nopsis,  p.  2U4,  274,  xxxi.     See,  also,  'Wcstcotfs  Intro,  i,  25. 

'  Some  of  the  forms  of  expression  used  by  Jesus  are  peculiar  to  Him,  and  are  not 
found  in  the  whole  range  cf  Jewish  liteiature.    Thus,  "Amen,  amena,  lechCin."    "Amen, 


NOTES.  625 

amen,  I  say  to  you,"  is  His  alone  so  completely  that  the  Apocalypse  can  speak  of  Him  as 
"  The  Amen — the  faithful  and  true  witness  "  (iii.  14).  "  He  who  has  ears  to  hear,  let  him 
hear,"  is  also  His  alone.  Many  sayings  of  Jesus  hare  no  doubt  found  their  way  into  the 
Talmud,  as  those  of  some  one  else. 

Like  the  Rabbis,  Jesus  made  His  disciples  sit  round  Him  (Mark  iii.  S4)  when 
teaching,  so  that  each  might  see  His  face  and  hear  His  words. — Maimonides  in  Nork^ 
exciii.  The  phrase,  "  I  say  unto  you,"  was  a  form  in  vogue  with  the  Rabbis.  So,  also, 
"  It  has  been  said."  But  while  the  Rabbis  always  sought  to  give  weight  to  what  they 
said  by  introducing  it  as  the  saying  of  some  earlier  Rabbi  whom  they  reverently  named 
Jesus  rests  on  the  direct  authority  of  God  alone.  "  I  have  spoken  to  you  (not  in  the  name 
of  any  Rabbi),  but  in  the  name  of  my  Fatuee." — John  v.  43. 


CHAPTER     XLI. 


"  The  descent  of  the  Messiah  from  David  was  a  prominent  feature  in  the  National  Ideal. 
It  was  baseii  on  passages  like  Isaiah  xi.  1,  10.  Jer.  xxiii.  5  ;  sxx.  9  ;  sxxiii.  15,  17,  22. 
Ezek.  sxxiv.  23 ;  xxxvii.  24.  Hosea  iii.  5.  Amos  ix.  11.  Micah  v.  2.  Zech.  xii.  7,  8; 
and  was  universally  acknowledged.  Thus,  in  the  Psalms  of  Solomon,  xvii.  5,  23: 
"  Thou,  0  Lord,  hast  chosen  David  to  bo  king  over  Israel,"  &c.  "  Behold,  Lord,  and  raise 
up  to  them  (Israel)  their  king,  the  tSon  of  David,  at  the  time  which  Thou,  0  God, 
knowost,  to  reign  over  thy  child  Israel,"  '&c.  4  Esdras  xii.  32  (Greek):  "This  is 
the  Christ  who  will  rise  from  the  seed  of  David,"  &c.  The  Targum  of  Jonathan 
■ilso  uses  the  same  language  frequently.  '-The  Son  of  David"  is,  therefore,  a  very 
common  title  for  the  Messiah.  It  even  occurs  in  the  "  daily  prayers  "■ — the  Schmone 
Esra.  To  this  day,  all  Jews  in  their  daily  service,  public  or  private,  speak  of  the 
Messiah  tUey  expect  as  "  The  Son  "  or  "  The  Branch  "  of  David,  and  in  the  Talmud  wo 
read  of  the  Messiah  that  "  the  Son  of  David  will  not  come  till  wickedness  has  spread 
over  the  whole  earth." 

^  Kesbeel  is  changed  into  Beqa  by  some  kabbalistio  art  of  the  Rabbis. 

°  The  formula  used  to  drive  out  the  evil  spirit  which  caused  epilepsy  was — "  Thou 
who  art  hidden — hidden,  thou  who  art,  cursed,  crushed,  and  anathematized  be  the  devil, 
the  son  of  dung,  the  son  of  impurity,  the  son  of  filth,  Uko  Sohamgas,  Marigas,  and 
Istemaa." — Schabb.  Uabh.  p.  (I7a. 

The  Talmud  contains  copious  details  respecting  magical  formulae,  &c.  &c. 

''  Beelzebub  seems  to  mean — The  Fly  God,  like  Zeus  Apomyios  of  the  Greeks,  and 
Myiagrus  of  the  Roman  Mythology. —  Gesenii  T/ifsaunis,  225.  Beelzebul,  which  ;s  the 
reading  in  some  ilSS.,  is  thought  by  Hilgenfold  to  moan  the  "  Lord  of  the  (heavenly,  or 
infernal)  hab-tation" — (The  palace  royal  of  the  devils).  See  "12t  (Zebul),  in  Gesenii 
Thesatints,  803. 

"  These  words  of  Christ  seem  to  have  been  a  common  proverb  of  the  day.  The  Talmud 
has  them  almost  exactly.  "  Every  house  dividedagainstitself  will,  inthe  end,  be  destroyed 
and  made  desolate." — Buxtorf,  819. 

'  The  phrases.  This  world  and  The  world  to  come,  were  the  current  ones  of  the  day  for 
the  present  and  future  developments  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Jlessiah.  The  expectation  of 
a  renewing  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth  was  based  on  Isaiah  Ixv.  17;  Ixvi.  22,  and  a 
distinction  was  made,  in  consequence,  between  the  present  and  the  future  world.  In  the 
Talmud  tho  phrase  is  very  frequent.  This  world  and  the  coming  world  ^'p  P,'''"? 
Ha  01am  hazeh.    s:n  Djii'n  Hn  oiam  ha  ba. 

It  is  very  frequent  also  in  the  New  Testament. — Matt.  xii.  32.  Mark  x.  30.  Luke 
xviii.  30. 

It  was  a  question,  however,  whether  the  new  world  would  begin  at  the  opening  of 
the  Messianic  kingdom,  or  at  its  close.  In  the  Book  of  Enoch,  xlv.  1 — 4,  we  find  the 
former  idea  ;  in  the  4th  Book  of  Esdras,  vii.  30 — 31,  we  find  tho  latter.  Tho  world  to 
come  was  more  and  more  understood,  however,  as  the  period  beginning  with  the  last  judg- 
ment, at  the  close  of  tho  kingdom  of  the  Messiah. — Liglitfiot,  ii.  207.  .Scliiirer,  593.  Ilerzoff, 
ix.  434.     (Jfriirer,  ii.  213.     In  the  mouth  of  Christ  it  is  equivalent  to  the  eternal  world. 

«  Jesus  was  only  one  day  and  two  nights  dead,  but  the  Jews  were  accustomed  in  their 
common  speech  to  call  parts  of  a  day  as  a  whole  day,  and  Jesus  was  dead  part  ol  the  first 
and  part  of  the  third  day. — Meyer,  in  loc.  "  It  is  a  common  expression  among  the  Greeks 
to  say,  ' Such  a  thing  happened  three  days  ago,'  when  they  mean  that  only  a  day  inter- 
vened. They  include  the  two  extreme  days  as  if  they  had  been  complete." — Narrative  of 
a  Mission  to  the  Jews,  341,  342. 

VOL.  II.  79 


626  NOTES. 

The  phrase  "  the  heart  of  the  earth  "  does  not  mean  "  the  grave,"  but  Hades — the 
**  death  kingdoms." 

Lightfoot  (ii.  211)  gives  many  illustrations  of  parts  of  a  day  being  spoken  of,  in 
popular  language,  among  the  Jews,  as  a  day.  Josus,  of  course,  speaks  with  a  recognition 
of  the  custom  of  the  people  in  this  respect. 

I"  Luther  strikingly  says  that  Jesui  did  with  miracles  as  p.irent3  do  with  pears  and 
apples,  wbich  ihey  throw  before  weary  children  to  tempt  them  home.  On  this  subject 
see  Woidomann,  93. 

'  Solomon's  glory  had  become  in  Christ's  day  the  subject  of  boundless  exaggeration. 
The  Book  of  Wisdom,  in  tho  second  century  before  Christ,  says  of  him,  "  He  bath  given 
me  ceriain  knowledge  of  the  things  that  arc — to  know  how  the  world  was  made,  the 
bjginning,  ending,  and  midst  of  the  times ;  tho  turnings  of  the  sun,  and  the  change  of 
the  seasons ;  the  circuits  of  the  years,  and  the  position  of  the  stars ;  the  natures  of  living 
creatures;  the  violence  of  winds  and  the  reasonings  of  men;  the  diversities  of  plants 
and  the  virtues  of  roots,  and  all  tbings  that  are  either  secret  or  known — them  I  know." 
(vii.  17,  21).  He  had  gradually  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  prince  of  magicians,  skilled 
in  the  secret  knowledge  which  expelled  demons,  cured  diseases  by  mysterious  spells,  &c. 
— Jos.  Auf.,  viii.  2.  5.  That  Jesus  should  set  Himself  above  Solomon  before  a  Jewish 
audience  was  to  set  Himself  above  all  men. 

'  The  following  extracts  from  Baxtorf  respecting  the  Pharisees  are  curious  ; — 

■iT'v  Separatus,  abstinons,  continons,  temperans.  Pharisaius,  vita)  sanctitate  cultu 
ct  moribus,  ab  aliis  hominibus  separatus. — It.  David  Soph^  1.  8. 

Quit/am  e,rj)ticant,  esse  hoinhies  rpii  oslendunt  seipsos  separatos  (pios)  et  sanctos^  ac 
vesliunt  se  veste  peieqrind,  diversa  ah  aliis  hominifms,  ut  aijnoscant  eos  ex  vestihus,  guod 
Scrip.  0*3""-;  J  separati  (id  est,  qui  ab  aliis  hominibus  externa  sanctitate  separati)  cum 
lamen  viie  ipsonim  sint  malte. 

Aruch.  "  P.  est  qui  separat  seipsum  ab  omni  immunditiaet  ab  omni  cibo  immundo, 
et  a  populo  terra'  qui  non  habet  accuratiim  rationem  ciborum." — Biijrlor/]  1S52. 

Xe  metuas  a  Pharisajis  neque  ab  illis  qui  non  sunt  Pharisa)i,  sed  a  pigmcntatis,  sive 
tinctis,  aut  coloratis  (id  est,  hypjoritis)  qui  similes  sunt  Pharisaiis. — Talmud,  quoted  by 
Buxtorf,  1,S.")3. 

Pharush — separate,  abstinent,  chaste,  temperate — a  Pharisee,  separate  from  men  at 
large  by  the  holiness  of  his  life,  religious  strictness,  and  manners. — Eab.  David  Hoph, 
1,8. 

Some  explain  them  to  bo  men  who  show  themselves  to  be  separated  (pious)  and  holy, 
and  clothe  themselves  in  a  strange  dross,  dilTerent  from  that  of  other  men,  that  all 
should  know  by  their  dross  that  they  were  Pharusbim,  or  separated  ones  (that  is,  holy 
men,  separated  from  others  by  outward  purity),  though  their  lives,  notwithstanding, 
might  be  bad  enough. 

Anii/i.  A  Pharisee  is  one  who  separatos  liimself  from  every  (Levitical)  impurity,  and 
from  all  "  unclean  "  food,  and  fiom  tho  Am  ha  aretz  (or  common  Levitically  unclean 
people),  who  have  not  an  accurate  knowledge  of  (the  Rabbinical  laws  of)  food.  (The 
minute  regulations  about  Terumah,  tithes,  &c.,  &c.,  see  page  250,  and  note  o  below.) 

You  need  not  fear  either  (real)  Pharisees  or  those  who  are  not  Pharisees,  but  only  the 
sham,  painted,  dyed,  coloured  (pretenders) — that  is,  hypocrites,  who  are  like  Pharisees. 

'  The  ariston — iptarov — the  breakfast,  originally  taken  at  sunrise  ;  later,  the  midday 
meal.  Winer  thinks  the  ariston  was  the  breakfast,  after  synagogue  service,  and  that  the 
dinner  was  at  noon. 

"  Tbo  word  is  iffairriadtt — 1  aor.  pass.,  used  for  middle.  "Baptized,"  or  bathed  "  him- 
self." 

''  Of  course,  I  have  paraphrased  the  words  of  Jesus  throughout,  embodying  tho  hints  of 
Do  Wette,  Meyer,  and'  many  others. 

•*  The  tithing  question  was  one  which  caused  great  inconvenience  to  the  people  at  large, 
though  the  Rabbis  themselves,  whose  lives  wero  spent  in  their  schools,  had  to  bear  none 
of  tho  weary  annoyance  their  endless  prescriptions  laid  on  others.  "  The  requirement  to 
separate  from  all  productions  of  the  si")il  an  undefined  gift  for  the  priests  (Theruma), 
and  the  tithes  for  the  Levites  and  priests,  and  every  third  year  a  tithe  for  tho  peer, 
caused  no  little  trouble.  There  were  guilds  of  all  who  bound  themselves  to  observe  tho 
■whole  Law,  and  the  members  of  these  kept  a  diligent  watch  over  all  such  matters  to  see 
that  thoy  wore  attended  to.  These  tithes  and  gifts  touched  fhe  life  of  every  household, 
for  part  of  them  were  /(o/y,  and  the  uso  of  /lo/i/  tilings  was  a  deadly  sin.  Every  purchaser 
had  tiierefore,  to  make  himself  sure,  beforehand,  whether  they  had  been  talven  from 
what  he  bought  or  not.  This  was  far  from  easy,  for  produce  was  largely  imported  from 
abroad,  or  was  sold  by  those  who  were  not  Jews,  and  so  on,  and  to  pay  the  tithes  and 
gifts  over  and  over  would  have  been  a  great  loss.  A  rule  was  therefore  proclaimed,  that 
the  assurance  of  au  owner  was  only  to  be  taken  when  he  could  prove  his  trustworthiness. 


NOTES.  627 

In  any  other  case,  all  produce  and  preparations  from  it,  such  as  bread,  wine,  oil,  &c.,  was 
to  bo  regarded  as  doubtful,  and  one  part  from  the  hundred  to  be  taken  as  Thernpia,  and 
then  the  second  tithe,  before  it  could  bo  used.  This  second  tithe  could  be  changed  into 
money,  to  be  spent  on  food  at  the  feasts  in  Jerusalem.  The  first  tithe  and  the  tithe  for 
the  poor  were  not,  however,  to  be  taken  from  it,  as  the  case  was  doubtful,  and  the  Levito 
or  the  poor  had  to  prove  their  claim  to  it  in  each  instance.  The  whole  question  caused,  of 
course,  an  increase  of  the  price,  and  made  many  p'ous  Jews  shrink  from  buying  from 
an  uncertificated  seller,  or  from  eating  witb  any  who  were  not  of  the  strict  guilds. 
Sellers  of  produce  and  food  were,  hence,  also,  very  anxious  to  be  certificated,  which  was 
done  on  the  testimony  of  three  Rabbis,  or  three  members  of  a  guild,  that  the  applicant 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  anything  that  was  not  duly  tithed.  He  was.  henceforward, 
counted  conscientious  and  reliable,  and  this  trustworthiness  was  held  to  extend  to  all  hia 
family  and  even  to  his  posterity,  so  long  as  no  suspicion  rose  against  his  wife,  children, 
or  slaves. 

This  was  the  origin  of  the  division  of  the  nation  into  Haberim — Leaguers — and 
Am-ha-aretz — common  people,  not  pledged  to  observe  all  the  details  of  tithing  and  priestly 
gUta.—Jost,  i.  201—203. 

p  To  pass  over  or  touch  a  grave,  or  to  touch  the  dead,  or  even  a  dead  person's  bones, 
was  a  special  defilement.  He  who  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  made  unclean  in  this  way 
continued  so  for  seven  days,  and  had  to  go  through  a  tedious  and  costly  purification. 
He  could  not  for  that  time  enter  his  house,  or  unite  in  a  religious  service.  To  avoid 
such  a  calamity,  graves  wore  carefully  whitewashed  when  known,  but,  of  course,  subter- 
ranean tombs  might  be  overlooked. 

1  The  different  titles  used  ia  this  incident  refer  to  the  same  great  class.  Any  one 
might  be  a  Pharisee,  whether  a  layman,  a  priest,  or  a  Rabbi,  as  any  of  these  might  be  a 
Sadducee.  A  Scribe  and  a  lawyer  were  different  names  for  the  same  class — the  clergy 
of  the  day.  They  were  the  authorities  for  the  expositions  of  the  Law  ;  they  copied  tho 
sacred  manuscripts,  and  devoted  themselves  as  the  work  of  their  life  to  Rabbinical  studies 
and  employments. —  Godicyny  Aaron  and  JJoaes,  27.      TJ^/ner,  Bibel  Lex.^  &c.  &c. 

'  There  is  no  such  passage  in  the  Old  Testament,  so  that  this,  apparently,  must  have 
been  an  earlier  utterance  of  Jesus. 


CHAPTER     XLII. 


*  The  fertility  of  Palestine  makes  a  return  of  even  one  hundred-fold,  possible.  Tris- 
tram says,  "  I  have  often  counted  sixty  grains  in  an  ear,  and  even  a  hundred  is  some- 
times reached." — Xai.  Hist,  of  the  Bible,  4S9. 

Keim  quotes  a  case  of  an  Knglishman  who  got  seven  crops  of  potatoes  in  a  year  ^ 
little  south  of  Bethlehem  (ii.  4-t8).  See  also  Arnold  in  Herzog,  xL  24.  Any  one  who 
wishes  to  see  what  the  fancy  of  the  Rabbis  could  invent  respecting  the  fertility  of 
Palestine,  may  do  so  in  Derenbourg,  111. 

^  In  Succah,  fol.  46.  2,  we  find  the  following : — *'  God's  measure  is  not  like  the  measure 
of  flesh  and  blood.  The  measure  of  flesh  and  blood  is  this.  An  empty  vessel  is  free  to 
receive,  but  a  full  one  can  take  in  no  more.  But  God's  measure  is  this.  The  full 
measure  can  receive  more,  but  the  empty  vessel  receives  nothing,  as  it  is  said,  '  If 
hearing  thou  shalt  hear,'  that  is,  'If  thou  hearest  thou  sbalt  hear,  but  if  thou  dost  not 
hear,  thou  shalt  not  hear.'  The  gloss  is,  'If  thou  accustom  thyself  to  .hear,  then  thou  shalt 
hoar,  and  learn,  and  add."  So  in  Berachoth^  f,  bh,  1,  "  God  doth  not  give  wisdom  but  to 
him  with  whom  wisdom  is  already." 

»  The  Common  Mustard  of  Palestine  is  the  same  as  our  ovra  mustard,  but  grows  to  a 
much  greater  size  than  in  this  country,  especially  in  the  richer  soils  of  the  Jordan 
valley. — Tristram,  473.  It  is  Sinapis  ni/jra,  of  the  order  Cruciferas.  Thompson  (414) 
has  seen  mustard  plants  on  the  rich  plain  of  Acre  as  tall  as  a  horse  and  its  rider. 
Lightfoot  (ii.  21fi)  quotes  the  following  from  the  Rabbis: — "There  was  a  stalk  of 
mustard  in  Sichin  from  which  sprang  out  three  boughs,  of  which  one  broke  off,  and 
covered  the  tent  of  a  potter,  and  produced  three  cabs  of  mustard  (nearly  six  quarts)." 
R.  Simeon  Ben  Chalaphta  said,  "  A  stalk  of  mustard  was  in  my  field,  into  which  I  was 
wont  to  climb,  as  men  are  wont  to  climb  into  a  fig-tree."  These  extracts  are  also  given 
in  Buxtort  (823).  He  adds  that  an  instance  ia  given  by  the  Itabbis,  of  the  fertility  of 
Palestine,  to  tiie  effect  that  one  man  got  three  hundred-fold  increase  on  the  grain  he 
BOwed. 

''  Thompson  (^Land  and  Bool;  421)  thinks  the  incident  of  sowing  tares  among  wheat 
by  design  a  mere  imaginary  incident,  but  Roberts  (^Oriental  Illustrations,  521;  says  that 


628  NOTES. 

it  is  a  common  practice  of  a  man's  enemies,  in  Judea ;  and  Trench  says  (^Parahki,  80) 
that  "  in  Ireland  he  has  known  an  outgoing  tenant,  in  spite  at  bis  ejection,  sow  wild  oats 
in  the  fields  he  was  leaving.  These,  ripening  and  seeding  themselves  before  the  crops 
in  which  they  were  mingled,  it  became  next  to  impossible  to  get  rid  of  them." 

The  Tares  (j'lfai/io)  are  the  Sniium  iemulentum  or  Bearded  Darnel,  a  kind  of  rye- 
grass. It  is  the  only  species  of  the  grass  family,  the  seeds  of  which  are  poisonous. 
They  produce  nausea,  convulsions,  and  diarrhcea,  which  frequently  end  in  deatk  The 
plant  is  exactly  like  wheat  till  the  ear  appears.  Dean  Stanley  observed  the  women  and 
children  picking  out  the  tall  green  stalks,  which  the  Arabs  still  call  Zawau,  in  the  great 
ccrn-fields  of  Samaria,  but  they  are  sometimes  left  till  the  harvest,  and  then  separated 
by  the  fan  and  sieve. — Trillium,  488.  Tlie  Talmudists  made  the  natural  error  of  sup- 
posing darnel  "  a  kind  of  wheat  which  is  changed  in  the  earth,  both  as  to  its  foi-m  and 
nature  ;  "  but  it  is  a  distinct  plant. — Litjliljuut,  ii.  215. 

"A  narrow,  steep  path,  evidently  little  travelled,  led  down  into  the  valley.  When 
we  were  half-way  down,  it  led  along  the  east  s-lope  of  the  hill.  What  an  amazing  number 
of  olive  and  fig-trees  on  every  knoll  around,  and  in  the  depths  of  the  valley !  A  brook 
gurgled  briskly  down  the  face  of  the  hill.  Over  against  us  a  village  enlivened  the 
w.>ody  landscape.  Some  peasants  were  at  work  on  the  ground  on  the  leiTaces,  under  the 
shade  of  the  trees.  A  turn  of  the  road  soon  brought  the  village  of  Dscheba  before  us. 
On  the  steep  hill-side  the  houses  rose  in  terraces  one  over  the  other,  so  that  the  roofs  of 
one  street  seemed  as  if  they  were  the  street  of  that  above  it.  We  went  over  to  it,  crossing 
the  bread,  fiat  valley.  Grain  fields  covered  the  whole  surface ;  but  the  crops  were  very 
unequal;  part  thick,  shrunk,  and  almost  dry;  part  full,  and  stately.  Men,  women,  and 
children  were  busy  in  m.any  of  the  fields  pulling  out  the  weeds,  which  they  gathered  in 
heaps  and  bound  into  bundles,  to  burn  them." — Furrer^s  W anderungeiiy  255.  See  also 
Buxtorf,  (i61. 

"  The  gteat  drag  net  is  that  which  "gathered  of  every  kind."  Some  row  the  boat, 
some  cast  out  the  net,  some  on  shore  pull  the  rope  with  all  their  strength,  others  throw 
stones  and  beat  the  waters  at  the  ends  of  the  net,  to  frighten  the  fish  from  escaping  there. 
When  it  is  drawn  to  the  shore,  the  fishermen  sit  down  and  gatlier  the  good  into  vessels, 
but  cast  the  bad  away.  I  have  watched  this  operation  a  hundred  times  along  the  shore 
of  the  Mediterranean. — Tlioinsun,  402. 

The  word  used  is  Sageue — (rayfivri — a  drag  net,  a  seine.  Can  this  word  come  from 
the  same  root  in  spite  of  its  having  also  a  Saxon  equivalent? 

The  Sageoe  was  leaded  and  buoyed,  and  then  drawn  in  a  circle,  so  as  to  enclose  a 
great  multitude  of  fishes. — Triftrain,  289. 

'  Palestine  had  been  so  wasted  by  war,  ago  after  age,  that  treasures  hidden  in  the  groud 
by  their  owners,  at  the  approach  of  danger,  must  have  been  often  found.  In  India, 
during  the  mutiny,  treasures  were  hidden  in  the  strangest  places.  At  Lucknow,  a  tank 
was  dug  and  a  vault  constructed  below  it,  into  which  the  treasures  were  put,  and  the 
water  was  then  let  in,  over  it.  A  box  of  magnificent  jewels  was  hidden  in  a  hole  at  the 
top  of  a  palm-tree.  Immense  boards  were  built  into  walls,  or  buried  in  fields  and  sown 
over  with  thick  crops. 

Furrer,  Wandeninijen  (73).  "  There  is  a  piece  of  good  road  near  the  JafTa  gate  at 
Jerusalem,  which  owes  its  existence,  as  I  have  been  most  credibly  informed,  to  the  belief, 
that  a  great  treasure  had  been  buried  in  this  part,  and  to  obtain  this,  the  Greeks  made 
a  pretence  of  wishing  to  form  a  road.  This  very  speculative  looking  undertaking  has 
more  reason  in  it  in  the  East  than  with  us.  The  oppressions  and  robberies  of  government 
often  lead  the  natives  to  bury  their  treasures  secretly.  As  in  Christ's  time,  it  is  nothing 
unusual  to  find  a  treasure  hid  in  a  field." 

«  A  passage  in  Snhar  Chaclash,  fol.  61,  col.  1,  illustrates  Jewish  ways  in  this  particular 
very  strikingly.  II.  Bun,  was  once  accosted,  when  travelling,  by  a  young  man  who  had 
given  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Law — "  Master,  will  you  let  me  follow  you  on  your  way, 
and  put  myself  at  your  service  ?  "  The  R.  answered,  "  You  may,"  and  so  the  scholar  of  the 
Law  went  after  him.  As  they  went  on  in  this  way,  R.  Chija,  son  of  Abba,  and  R.  Juda,  son 
of  Joses,  met  them,  and  asked  R.  Bun,  "  Have  you  no  companion  V"  11.  Bim  answ'ered,  *'  I 
have  accepted  a  young  man  for  my  companion."  But  R.  Chija  replied,  "  It  is  a  sin  for 
which  you  have  to  answer,  that  you  have  not  him  at  your  side,  that  you  could  discuss 
respecting  the  Law  with  him.  When  the  company  had  sat  down  to  rest  underthe  shade  of 
a  tree,  R.  Chija  commenced  as  foUows,  on  the  words  (Prov.  iv.  18),  "  The  path  of  the 
just  is  as  the  shining  light,  which  shines  brighter  and  brighter  to  the  perfect  day  :" — "  If 
any  one  has  to  travel,  let  him  take  care  that  he  join  himself  as  companion  to  some  one 
wise  in  the  Law.  The  just,  who  walk  in  the  light,  act  thus,  for  they  have  the  light,  i.e., 
the  Law,  over  before  them.  The  words  'even  lo  the  perfect  day'  mean,  till  the 
Shechina  joins  them,  for  wo  know,  through  the  traditions,  that  wherever  the  Law 
is  the  subject  of  conversation  the  Shechina  is  also  there,  for  it  is  written  (Exod.  xx. 
24),  '  In  a!!  places  where  I  record  my  name,  I  will  come  unto  thee  and  will  bless  thee.'  " 


NOTES.  629 

'  Neander's  Commentary  on  the  -words  is  beautiful.  "  Let  those  who  are  themselves 
dead,  who  know  nothinff  of  the  higher  interests  of  the  kingdom  of  God  or  the  divine  life, 
attend  to  the  lifeless  clay.  But  thou,  upon  whom  the  divine  life,  which  conquers  all 
death,  is  opened,  Ihou  must  devote  thyself  wholly  to  propagate  it  by  preaching  the 
Gospel.  It  is  for  the  dead  to  care  for  the  dead ;  the  living  for  the  living." — Life  of 
C/irist,  3il. 

'  ■7rpo(rK((pdKaiav,  pillow  for  the  head.  "  A  part  of  the  boat  was  used  for  the  boatman's 
lying  or  sitting  on,  auJ  was  provided  with  a  (coarse)  leather  cushion  "  (of  some  kind). — 
J/eyer,  HarkuSj  61. 

'  Matthew  uses  the  word  (reifffihs  (seismos),  which  is  usually  the  term  for  an  earth- 
quake. It  means  here  a  commotion — a  storm.  Murk  and  Luke  use  Aai\ai|/  (Lailaps), 
which  Passow  ( Handwbrterh.)  explains  as  a  storm  wind  with  heavy  clouds,  rain,  and 
darkness,  and  as  a  whirlwind  raging  from  below  upwards.  Hesychius  explains  it  as  a 
whirlwind  with  rain. 

'  yaXrirn  (galene).  Peace  in  the  air  and  on  the  waters  (Passow).  By  some,  from 
yfXouii — to  laugh.  By  others,  from  yiKa  (gala),  milk — of  the  milky  smoothness  of  the 
untroubled  sea.  The  wind  ceased  (jK6Tra(r(v  ekopasen) — from  Koirafnj  kopadzo — when 
one  ceases  from  weariness  (Passow).     "  Xor  weary  worn-out  winds  expire  so  soft.'* 

Winer  (Grammalik,  2i1.i)  remarks  that  the  address  to  the  winds  and  sea  is  equivalent 
to  Peace  (and  remain)  still ! 

™  Gadara  is  from  the  same  root  as  "  Cadiz  "  (Gadium).  In  Hebrew  and  Phenician  it 
is  from  the  root  Gader — a  walled  place. —  Gesenii  T/tesanrus.  Gadara  was  a  famous 
fortified  city  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan,  on  the  steep  edge  of  the  valley  of  the  Jai'muk. 
It  was  one  of  the  cities  of  the  Decapolis  (league  of  ten  cities),  and  was  about  8  miles  south- 
east from  Tiberias,  across  the  Lake  (GO  stadia),  a  stadium  being  606  feet  9  inches.  It  was 
reckoned  the  capital  of  Perea,  and  had  coins  of  its  own.  The  great  roads  from  Tiberias 
and  Scythopolis  passed  through  it  to  the  interior  of  Perea  and  to  Damascus.  It  was 
destroyed  by  Alexander  Jannajus,  after  a  ten  months'  siege,  but  had  been  rebuilt  by 
Pompey.  two  generations  before  Christ,  It  had  beloni;ed  to  Herod  the  Great's  kingdom, 
but  after  his  death  was  taken  from  Archelaus,  and  joined  to  the  Province  of  Syria.  It 
was  stormed  and  burned  to  the  ground  a  generation  later,  in  the  great  Jewish  war,  by 
Vespasian,  its  youth  all  slain,  and  its  other  inhabitants  carried  off  as  slaves.  The  popula- 
tion must  thus  have  been  largely  Jewish. — Jos.  Belt  Jud.,  iii.  7.  1 ;  iv.  7.  3. 

°  Some  of  these  tombs  are  now  used  as  houses  by  the  Arabs.  "We  arrived  before  sun- 
set at  Um  Keis — the  ancient  Gadara.  We  were  veiy  kindly  received  by  the  sheikh  of 
the  natives  who  inhabit  the  sepulchres.  The  tomb  we  lodged  in  was  capable  of  containing 
between  twenty  and  thirty  people.  It  was  of  an  oblong  form,  and  the  cattle,  &c.,  occupied 
one  end,  while  the  proprietor  and  his  family  lodged  in  another.  The  sepulchres,  which  are 
all  underground,  are  hewn  out  of  the  live  rock,  and  the  doors,  which  are  very  massy,  are 
cut  out  of  immense  blocks  of  stone.  Some  of  these  are  now  standing  and  actually 
working  on  their  hinges,  and  used  by  the  natives.  Of  course,  the  hinge  is  nothing  but 
a  part  of  the  stone  left  projecting  at  each  end,  and  lot  into  a  socket  cut  in  tbe  rock. 
The  faces  of  the  doors  were  cut  in  the  shape  of  panels." — Irby  and  ilanrjles'  Travels,  297, 
298. 

There  is  still  a  population  of  about  200  souls  in  these  tombs. 

"  The  present  name  of  Gadara  is  Um  Kes — the  Jlother  of  Cunning.  There  is  con- 
fusion about  the  reading  of  the  text  in  the  different  MSS.,  but  it  is  not  worth  while 
troubling  tbe  reader  with  it.  Um  Kes  is  the  supposed  scene  of  Christ's  visit.  See 
Bibel  Lex.,  Keim,  Winer,  Hausrath,  Herzog,  Smith's  Diet.,  Art.  "  Gadara."  Thomson 
{Land  and  Booh),  however,  thinks  Khersa,  opposite  Tiberias,  the  place  (376).  So  EwalJ, 
r.  416.     So,  also  Fiirrer,  1).  Bedeutung  d.  Bib.  Geog.  19. 

p  Robinson  saw  madmen  sitting  before  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  clanking  their  chains. 

^  &0v<Taos — abyssos,  lit.  without  bottom.  It  is  nsed  here,  and  in  Rom.  x.  7,  without 
distinct  definition  of  its  meaning.  Elsewhere  it  is  found  only  in  the  Apocalypse,  where 
it  is  used  seven  times  of  the  penal  dwelling  of  evil  angels. 

'  laeiros  ("laeipos),  "whom  God  enlightens."  Lightfoot  quotes  from  the  Talmud — '•  The 
ruler  of  the  synagogue  is  he  by  whose  command  tho  affairs  of  the  synagogue  are 
appointed ;  namely,  who  shall  read  the  Prophets,  who  shall  recite  the  phylacteries,  who 
snail  pass  before  the  ark." — Vol.  ii.  171. 

"  Even  a  poor  Israelite  was  required  to  have  not  fewer  than  two  flute-playera,  and 
one  mourning  woman,  at  the  death  of  his  wife  ;  but  if  ho  be  rich,  all  things  are  to  be 
done  according  to  his  quality.  Talmud,  quoted  in  Buxtorf,  766.  See  also  Harm  Heb., 
ii.  172.    Nork,  61.    Godwyn,  244. 


630  NOTES. 

'  The  Sappedans,  or  public  moiirnors,  among  tho  Jews,  were  either  men  or  women. 
Some  are  specially  mentioned  in  tlio  Talmud  for  the  beauty  of  their  spoken  lamentations. 
Tho  humbler  artists  among  them  expressed  their  grief  by  sighs  and  ejaculations,  with 
the  repetition  of  commODplacea  of  tenderness  and  regret,  but  others  lamented  in  songs 
and  poetical  elegies.  Thus  Bar  Abbin  began  his  lament  thus — "  Weep,  in  your  sorrow, 
but  not  for  the  dead,  for  ho  has  departed  into  peace  ;  weep  for  us  who  remain  in  tears 
and  sadness." — Buxtnrf,  1.522-5. 

Dukes  gives  a  great  many  examples  in  his  Rubblnische  Bliimenlesc,  24G — 2G3.  Ho 
traces  the  rise  of  tho  custom  of  elegies  to  that  of  David  over  Jonathan. 

"  Death  is  spoken  of  hundreds  of  times  in  the  Talmud  as  sleep.  "  When  N.  slept," 
that  is,  when  ho  died,  recurs  constantly. — Liijlilfoot,  ii.  175.  So  also  in  Old  Testameut-- 
Ps.  xiii.  4.   Job  iii.  13.   Jer.  li.  3a.    Dan.  xii.  2. 

"  It  will  be  noticed  that  Jesus  uses  the  form  Hf  words  in  voguo  at  tho  time  from 
physicians  to  the  sick.     See  below. 

'  A  glimpse  at  Jewish  medical  practice  is  supplied  by  the  following  from  Salibalh., 
f.  4.  2.  It  refers  to  the  use  of  amulots  as  means  of  cure,  &o.  "  It  is  permitted  (even  on 
tho  Sabbath)  to  go  out  with  tho  egg  of  a  grasshopper,  or  the  tooth  of  a  fox,  or  the  nail 
of  ono  who  has  been  hanged,  as  medical  remedies." 

'  t6  Kpa<rw(Soy — (kraspedon). 


CHAPTER     XLIII 


*  I  am  indebted  for  tho  following  paragraphs  to  Ein  Tag  in  Capernaum,  bv  Dr. 
Delitzsch,   GS,  G9. 

'  This  is  tho  text  of  tho  Sinaitio  and  Vatican  M.SS.  St.  Luke  quotes  it  froely  from 
the  Septuagint.     It  is  from  Isaiah  Ix.  1,  2. 

°  Tho  houses  stand  on  the  under  part  of  tho  slope  of  tho  west  hill,  which  rises  high 
and  steep  above  them, — liobinsvn,  iii.  41'J. 

The  rock  is  -10  or  50  feet  perpendicular  near  tho  JIaronito  church. — Robinson,  iii. 
423.     See  also  Laud  and  Book,  431. 

*  Discipulus — a  disciple,  is  "one  who  is  learning" — a  scholar.  /jaflTjT^s — the  Greek 
word  for  disciple — also  means  a  scholar.  Talmid — ''"3?^',  the  Hebrew  word  for  dis- 
ciple, means  also  tho  same.  "Tho  soholai's  of  the  wise"  was  the  phrase  for  the 
"  disciples  "  of  the  Rabbis.     The  Arabic  and  Hebrew  words  are  the  same. 

*  The  word  "apostle"  dirdo-roXos — one  sent  forth,  is  tho  equivalent  of  tho  Talmndio 
T''?  (Sheliach).  It  carries  with  it  tho  idea  of  representation  of  the  authority  by  which 
the  "  apostle  "  is  sent.  "  The  *  Sheliach  *  of  a  man  is  as  if  he  himself  who  sends  were 
there."— ZJux(O)/,  2411.    Liyht/oot,  li.  176.   Nork,  Gl. 

'  "  At  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  the  work  of  the  priest  began :  the  slaying  of  the 
victims  may  bo  done  by  any  one." — Talmud,  llor.  Htb.,  iii.  13U.  Hence  only  the  very 
poor  killed  their  own  sacrifices. 

8  In  accordance  with  the  Mosaic  doctrine  of  temporal  rewards  and  punishments,  tho 
Jews  looked  on  all  striking  calamities,  and  congenital  diseases  or  afljictiona,  and  visita- 
tions like  demon  possession,  as  punishment  for  the  sins  of  parents,  or  for  sins  committed 
by  the  sufferers  themselves  in  a  previous  state  of  existence. — Schneckenbunjer,  249. 

'  Barren  fig-trees  are  still  common.  Trees,  neglected  when  young,  are  often  so.  To 
bear  fruit  well,  a  fig-tree  needs  to  be  manured  freely,  and  ploughed  and  dug  about  fre- 
quentlv.  Even  the  stones  in  tho  orchard  are  carefully  gathered  and  removed. — Land 
and  Book,  350. 

"  They  lay  dnng  to  moisten  the  earth ;  they  dig  about  the  roots  of  the  trees  ;  they 
pluck  up  tho  suckers ;  they  take  off  the  (dead)  leaves  ;  they  siirinkle  ashes,  and  they 
smoke  under  tho  trees,  to  kill  worms." — Talmud,  Uor.  Heb.,  iii.  14G. 

'  The  Law  (Deut.  xx.  19,  20)  forbade  the  cutting  down  fruit-trees,  except  in  special 
oircnmst.inces.  Hence  the  Rabbis  said,  "  Cut  not  down  the  palm-tree  that  bears  a  cab 
(two  quarts)  of  dates,  or  tho  olive,  that  bears  but  the  fourth  part  of  a  cab  (a  pint)." 

"  Jly  son,"  said  one  Rabbi,  "  had  not  died  had  he  not  cut  down  a  fig-tree  before  its 
tune."— //or.  lleb..  iii.  139. 

•'  In   Pirke  Aboth.,  c.  2.  15,  there  is  a  passage  strikingly  parallel.     R.  Tarplii  said 


NOTES.  631 

"  Short  is  the  day,  the  work  is  great,  the  labourers  idle,  the  reward  great,  and  the  Lord 
of  tho  harvest  presses." 

'  This  seems  a  better  sense  of  the  words  than  their  usual  explanation  of  giving 
**  without  return  " — that  is,  without  payment.  The  disciples  were  to  take  their  lodging,  &c. 
as  a  free  gift  for  their  spiritual  labours,  and  so  did  the  Rabbis.  JIany  passages,  however, 
show  how  strictly  receipt  of  payment  for  religious  teaching  was  forbidden.  "  ilake  the 
Sabbath  your  working  day  rather  than  ask  anything  from  tho  people,"  says  the  Talmud, 
b.  Pesachim,  112  a.  "  ^York  to  your  uttermost  rather  than  ask  from  the  people,"  says 
another  passage,  (b.  Balhra,  110  a).  So  Paul  did  (Ephes.  iv.  28),  though  he  claimed 
support  as  a  right.  1  Thess.  ii.  9.  2  Thess.  iii.  8.  But  he  knew  a  trade,  which  the 
fisher  Apostles  did  not.  Dout.  iv.  5,  where  Moses  speaks,  is  explained  "  As  I  have  taught 
you  without  reward,  so  must  you  spread  my  teaching  without  money,  for  God  gave  me 
the  Law  without  asking  a  reward,  and  I  follow  His  example,  and  expect  that  you  will 
follow  mine." — Bachorot/i,  iv.  6. 

'"  The  "  wallets  "  or  "  sci  ips  "  now  in  use,  are  only  the  skins  of  kids  stripped  off  whole, 
and  tanned  by  a  very  simple  process. — Thomson,  345. 

"  The  peasant  puts  on  over  his  shirt  only  a  white  and  black  striped  over-garment  of 
camel  or  goat's  hair.  It  has  no  sleeves.  He  girds  in  his  shirt  as  the  fishermen  did  in 
Peter's  time,  and  carries  in  the  leathern  belt  all  the  money  he  has." — Furrer,  Wander- 
ungeu,  27. 

The  wallet,  in  the  Talmud,  is  a  leather  pouch  (as  above)  which  shepherds  hang  about 
their  necks,  and  in  which  they  put  their  victuals. — Hoi:  Heh.  ii.  183. 

John  had  counselled  those  who  had  two  undercoats  to  give  to  him  that  had  none. — 
Luke  iii.  11. 

Sandals  were  made  of  leather  or  of  rushes,  or  of  the  bark  of  palm-trees.  "  A  shoe," 
says  the  Talmud,  "  was  of  softer,  a  sandal  of  harder  leather."  Some  had  wooden  soles 
and  leather  uppers. — Hoi:  Heb.  ii.  184. 

R.  Chija  says,  ''It  is  not  fitting  that  a  scholar  of  the  wise  should  wear  shoes." — 
Nork,  C2.  Pious  Jews  usually  travelled  as  Christ's  disciples  did,  with  girdle,  wallet,  &c., 
and  also  with  a  book  of  the  Law  slung  round  their  neck. 

°  When  a  Persian  enters  an  assembly,  after  having  left  his  shoes  without,  he  makes 
the  usual  salutation,  *' Peace  be  unto  you,"  which  is  addressed  to  the  whole  assembly, 
as  it  were  saluting  the  house. — Morier^s  Second  Journey,  142.     Godiuyn,  87. 

»  Great  care  was  taken  with  imported  fruit,  lest  the  dust  of  a  heathen  country  might 
be  on  it,  and  thu'^  the  land  of  Israel  be  defiled.  It  might,  in  such  a  case,  be  dust  from  a, 
grave  !  -\.ll  heathen  countries,  moreover,  were  as  unclean  as  a  burial-place. — Hor. 
Heb.  ii.  185. 

The  dust  of  a  heathen  country  defiled  the  Jew  of  Palestine. — JSi'ork,  63. 

p  See  Jest's  translation  of  the  Mischna  Sola,  ix.,  in  which  the  Rabbis  used  language 
almost  identical  with  that  of  Jesus  in  this  passage — of  the  signs  of  the  approach  of  the 
Messiah, — -Sckilrerj  580.     IScldeiervmcher's  Predigten,  ii.  G9. 

'  In  verse  27,  "What  ye  hear  in  tho  ears  "  refers  to  the  habit  of  the  Rabbi  in  his 
chair  whispering  into  the  ear  of  the  interpreter,  who  repeated  in  a  loud  voice  what  he 
had  thus  received. — Hoi:  Heb.  ii.  187. 

"  The  housetops,"  which  are  flat,  are  still  used  for  public  announcements.  It  was 
from  a  housetop  that  the  trumpet  was  sounded  each  Friday  evening,  to  announce  the 
approach  of  the  Sabbath. — Hor.  Heb.  ii.  173.  Land  and  Book,  40,  41.  llacA,  in  Bibel 
Lex.,  i,  555, 

A  passage  in  the  Talmud  is  a  fine  illustration  of  verse  29,  Simon,  the  son  of  Jochai, 
once  stood  at  the  entrance  of  the  cave  in  which  he  concealed  himself  from  his  enemies 
dm-ing  the  persecutions,  for  thirteen  years.  As  he  did  so,  he  noticed  a  birdcaicher  who 
was  watching  a  bird.  Suddenly,  however,  the  Bath  Kol  sounded  from  heaven  "  Have 
pity,"  and  the  bird  escaped.  Then  the  R.abbi  cried  out — "If  even  a  bird  is  not  taken 
without  the  will  of  God,  how  much  less  a  man  !  " — Beresliith  Rab.  f.  88,  o,  4, 

Sparrows,  that  is,  finches  generally,  are  still  sold  for  eating,  in  strings,  at  a  very 
cheap   rate, — Tristram,  161,  201.     Land  and  Book,  iS.     Godwyn,  2iii. 

'  Anointing  with  oil  was  a  practice  among  Jewish  physicians.  R.  Simeon  Ben  Eliezer 
says,  "  R.  Meir  permitted  the  mingling  of  wine  and  oil,  and  to  anoint  the  sick  on  the 
Sabbath.  But  when  he  once  was  sick,  and  we  would  do  the  same  to  him.  he  would  not 
allow  it." — Talmud  in  Hor.  H'b.  ii.  415.  This  explains  James  v.  14,  In  the  miracles  it 
stands  on  a  similar  footing  with  Christ's  anointing  the  eyes  of  the  bliud  with  clay,  &c. 
It  could  not  in  itself  cure,  in  many  cases,  but  the  supernatural  gi'ace  imparted  with  it 
secured  the  desired  result.  The  Jews  anointed  the  head  with  oil  for  the  headache. — 
I'iini/,  23,  38.     Oil  is  still  used  in  tho  East  for  boils,  &c. — Ruseggers  Travels,  i.  247. 

•  A  denarius  or  penny  was  worth  about  7Jd.,  but  its  purchasing  value  was  equal, 
apparently,  to  about  forty  pence  now, — Dr.  Davidson,  iVew  2'est.,  xlvi. 


632  NOTES 

'  irpoffial,  vpatnai — areolatim.  The  prasiai  are  the  square  garden  plots  in  which  herbs 
are  gi'own.  St.  Mark,  wlio  used  the  word,  doubthiss  expresses  the  fecUngs  of  St.  Peter  aa 
an  eye-witness.  One  in  the  Talmud,  speaking  of  barley  bread,  says,  "There  is  a  fine 
crop  of  barley."  Another  answers,  "Tell  this  to  the  horses  and  asaes."  A  Roman  soldier, 
who  had  quitted  his  ranks,  had  for  part  of  his  punishment  that  he  received  barley  bread 
instead  of  wheaten. — Sueloniiis,  Atiffust.  24. 

°  The  Misriiiia  speaks  of  the  usual  blessing  of  bread  and  fish,  but  says  that  the 
blessing  for  the  former  was  omitted  when  the  latter  was  salt  fish,  because  the  bread  was 
regarded  as  an  appendix  to  the  fish.  Toe  blessing  was  therefore  asked  only  on  the  salt 
fish  !  The  Talmud  says.  '•  It  is  forbidden  to  take  food  into  the  mouth  without  having 
previously  thanked  God  for  it  as  His  gift." — lierarhoth,  f.  35.  I. 

Jesus  asked  Phihp  about  supplying  the  multitude.  "Perhaps,"  says  Bengel,  "  he  had 
charge  of  providing  for  the  daily  wants  of  the  disciples  and  of  Jesus." 

Liicke  (C«Hime7»/ar,  ii.  (J2)  saya,  "There  can  be  no  doubt  that  both  expressions  'to 
bless'  and  *  to  give  thanks'  were  the  usual  terms  for  the  '  grace  '  common  among  the 
Jews."  The  formula  is  given  in  full.  Acts  xsvii.  35.  fvxaplffrriffe  t^  df^ — Kai  K\a<ras — 
•*  He  took  bread  and  (/ave  thanks  to  God,  and  w/ten  he  had  broken  it."  See  also  Pressel's 
Leben  Jesu,  13(i. 

In  John  vi.  16,  it  is  said  that "  when  even  was  come  the  disciples  went  down  unto  the 
sea,"  In  the  other  Gospels,  however,  evening  is  spoken  of  as  having  already  come,  or 
being  near,  before  the  multitude  was  fed.  'The  explanation  is  that  while  John  has 
followed  the  usual  Greek  mode  of  speaking,  the  others  make  use  of  the  Hebrew,  nr 
rather  the  Pharisuic  way  of  reckoning  the  day.  By  this,  there  were  two  evenings  :  the 
first  corresponding  to  our  afternoon,  from  three  to  six,  the  other  from  six  to  nine,  after 
which  came  "the  darkness." — Liicke,  ii.  (JG.     De  ll'e^e,  Aichaolui/ie,  214.  not.  d. 

"  The  Roman  satirists  note  this  wallet  or  basket  as  a  characteristic  of  the  Jews. — 
Juvenal  Sat.,  iii.  14;  vi.  541.  It  was  of  osiers  or  twigs — "virgulta."  Luthardt  (Das,  Joh. 
Eiiangelium,  ii.  44)  finds  in  the  twelve  baskeisfull  one  for  each  apostle,  a  mystical  refer- 
ence to  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  ancient  Israel  and  to  the  future  of  the  now  Israel! 
The  "  baskets  "  were  specially  designed  to  provide  the  Jew  with  Levitically  clean  food, 
when  travelling  through  Samaria,  or  in  heathen  parts. —  Wahl,  Clavis,  278.  b. 

»  ov  yap  (TuvriKav — "  they  considered  not ; "  rather,  did  not  understand— comprehend. 
■wiirupiatityTi — "hardened;"  rather  "dull,  stupid." 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 


•  The  Jerus.  Talmud  (Sanhed.,  f.  IS)  asks  "What  is  the  seal  of  God?"  R.  Bibai,  in 
the  name  of  K.  Reuben,  answers,  "  The  Truth  "  (p-is).  "  But  who  is  tbe  Trutli  ?  "  R. 
Bon  says,  "  The  Living  God,  the  Eternal  King."  R.  Lakisch  notes  that  in  n-:s  (the 
Truth),  s  is  the  first  letter  of  the  alphabet,  a  the  middle  one,  and  n  the  last,  which,  there- 
fore, means  "I,  Jehovah,  WAS  the  First ;  besides  mo  there  is  no  God,  and  I  shall,  also, 
BE  the  Last." 

Had  Jesus  any  allusion  to  snch  a  meaning  of  the  expression,  "  sealed,"  <tc.,  since  it 
■was  current  in  His  day  ?     Comp.  John  xiv.  6. 

i(T(ppayia-ev — esphragisen — sealed,  attested,  confirmed,  established,  as  men  do  in  the 
East,  by  aflixing  a  seal.  The  writing  of  a  document  may  be  done  by  any  one  ;  the  seal 
affixed  is  the  mark  of  authenticity.  This  is  still  the  universal  custom  in  all  written 
transactions.— ia«c's  Modem  Egyptians,  i.  35,  3U.  Perkins'  Persia,  421.  A'airalive  oj 
a  Mission,  256. 

^  i  KaTaffaivuv — refers  to  i  apros.  It  ia  wrongly  applied  to  Jesus  in  the  English 
version.     It  is  not  "  he,"  but  "  it "  in  our  idiom. 

"  Both  the  word  ""5  (Bashar)  flesh,  and  '?5  (Achal)  to  eat,  were  familiar  as  figures  to 
Christ's  hearers,  even  in  the  Scriptures.  "To  eat  my  flesh"  (Ps.  xxvii.  2)  was  a 
metaphor  for  fierce  and  cruel  enemies  thirsting  for  one's  blood.  The  fool  devoured  with 
envy  is  said  (Eccl.  iv.  5)  to  eat  his  own  flesh.  Oppressive  rulers  were  said,  in  Ps.  xiv. 
4,  ProT.  XXX.  14,  Hab.  iii.  15,  "  to  oat  up,  or  devour,  the  people."    So  Mic.  iii.  3. 

^  I  have  put  together  the  meanings  attached  to  the  expression  by  different  expositors, 
ancient  and  modem. 

•  fKTovTov.   So  De  Wetto  and  Liicke.    But  Meyer,  "on  this  account,"  viz.,  the  discourse. 

'  This  is  the  troe  reading,  as  shown  by  B,  G,*  D,  L,  Noun.  Cosm.,  and  received  by 
Griesbach,  Lacbmann,  and  Tischendorf. 

The  Holy  Ono  of  God  is  equivalent  to  "  Him  consecrated  by  God."  See  John  x.  36. 
1  John  ii.  20.     Mark  i.  24.     Luke  iv.  34.     Acts  iv.  27.     Rev.  iii.  7.     Langen  points  out 


NOTES.  633 

{Judenthum,  413)  that  this  is  in  reality  tho  samo  name  as  "  The  Elect  One,"  so  frequently 
used  of  the  Messiah  in  the  Book  of  Enoch  —  for  6  ayios  (ho  hagios)  stands  for  i 
TiyiaiTfifuos — ho  hegiasmenos,  the  sanctified  one,  or  '■  Him  set  apart " — in  John  x.  36. 
To  sanctify  or  to  set  apart  for  Himself,  and  to  choose  for  Himself,  thus  spoken  of  God, 
are  identical  conceptions. 

e  The  quantity  named  was  40  seah — and  the  Rahbis  give  the  seah  at  nearly  a  gallon 
and  a  half. —  Weights  and  Measures.     Dicty.  of  the  Bible. 

J"  Corban — \-'.?^  from  Carab  3"p  "  he  drew  near  "  (God), — was  the  Hebrew  word  for  any- 
thing vowed  and  presented  to  God  as  an  ofifering  or  sacred  gift.  Jewish  creditors  were 
quick-witted  enough  to  turn  the  "corban"  to  a  good  account,  by  frightening  payment 

from   their  debtors  by  tho   statement   that  tho   money  owed  was  "  corban." [Vitier 

JUaileJteii. 

'  This  is  involved  in  the  Hebrew  word  i?5  (Kabad). 


CHAPTER    XLV. 


•  e^(\$ou<ra — exelthousa.  In  Mark  vii.  24,  the  words  "and  Sidon  "  are  rejected  by 
Tischendorf.  Phenicia  is  from  (po7vi^  a  palm — the  country  of  palms.  J£!sei/  (i.  265), 
makes  it  from  aifii^ai,  an  ancient  Greek  verb,  to  slay,  to  murder — a  meaning  apt  enou<Th, 
as  the  early  Phenicians  were  the  pirates  of  the  Mediterranean.  See  Mommsen's 
Geschichle, passim.  But  the  simpler  etymology  seems  the  better,  and  hns  its  analo'iue  in 
the  "  Morea  "  from  iiaipos  (mauros),  a  mulberry. 

''  \j/txi6y — psichion — dim.  from  \f,t(  psix — a  fragment  of  bread,  flesh,  &c. — Passoic. 

'  Tradition  makes  tho  name  of  the  woman  Justa,  and  that  of  her  daughter  Berenice, 
and  adds  that  her  husband  repudiated  both  her  and  her  daughter  for  their  faith  in  Jesus. 
— Sejip,  iv.  201.  Canaanite  meant  originally  a  "lowlander,"  but  it  came  to  mean  "a 
merchant,"  from  the  commercial  fame  of  the  Phenicians. 

The  Tiilmud  has  copied  the  incident  of  the  "  children's  crumbs,"  and  used  it  of  a  sup- 
plicant for  grain  in  a  time  of  famine. — Nork,  75.     Sepp,  iv.  197. 

Pressel's  commentary  on  the  woman's  words  is  tine. — Lebenjesu,l~i.  So,  also,  as 
usual,  is  that  of  Hess. — Leben  Jesuj  i.  412. 

^  This  is  the  meaning  of  tho  word  KuXXois,  translated  in  our  version,  maimed. 
Tischendorf  rejects  it  on  the  authority  of  the  Sinaitic  version,  but  Scrivener  retains  it. 

'  airvpiSas — spuridas.  The  spuria  only  is  mentioned  in  this  case,  instead  of  the 
cophiuus  of  the  former  miraculous  feeding.  Both  were  small  baskets,  of  which  every 
Jew  of  the  humbler  class  seems  to  have  carried  one  for  his  provisions,  &c.      See  p.  632, 

f  Lachmaun,  Tischendorf,  and  Tregelles  read  Magadan,  a  name  which  is  not  otherwise 
known. 

Mark  gives  the  name  of  Dalmanutha — "  tho  shady  place  " — but  this  also  is  un- 
known. 

s  Manasseh  obtained  from  Sanballat  permission  to  build  a  rival  temple  at  Shechem. 
Jlenelaus  was  a  time-serving  friend  of  Greek  customs  and  of  the  Syrian  kings.  Onias 
built  a  rival  temple  in  Egypt. 

'  The  Pharisees  as  a  body  were  poor,  and  lived  with  a  modest  simplicity,  often  earning 
their  bread  by  a  laborious  occupation.  The  Sadducees  were  spoiled  children  of  fortune. 
Yet  Pharisees  were  not  wanting  whose  epicureanism  rivalled  anything  said  of  their 
rivals.  "Eat  and  drinlc,  for  tho  world  we  are  soon  to  leave  is  like  a  marriage  feast," 
said  Samuel  to  Rabbi  Jehuda  Chimena.  "  Jly  son,"  said  Rab.  to  R.  Hamenuna,  "  if  yon 
have  anything,  make  merry,  for  there  is  no  more  pleasure  under  the  ground,  and  death 
gives  no  respite.  Do  you  intend  to  leave  money  to  your  son  ?  AVho  will  tell  you  about 
it  when  you  are  in  the  grave  ?  Men  are  like  the  flowers  of  the  field  :  those  of  to-day 
give  place  to  those  of  to-morrow."  These  are  sayings  of  two  famous  Rabbis  of  the 
Pharisaic  party. — Deienboury,  131,  132. 

'  The  south  wind  is  the  Samtim  or  Simoom,  which  blows  from  the  hot  deserts  of 
Africa,  and  brings  overpowering  heat.  It  blows  up  the  gorge  of  the  Jordan,  and  sweeps 
like  a  furnace-blast  over  the  plains  of  Gennesareth,  The  west  wind  brings  the  clouds 
from  the  Mediterranean.  The  east  wind  from  the  tablo-land  of  the  Hauran  brings  dry 
weather. 


631  NOTES. 


CHAPTER    XLVI. 

•  Cbeselden,  in  his  account  of  the  restoration  of  Biaht  by  an  operation  to  a  yonth  who 
had  been  born  blind,  says,  "When  he  first  saw  ho  knew  not  tho  shape  of  anything,  noi- 
any  one  thing  from  another,  however  different  in  shape  or  magnitude  ;  but,"  being  told 
what  things  were,  whose  forms  he  before  knew  from  feeling,  he  would  carefully  observe 
that  he  might  know  them  again." — Anatomy,  p.  301.     1708,  London. 

I"  Tischendorf,  following  the  Sinaitio  and  Vatican  MSS.,  omits  the  last  clause  of  the 
vorse.     Meyer  retains  it. 

°  The  Jews  expected  the  reappearance  not  only  of  Enoch  and  Elias,  but  also  of  Sloses 
and  Jeremiah.  Moses  was  believed  to  have  been  taken  to  heaven  like  Elijah. — Jos. 
Ant.  iv.  8.  4)S  ;  i.  3.  4  ;  ix.  2.  2.  I  have  quoted  (page  384,  vol.  i.)  tho  legend  (2  Mace.  ii.  1) 
elsewhere,  of  the  concealment  of  tho  ark  by  Jeremiah  at  the  taking  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Chaldeans. 

A  similar  legend  rose  in  the  Christian  Church  respecting  Joseph.  He  died,  it  was 
said,  but  his  body  was  not  allowed  to  see  corruption,  and  he  would  be  raised  again  at  the 
marriage  supper  of  the  thousand-year  reign.  He  would  have  been  carried  to  heaven  in 
a  chariot  of  lire,  like  Elijah,  but  died  as  a  tribute  to  original  sin,  derived  from  Adam. — 
Bist.  Jos.  2G.  28. 

See  Langen's  Judenthum,  491,  493.     Godwyn's  Aaron  and  Moses,  38. 

^  c(tK\7)<ri'o — ecclosia.  The  word  comes  from  tho  verb  ^kkoXccd — to  call  out — to  call 
together,  and  is  equivalent  to  the  Heb.  "v?, — Kahal — "  congregation,"  "  assembly." — 
Judges  xxi.  8.  1  Chron.  xxix.  1.  2  Chron.  xxiii.  3.  Ex.  svi.  2.  In  Acts  six.  32,  39, 
it  is  translated  "  assembly." 

•  That  Peter  was  tho  rock  on  which  tho  Church  was  to  bo  built  up,  see  Bruoh,  Bib. 
Lex.  V.  55.  Meyer,  in  loc.  Holtzmann,  Bib.  Lex.  iv.  482.  Pressol,  181.  Hoss,  ii.  103. 
Ewald,  V.4B1. 

Paulus  (ii.  2)  paraphrases  the  words  thus — "Thou  art  a  tnie  Peter — a  rock-like 
man — to  Mo  !  aud  on  this  rock,  upon  the  foundation  held  so  lirmly  by  thee, — that  I  am 
the  true  Messiah, — on  the  rock  of  thy  confession  will  I  build  up  those  called  from  tho 
world  to  be  my  spiritual  Temple.  With  this  I  lay  on  thee  a  great  office.  Thou  shalt  bo, 
in  that  spiritual  Temple-pahice,  the  keeper  of  the  keys,  who  admits  those  allowed  to 
enter.  Lead  in  as  such,  tho  worthy,  who  are  fit  for  the  heaven-like  kingdom.  A  great 
task  will,  however,  he  on  thee  in  this  matter.  Thou  shalt  diligently  explain  to  men 
what  tho  divine  commands  forbid  or  permit.  And  know  thou  that  what  thou,  here 
below,  doclarest  permitted,  must  be  of  that  nature  only  which  is  permitted  in  heaven, 
where  the  will  of  God  reigns  supreme." 

'  "To  bind  and  loose,"  as  shown  by  a  great  many  illustrations  in  Lightfoot's  i7o>. 
Eeh.,  ii.  238 — 241,  was  a  phrase  of  every-day  use  among  the  Jews,  for  forbidding  or  per- 
mitting. It  was,  in  fact,  the  common  expression  for  the  decisions  of  the  Rabt'is  on  any 
of  the  countless  poinls  submitted  to  them.  They  •'  bound  " — forbade — this ;  and  "  loosed  " — 
permitted — that.  Doors,  in  antiquity,  were  fastened  by  cords,  in  tying  and  loosing  which 
keys  were  used.  Hence,  instead  of  speaking,  as  wo  do,  of  opeuiug  and  shutting  a  door, 
they  spoke  of  binding  and  loosing  it. 

E  Dr.  Aug.  Wunsche  has  published  a  series  of  extracts  from  the  Rabbis,  under  the 
name  of  '•  pie  Leiden  des  Messias  "  (Loipsig,  1870),  to  show  that  they  taught  the  doctrine 
of  a  suffering  Messiah ;  but  it  is  certain  that  tho  traces  of  their  having  done  so  are  in- 
decisive.    This  is  my  opinion,  at  least,  after  having  read  the  book. 

^  tK«lis  aoi,  sc.  ItTTO)  i  S(6s — God  bo  merciful  to  Ihde — God  forgive  thee — Be  it  far  from 
thee. 


CHAPTER    SLVIL 


*  The  appearance  of  Moses  at  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  was  taught  by  the  Rabbis. 
"God,  the  Ever-Klessed,  said,  '0 Moses,  as  thou  gavest  thy  life  when  thou  wert  alive  for 
Israel,  so,  also,  in  the  times  of  the  Messiah,  when!  shall  send  Elijah  the  prophet  to  them, 
yo'j  also,  shall  come,  at  the  same  time.'" — Debarim  liabba,  §  3,  255.  2. 

"  The  Rabbis  had  disfigured  and  distorted  tho  Scripture  record  of  revelations  by  the 
voice  of  God,  from  heaven.     They  spoke  of  a  "  Bath  Kol — the  daughter — or  Echo — of 


NOTES.  635 

the  voice  (of  God).  **Frotn  the  time  that  Haggai,  Zacharias,  and  Malachi  died,"  says  the 
Talmud,  '•  the  Holy  Spirit  was  taken  away  from  Israel.  Nevertheless,  the  Bath  Kol  was 
granted.^  For,  once,  when  the  Rabbis  were  consulting  in  the  chamber  of  the  house  of 
Gorijah,  the  B.ith  Kol  came  from  heaven  and  said,  '  There  is  a  man  among  you  who  is 
worthy  that  tlio  divine  majesty  should  rest  on  liim,  but  the  age  is  unwortliy  of  him.* 
Then  iho  eyes  of  all  were  turned  on  Hillel,  the  old,  whom,  when  he  died,  they  mourned 
as  a  holy  man,  and  a  true  scholar  of  Ezra."  So,  at  the  choice  of  R.  Samuel.  Many  more 
details  are  given  in  Buxtorf,  320 — 322.     See  also  Reland's  Antiquitates  Sac.  Uelj.,  259. 

°  **  "With  tears  "  is  wanting  in  A*  B,  C*  &  A,  and  several  versions,  and  is  therefore 
rejected  by  Lachmann,  Tischendorf,  and  TregcUes.  "Lord"  is,  in  the  same  way, 
wanting  in  the  Sinaitic,  Vatican,  Alexandrine,  and  other  ilSS.,  and  is  also  rejected  by 
the  same  authorities. 

^  (Tirapd^as — "tore"  means  not  only  "rending,"  but  "  convulsing.'*  The  word  is  used 
four  times  in  the  New  Testament.  In  Marli  i.  26,  Schleusner  translates  the  passage 
*'  et  totum  ejus  corpus  convulsit  et  distorsit" — "  and  convulsed  and  distorted  his  whole 
frame." 

In  the  present  passage  the  Vulgate  translates  it  "  conturbavit  eum."  In  verse  20  it 
is  tran&lat'id  "  tare,"  and  so  in  the  fourth  instance,  in  Lulie  ix.  39.  But  in  all  these  cases 
"  convulsed  "  is  the  true  meaning. 

•  Lachmann,  Tischendorf,  and  TregeUes,  on  the  authority  of  the  Sinaitic  and  Vatican 
MSS.,  and  of  many  versions,  read  oKtyomanav,  instead  of  dirio'Tioi'.  But  Jleyer  and 
De  Wette  retain  the  latter.     I  have  iacoi'porated  both. 

'  It  was  a  familiar  expression  among  the  Jews  for  an  eminent  Rabbi  that  he  was  a 
*'  rooter  up,  or  a  remover  of  mountains."  One  was  called  so  from  his  skill  in  clearing 
up  difficulties;  another,  from  '-his  piercing  judgment;"  of  a  third,  who  taught  in  the 
streets  of  Tiberius,  it  was  said,  there  was  no  such  "  rooter  up  of  mountains  "  in  his  day 
as  he. — Liyht/ool,  Hoi:  Hi  b.  ii.  283. 

The  grain  of  mustard  seed  was  another  proverbial  expression,  for  exceeding  minute- 
ness. 

'  Tischendorf  omits  ''and  fasting,"  but  Meyer,  De  Wette,  Messner,  and  others 
retain  it. 

**  lrap€nopivovTO  5to  ttjs  FaAiXatas. 


CHAPTER     XLVIIL 


•  From  l^?? — to  send.  The  Jews  called  the  messengers  Shelihim :  the  Hellenists  — 
Jews  of  foreign  birth — used  the  Greek  equivalent  aiT6(rTo\ol — apostoloi. 

Buxtorf  translates  C^~'^' — Sheliach  (the  singular  of  Shelihim)  as  a  Nuncius,  or 
apostle — that  is,  a  messenger  of  the  Sanhedrim.  The  word  was  also  used  for  an  eccle- 
siastical servant  who  helped  Levites,  Priests,  or  the  Head  of  the  Synagogue,  and  also  as 
the  verger  or  caretaker  of  the  Synagogue,  2411. 

■i  The  aggregate  from  the  whole  world  may  be  judged  from  the  fact,  that  the  contri- 
butions from  the  Jews  in  Babylon  alone  had  to  be  guarded  across  the  desert  by  a  force 
numbering  thousands,  for  fear  of  the  Parthians. 

"  The  plural  "  sons  "  is  used  by  Jesus  as  identifying  Himself  with  His  disciples  in 
oi'dinary  conversation,  but  the  application  can  only  be  made  to  Jesus,  not  to  Peter,  for 
Jesus  alone  was  *'  the  Son  of  God  "  in  the  sense  implied  in  the  argument.  Curiously, 
this  passage  is  used  by  the  Roman  Church  to  support  the  immunity  of  the  clergy,  as 
descended  from  Peter,  from  all  taxation,  or  at  least  from  ecclesiastical  taxes. 

*  There  had  been  a  fierce  controversy  between  the  Sadducees  and  the  Pharisees  about 
the  didrachma.  The  Sadducees  contended,  from  the  words  of  the  Law,  Numbers  sxviii.  4, 
that  the  daily  morning  and  evening  offerings  should  be  paid  from  free  contributions ; 
not  from  the  Temple  treasure.  The  Pharisees,  on  the  other  band,  likewise  appealed  to 
the  Law,  to  prove  that  these  offerings  were  the  concern  of  the  people  as  a  whole.  They 
carried  their  point,  and  instituted  a  special  Temple  tax — the  tax  now  demanded.  To  mark 
their  victory,  they  would  receive  no  coin  except  the  old  half-shekel  of  Simon  the  Maccabee 
{Dicty.  of  the  Bible,  ii.  410),  which  flattered  the  national  feeling  as  a  Jewish  silver  coin — 
the  only  silver  coin,  indeed,  struck  in  their  long  national  history.  See,  also,  Jost,  i, 
217,  218. 

Wieseler  (^BeilrSi/e,  104 — 126)  has  a  learned  chapter  in  which  he  urges  that  the  tax 
demanded  was  the  Roman  poll-tax. 


636  NOTES. 

•  A  staler  was  four  drachmas,  and  it  is  very  notoworthy  that  we  know  from  other 
sources,  that  at  this  period  it  was  almost  tho  only  Grook  imperial  coin  in  circulation  in 
the  East,  the  didrachma  being  probably  unknown,  or  very  little  coined. 

'  SioKovos  (diaconos) — the  deacon.  It  moans  in  tho  New  Testament — 1st.  A  slave  who 
waits  at  table. — Matt.  sxii.  13.  2nd.  One  whoso  services  are  used  by  or  for  another — the 
magistrate  (for  God).  3rd.  Ministers  as  diaconoi  of  (jod  and  of  Chi-ist.  Jlon  who  serve 
the  will  of  tbe  devil. — Rom.  xiii.  *.  1  Cor.  iii.  1.  2  Cor.  si.  15.  4th.  "  Deacons  "  in  the 
early  Church. 

s  When  Jesus  elsewhere  says,  "  IIo  who  is  not  with  mo  is  against  me,  and  he  who 
gathers  not  with  me  scatters  abroad,"  it  is  no  coutradiction  to  tho  opposite-sounding 
words,  "  Ho  who  is  not  against  mo  is  for  me.  That  was  spoken  of  His  deadly  enemies  ; 
this,  of  His  friends. 

''  fivKos  oi/iKbj  (mules  onikos),  a  mill-stono  turned  by  an  ass.  It  was  much 
larger  and  heavier  than  the  stones  of  baud  mills. — Furrer,  122.  Buxlorf,  2252.  This  was 
not  a  Jewish  punishment  {Land  and  Book,  Gi2),  but  it  was  in  use  among  the  Greeks, 
Romans,  Syrians,  and  Phenicians. — Casaub.  ad  auel.  Oct.,  67,  quoted  by  Meyer. 

'  Amidst  the  countless  explanations  of  this  difficult  passage,  I  have  given  what  seema 
to  me  most  in  keeping  with  tho  contest. 

"  The  nest  verse,  the  12th  of  Matt,  sviii.  is  wanting  in  B.  L.*  1.*  13,  33,  and  many 
versions,  and  is  omitted  by  Lachmann,  Tisclumdorf,  and  Tregellos.  Some  such  words, 
however,  being  necessary  to  maintain  the  connection  of  the  test,  I  have  used  them. 

'  Tho  simple  rules  of  discipline  instituted  by  Jesus  wore,  apparently,  those  already  in 
practice  in  the  synagogues.  Even  at  this  day  it  is  required,  on  tho  day  before  the 
great  Day  of  Atonement,  that  Israelites  who  have  a  difference  seek  reconciliation.  Tho 
offender,  not  as  in  Christ's  case  the  injured,  is  to  go  to  bim  whom  ho  has  wronged,  and 
seek  forgiveness.  If  not  thus  obtained,  ho  is  to  take  three  persons  nith  him,  and  go 
again.  If  tho  injured  person  will  not,  after  all,  forgive,  tho  contrite  of?ender  is  to  take 
with  him  ten  persons — reckoned  "a  congregation,''  or,  in  our  use  of  the  Greek  word 
"  eoclesia,"  which  is  tho  equivalent  of  the  Hebrew  "  congregation  " — "  a  church,"  and  in 
their  presence  say — "  Sirs,  I  have  wronged  this  person,  and  now  implore  his  pardon  and 
forgiveness."  If  the  offended  one  still  refuse  to  forgive,  the  witnesses  are  to  hold  tho 
offender  clear  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man. — Milln'  Jews,  170.     See,  also,  Nork,  81. 

Tho  promise  of  Jesus  to  be  with  any  two  or  three  of  His  Apostles  gathered  in  His 
name,  must  have  sounded  to  tho  Apostles  as  a  direct  claim  of  supi-eme  divinity,  for 
it  was  an  assimjption  for  Himself  of  what  the  Rabbis  taught  as  one  of  tho  special 
characteristics  of  God,  in  His  relations  to  Israel.  Where  two  or  three  sit  together, 
said  they,  and  read  the  Law,  tho  Shechina  is  amongst  them .— A'orX.-,  SI.  Gfrurer,  i.  303. 

"  Over  two  millions  pounds  sterling.  An  Attic  talent  was  equal  to  about  .£216. 
That  such  a  defalcation  was  possible,  shows  what  the  condition  of  the  oppressed  nation- 
alities at  that  time  was.  The  rapacity  of  Roman  governors,  in  almost  all  cases,  may  be 
illustrated  by  tliat  of  Q.  Metellus  Scipio,  Proconsul  of  Syiia,  ac.  49 — IS,  as  painted  by 
Ca!sar. — Hell.  Civ.,  iii.  32. 

"  Meanwhile,  the  moneys  demanded  were  sternly  osacted  from  the  whole  province, 
and  many  additional  ways  of  gratifying  rapacity  were  invented.  A  head  tas  was  levied 
on  all  slaves  and  freemen.  Doors  and  columns  wore  taxed,  and  other  imposts  were 
demanded  in  corn,  or  as  soldier  money,  or  for  arms ;  boatmen,  engines  of  war,  and  con- 
veyances were  requisitioned.  If  a  new  tax  could  bo  thought  of,  it  was  at  once  imposed. 
Military  governors  were  put  not  only  in  cities,  but  almost  in  each  village  and  mansion, 
and  ho  was  thought  the  best  man,  and  tbe  best  citizen,  who  used  his  position  most 
harshly  and  remorselessly.  The  province  was  full  of  lictors  and  officials,  and  swai-med 
with  prefects  and  tax-collectors,  who  added  to  the  taxes  for  their  private  gain,  pretend- 
ing that,  being  esiled  from  home  and  country,  they  needed  to  do  so — thus  covering 
dishonest  acts  by  a  fair  esouse.  Besides  this,  heavy  usury  was  added  to  .ill  the  tases, 
ns  generally  happens  in  war.  Such  a  state  of  things  can  be  only  equalled  now,  by  the 
government  or  misgovemment  of  tho  Christian  states  subject  to  Turkey,  as  enumerated 
in  the  following  official  declaration  (1876): — 

1.  The  small  farmer  complains  that  he  has  to  give  half  his  produce  to  the  aga,  or 
mayor ;  that  tho  aga  pays  him  four  visits  a  year,  and  ho  has  to  maintain  him  and  his 
followers  while  they  remain. 

2.  The  tithes  are  farmed,  and  the  farmers  exact  ten  times  tho  amount  prescribed  by 
Law. 

3.  Tho  rayahs  have  also  to  pay  taxes  and  personal  contributions. 

4.  The  cattle  aro  counted  in  an  iniquitous  manner. 

5.  A  Christian  prosecuted  by  a  Turk,  or  who  jirosecutes  a  Turk,  loses  his  suit  unless 
he  has  two  Turkish  witnesses,  and  is  thrown  into  prison. 


NOTES.  637 

6.  The  Turks  employ  violence,  cany  off  ■wives  and  daughters,  and  force  them  to 
embrace  Islamism. 

7.  If  a  Christian  calls  for  justice  against  a  Turk,  he  is  sure  not  to  live  more  than  three 
days, 

8.  The  Turks  hate  our  priests,  churches,  &c. 

9.  Wo  pay  taxes  and  receive  no  education  :  wo  have  no  schools. 

10.  The  rayah  is  obliged  to  work  on  roads  for  a  week  at  a  time,  without  pay  or 
foo.l. 

11.  When  horses  are  required  for  the  army  the  rayah  has  his  animals  taken. 

12.  Wo  cannot  obtain  justice  in  a  court  composed  of  savage  Turks  and  only  two 
Christians,  who  are  forced  to  consent  even  to  the  death  of  the  most  honest  Christians. 

13.  If  a  poor  Christian  resists  forced  labour,  or  interferes  to  prevout  his  horse  being 
taken,  he  is  sure  to  bo  beaten  almost  to  death. 

14.  If  a  Christian  take  a  case  into  court,  ho  can  never  got  it  settled  without  bribing 
the  judges  to  ten  times  the  value  of  the  matter  in  dispute. 

15.  Tliere  is  no  security  under  the  Turkisli  Government. 

IG.  If  an  aga  come  to  see  you,  ho  blasphemes  against  the  Cross,  &c. 

17.  A  Turkish  judge  obliged  some  rayahs  to  dry  a  lake  for  him. 

18.  There  is  no  probity  in  the  Turkish  Government ;  its  agents,  being  ill-paid,  commit 
illegal  and  violent  acts. 

19.  Turkish,  which  the  rayahs  do  not  understand,  is  used  in  the  courts. 

20.  Some  rayahs  drained  a  lake,  and  the  Turks  took  the  land  reclaimed  away  from 
them. 

Substitute  Roman  for  Turk,  and  you  have  Judea  in  the  days  of  Christ. 

■■  Even  among  the  Hebrews  this  could  bo  done. — 2  Kings  iv.  1.  The  debts  of  Christ's 
age  were  sometimes  enormous.  Thus,  Cajsar  owed  25,000,000  sestercii  =  .£285,000 
beyond  his  assets.  Mark  Antony,  at  the  ago  of  twenty-four,  6,000,000  sestercii  = 
de(i9,000,  and  fourteen  years  later  40,000,000  sestercii  =  ^6450,000.  Cui-io  owed 
60,000,000  sestercii  =  ^6675,000,  Jlilo  70,000,000  sestercii  =  i825,000.  It  was  a  time 
of  universal  corruption,  the  highest  classes  spending  on  political  bribery  as  much  as  they 
could  in  any  way  get,  to  secure  consulships,  &a.,  by  which,  through  the  plunder  of  their 
governments,  they  might  amass  stupendous  fortunes.  The  lower  classes  catching  the 
infection,  were  equally  unprincipled,  and  the  result  was  the  vanishing  of  capital,  the 
depreciation  of  real  estate,  countless  bankruptcies,  and  an  almost  universal  insolvency 
at  every  political  crisis.  It  was  a  frequent  spectacle  to  see  debtors  pass  into  the  position 
of  dependents  on  their  creditor;  the  humbler  ones  following  in  his  train  like  slaves  ;  the 
greater  ones  watching,  even  in  the  Senate,  his  nod  or  wink,  to  speak  and  vote  as  he 
^vished. —  Mommsen's  Mom.  Gesch.,  iii.  511. 

"  If  a  debtor  failed  to  discharge  his  liabilities  to  the  State,  he  himself,  and  all  that  he 
had,  were  at  once  sold,  without  any  legal  process :  it  was  enough  to  prove  the  debt,  that 
the  State  claimed  it." 

In  private  debts — if  payment  were  not  duly  made,  "  the  king  handed  over  the  debtor 
to  the  creditor,  who  could  lead  him  off,  and  hold  him  as  a  slave.  After  sixty  days, 
during  which  the  debtor  was  exposed  thrice  in  the  market-place,  to  see  if  any  one  would 
take  pity  on  him,  the  creditor  had  the  right  to  put  him  to  death,  and  cut  his  body  in 
pieces,  or  to  sell  him,  with  his  children  and  all  he  had,  into  slavery  to  another  State,  or 
to  hold  him  as  his  own  slave.  Creditors  had,  moreover,  private  dungeons,  which  weie 
no  better  than  living  graves,  and  in  these  they  often  shut  up  their  debtors  for  life. — 
Mommsen,  i.  156.  162.     Things  were  only  too  much  the  same  in  Christ's  day. 


CHAPTER    XLIX. 


•  The  words  (Luke  ix.  54)  "  as  Elias  did,"  are  not  in  the  Sinaitio  or  Vatican  MSS. 
The  fifty-iifth  verse  from  "  and  said,"  and  the  whole  of  the  fifty-sixth  verse,  are 
wanting  in  A.  B.  C.  E.  G.  H.  L.  S.  V.  S.,  and  many  versions.      They  are  therefore  rejected 
by  Lachmann,  Tischondorf,  and  TregeUes. 

'■  5ia  niaov  2a,uaplas  nai  Ta\i?^iJus — between  the  two  countries,  with  Samaria  on  the 
south  and  Galilee  on  the  north. 

°  A  striking  illustration  of  the  intense  hatred  between  the  Pharisees  and  Saddncees, 
was  shown  in  the  reign  of  Alexander  Jannaus  (B.C.  105 — 78).  As  one  of  the  Asmo- 
urcau  line.  Alexander  was  high  priest  as  well  as  king,  and  being  a  Sadducee  in  feeling, 
on  one  occasion  ostentatiously  poured  the  water  brought  daily  from  Siloam  during  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles,  on  the  earth,  beside  the  altar,  instead  of  upon  it,  as  the  Pharisees, 
that  is,  the  Rabbis,  enjoined.  Instantly  the  attendant  priests,  and  the  multitude  around. 


638  NOTES. 

launched  the  citrons  in  their  hands  at  his  head.  Enraged  at  the  insult,  JannfEus  called 
in  his  soldiers,  and  slew  several  thousands  of  the  rioters.  This  was  only  one  instance  of 
the  bitteniess  of  the  feud  between  Sadducee  and  Pharisee.  On  another  oecasion  Jannseus 
crucified  800  of  the  latter. — Derenhourg,  98,  9'J. 

*  Lightfoofs  account  is  picturesque.  "  At  the  close  of  the  first  d.ay  of  the  feast,  they 
went  down  into  the  court  of  the  women,  and  there  prepared  a  great  stage,  the  upper 
part  of  it  for  the  women,  the  lower,  for  men.  There  were  golden  lamps  tlicre,  fixed  to  the 
•wall,  with  cups  of  gold,  below  each  of  which  four  ladders  wero  now  fiel.  Four  young 
priests  forthwith  ascended  with  bottles  of  oil  containing  120  logs  (pints),  which  were 
emptied  into  tho  golden  cup.  ^Vick8  had  been  made  from  tho  old  linen  robes  of  the 
priests,  and  there  was  not  a  street  in  Jerusalem  that  did  not  shine  with  the  lights." 

"  Tho  religious  and  devout  danced  before  the  lamps,  torch  in  hand,  singing  hymns 
and  doxologies.  Tho  Levites,  with  harps,  cymbals,  and  other  instruments,  stood  on  the 
fifteen  steps  leading  to  tho  court  of  tho  men  and  sang.  Two  priests  standing  at  the  gate 
at  the  top  of  the  steps,  now  advanced,  sounding  brave  flourishes,  ever  and  anon,  till  they 
reached  tho  east  gate  of  tho  Temple,"  Ac. — Quoted  by  Lightfoot  (iii.  312),  from  Succafi 
o.  5.  hal.  2. 

•  The  .lews  settled  in  foreign  countries,  wero  divided  by  their  countrymen  in  Palestine 
into  two  great  classes.  The  Jews  of  Babylon — a  general  name  given  to  all  Israelites 
settled  in  tho  East ;  and  the  "  disi>ersed  among  the  Gentiles  " — r]  SiaaTTopa  tuv  'EWijyav 
— the  Greek-speaking  Jews,  living  in  Egypt,  Asia  Minor,  and  other  countries  west 
of  Palestine.  Is  this  an  incidental  proof  that  our  Lord  spoke  Greek  as  llueutly  and 
commonly  as  tho  Syro-Chaldaic  dialect  ? 

'  The  last  day  of  tho  feast  was  called  Hoshanna  Rabba. — Tho  great  Ilosanna.  The 
word  Hosanna  is  made  up  of  tho  two  words,  ny-p^n — Hushia,  "save,"  and  '*^  — 
Da,  "  now  ;  " — and  "  tho  groat  Hosanna  "  is  tlius  equivalent  to  the  great  day  of  prayer, 
because  it  was  specially  devoted  to  prayer  for  the  salvation  of  tho  wliolc  people  and  tho 
remission  of  their  sins,  and  for  tlieir  welfare  through  tho  year,  which  beg.au  with  tho  month 
Tisri.  The  prayers  at  tho  feast  generally,  wore  hence  called  Ilosanna,  and  even  the 
Lulabs  and  willows  borne  by  tho  pilgrims  got  tho  same  name,  from  their  bearers 
shouling  tho  word  from  time  to  time  as  they  went  along. — Biixtorf,  Lex.,  fl!)3. 

The  last  day  of  tho  feast  was  especially  great  as  that  on  which,  as  tho  Rabbis  taught, 
God  made  known  by  tho  look  of  the  moon  and  of  its  rays  His  judgment  respecting  the 
future  of  each  individual  during  tho  new  year  then  just  opened,  and  how  each  had  been 
regarded  by  Him  on  tho  Djiy  of  Atonement  in  reference  to  the  sins  of  tho  year  past. 
Long  details  are  given  in  the  Talmud,  of  tho  astrological  signs  by  which  the  pardon  and 
future  lot  of  individuals  might  bo  read  from  the  heavens  on  this  niglit. 

It  was  held,  also,  that  God  fixed  on  this  day  how  much  rain  was  to  fall  in  the  coming 
year — which  was  tantamount  to  decreeing  ban'cnness  or  fertility. 

Superstition  thus  largely  increased  tho  popular  excitement  as  tho  feast  closed.  Seo 
on  this  whole  subject,  Buxtorf,  Si/n.  Jmlaica,  iiC — 470. 

e  In  the  Book  Sohar  we  find  the  same  metaphor,  fol.  40,  col.  4,  "  When  a  man  turns 
to  God  he  becomes  like  a  spring  of  fresh  living  water,  and  streams  flow  out  from  him  tc 
all  men." 


CHAPTER    L. 

*  Tho  narrative  of  the  woman  taken  in  adultery  (Johnviii.  1 — 11)  is  not  found  in  some 
of  the  MSS.,  but  it  was  circulated  in  various  texts  as  early,  perhaps,  as  the  second, 
certainly  as  tho  third,  century.  Tliere  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  a  genuine  fragment  of 
evangelical  history,  derived  from  some  source  which  we  do  n':it  now  exactly  know,  and 
there  needs  be  no  hesitation  in  adopting  it  as  the  narrative  of  an  incident  in  the  life  of 
Jesus.  For  a  full  statement  of  the  overwhelming  evidence  in  its  favour.  I  would  refer 
to  the  remarks  of  Meyer  (Evan.  d.  Joham.,  273,  274),  and  of  LUcke  and  Rosenmiiller, 
in  toe.    It  is  useless  to  trouble  the  reader  with  dry  details. 

'  "Light  is  the  name  of  the  Messiah." — Talmud,  in  Nork,  177.  See,  also,  Bibel 
Lex.,  iv.  15. 

'  The  middle-age  book  Sohar,  has  a  similar  expression.  He  who  gives  himself  to 
the  undevstanding  of  the  Law  is  a  free  man. —  On.  Numbers,  fol.  73.  2'Jl. 

*  "  Thou  art  a  Cuthite  (a  heathen  from  Cuth),"  said  R.  Naohmann  to  a  Samaritan — 
"no  one  among  us  would  believe  you  as  a  witness  in  any  matter." — Jevahoih,  I.  47.  1. 


NOTES.  639 


CHAPTER     LI. 

*  E"wald  and  otliors  have  supposed  that  Martha  was  the  widow  of  Simon  the  Leper 
(Matt.  ssvi.  6).  Others,  that  Simon  was  her  relation  or  friend  (Grotius,  Kuinoel, 
Ebrard).  Others,  again,  that  ho  was  the  owner,  and  main  tenant  of  the  house.  But  all 
these  conjectures  are  arbitrary  and  unsupported. 

"  irpoaKvvitv — (to  worship)  is  used  by  John  only  of  worship  the  divine  being, 
iv.  ^0  i  xii.  20. 


CHAPTER    LIL 


•  It  had  been  instituted  by  Judas  Maccabieus,  in  B.C.  164,  after  his  great  victories, 
and  was  celebrated  by  illuminations  in  every  Jewish  household  in  the  land,  in  commemo- 
ration, it  was  said,  of  the  legendary  finding,  at  the  first  celebration,  of  a  bottle  of  the  old 
holy  oil,  which  had  miraculously  sufficed  for  the  whole  week's  demands — though  it  is 
more  easy  to  think  of  such  a  display  as  the  natural  expression  of  universal  joy.  The 
Temple  and  every  private  house  in  Jerusalem  were  lighted  up,  within  and  without,  by 
lanterns  and  torches,  every  evening  during  the  eight  days  ;  the  front  of  the  Temple  was 
decked  with  crowns  of  gold  and  golden  shields ;  no  fast  or  mourning  was  allowed,  and 
the  crowds  moved  about  in  all  the  variety  of  Oriental  gala  dress,  bearing  branches 
of  palms  and  other  trees,  and  over  and  anon  filling  the  air  with  their  songs  and 
rejoicings. 

*■  So,  in  B.  L.  X.  and  many  versions.  Adopted  by  Lachmann,  Tischendorf,  and 
Tregelles. 

"  "  (Tui/eSpioc — aiii  together — eSpo,  a  seat — an  assembly,  a  sitting  together." 

'■  Dr.  Thomson  has  an  illustration  of  the  ideas  even  now  in  force  among  the  Jews  as 
to  Sabbath  observance.  "A  Jew  must  not  carry  on  the  Sabbath  even  so  much  as  a 
pocket  handkerchief,  except  within  the  walls  of  his  city.  If  there  are  no  walls  it  follows, 
according  to  their  perverse  logic,  that  he  must  not  carry  it  at  all.  To  avoid  this 
difficulty  here,  in  Safed,  they  resort  to  what  they  call  Eruv.  Poles  aro  set  up  at  the 
end  of  the  streets,  and  strinys  stretched  from  one  to  the  other.  These  sti-iugs  represent 
a  wall,  and  a  conscientious  Jew  may  carry  his  handkerchief  anywhere  within  them.  I 
was  once  amused  by  a  devout  Israelite  who  was  walking  with  me,  on  his  Sabbath,  toward 
that  grove  of  olive-trees  on  the  north  of  the  town,  where  my  tent  was  pitched.  When 
we  came  to  the  end  of  the  street  the  string  was  gone ;  and  so,  by  another  fiction,  he 
supposed  he  was  at  liberty  to  go  on  without  reference  to  what  was  in  his  pocket,  because 
he  had  not  passed  the  icalL 

"  A  profane  and  most  quarrelsome  fellow  once  handed  me  his  watch  to  wind  just  after 
sunset  on  Friday  evening.  It  was  now  his  Sabbath,  and  he  could  not  work." — Land  and 
Book,  275,  276. 

*  Son — not  ass:  vlhs — not  ovos- — Lachmann,  Tischendorf,  Tregelles,  Meyer. 


CHAPTER     LIU. 


•  The  drachma,  in  circulation  in  Palestine,  was  either  the  Grecian,  which  was  -worth 
7i-d.,  or  the  Phenician,  which  was  worth  something  less. 

>>  In  the  vivid  words  of  St.  Luke,  they  "  turned  up  their  noses  "  at  Him  eKii.vKTricrl((iv. 

=  Michaelis  (£»i.  in  die  Schr.  des  N.  B.  2  Th.  p.  1186)  says,  "  The  narrative  of  the 
rich  man  is  not  a  mere  moral  invention,  but  refers  personally  to  the  family  of  Hannas, 
the  high  priest,  and  his  five  sons.  For  the  rich  man  with  his  five  brothers,  who,  like 
himself,  believed  neither  Moses  nor  the  prophets,  and,  as  it  seems,  had  no  fear  of  the 
world  to  come,  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  recognized  in  Jewish  history,  if  one  think  of 
Caiaphas,  the  son-in-law  of  Hannas,  and  on  the  five  sons  of  Hannas  {Ant.  Jos.  xs.  1)  who 
in  succession  held  the  office  of  high  priest,  but  were,  notwithstanding,  all  of  them 
Sadducees."  Striking,  if  it  bo  so,  tha't  Jesus,  in  this  parable,  thus  judged  His  future  judge 
before  the  great  day  ! 

^  (tjr-lia-ovatv — "  seek  "  is  a  weaker  word  than  iyavi(f(r8( — "  strive." 


640  NOTES. 


CHAPTER    LIV. 

»  frTTorriofoo— hypopiadzo  —  fr.  iiro — under — Siifi — ope — the  eye — to  hit  nnder  the  eye 
— to  give  a  black  eye.  The  Vulgate  has  "  sugillet " — to  beat  black  and  blue.  Luther 
has  "  ubertauben  " — to  talk  one  deaf. 

'  The  -words  4k  v(6tt\t6^  fiov — "  from  my  youtli  up  "—are  not  in  the  boat  MSS. 
and  are  disallowed  by  Lachmann,  Tischendorf,  and  Tregellos. 

'  Buxtorf  (p.  1722)  quotes  a  proverb  of  the  Rahbia  which  compares  an  impoaaibility  to 
an  elephant  entoriug  tho  eye  of  a  needle.  See  striking  illustration  in  Furrer,  2U8.  It 
is  also  noticed  in  Dukes,  111). 

'  Tho  Sinaitic  and  V.itican  MSS.  omit  "  for  them  that  trust  in  riches."  Lachmann 
and  Tregellos  omit  these  words.     Tischendorf  retains  them. 

*  ^loKoj'os — diaconos — servant,  minister — is  intensified  in  tho  next  line  to  Sov\os — 
doulos — slave. 

'  duov  X'^P"'"- — Jostplitis. 

"  Bar — Timaeus.  Bar,  "5 — son.  Timsoua  was  a  Greek  name,  though  father  and  sou 
v:ere  evidently  Jews.  Tho  father  must  have  been  afterwards  known  as  a  Christian  to 
cause  his  name  to  have  been  given. 

'  A  mina  Cor  pound')  was  equal  to  100  drachmio.  Each  of  those  waa  nominally  worth 
7Jd.,  but  its  purchasing  value  was  equal  to  perhaps  3s.  4d.  of  our  money.  Tho  sum 
Riven  would,  thus,  be  about  ^3  2fl.  Gd.,  though,  in  reality,  it  was  of  as  nuich  value  then 
as  about  f  17.  boo  Lticly.  of  Bible  (  WeiylUs  and  Measures),  and  Robinson's  Lexicon 
(Art.  jUxS). 


CHAPTER     LV. 


•  Tho  Rabbis,  in  their  extravagance,  maintained  tl]at  the  Messiah  would  rido  on  the 
same  ass  as  carried  tho  wood  of  Isaac's  sacrifice,  which,  itself,  was  tho  foal  of  the  ass 
created  at  tho  beginning  of  tho  world.     See  Eisenmengor,  ii.  GU7. 

'  Quoted  as  usual  from  tho  Greek.    I  give  Augustiand  Do  Wetto's  translation. 

«  BTiflovto— Bethany— "■^  ns.  Bcthphage— "JP  f?  or  53  !^2.  Tho  53  TPag)  is  the 
nnii|io  fig  which  hangs  on  tho  tree  overwinter. — Cant.  ii.  13.  There  are  three  kinds 
of  tigs  in  Palestine: — 

1.  The  early  tig.     Tho  Bokurah  (Bikurim,  the  flrst-fraita  O";:?).    After  a  gentle 

winter  it  ripens  at  the  end  of  Juno,  but,  perhaps  earlior,  round  Jerusalem. 

2.  The  summer  fig  (Kermus — Arab.). 

It  ripens  in  August,  and  is  dried  and  made  into  cakes,  A-c,  to  preserve  it. 
It  forms  tho  main  crop. 
8.  The  Pag  (The  winter  iig,  or  unripe  fig).  It  ripens  only  after  the  leaves  have 
fallen,  and  after  gentle  winters  hangs  on  tho  tree  till  next  spring. — 
Winer,  Heal  ]V.  B.,  Art.  "Feigenbaum."  Tobler,  DenlMutlcr,  atis  Jems. 
101—103.     Ewald,  V.  523.   Bleek,  312.    Land  and  Book,  SiO.   Tristram,  352. 

iS  Force  of  the  word  used,  \iKiidu. 


CHAPTER    LVI. 

"  Tischendorf  rejects  the  words  "and  with  all  the  soul."     Lachmann  puts  them  in 
brackets. 


641 


CHAPTER      LVIL 

•■  The  lepton  TTas  the  eighth  of  an  as ;  the  as,  the  tenth  part  of  a  denarius. 

'  At  that  time  wars  will  rise  on  the  earth  ;  nation  will  be  against  nation  and  city 
against  city  ;  many  troubles  shall  come  on  the  enemies  of  Israel. — Soha>-  Chadash, 
f.  8.  4. 

If  then  seest  kingdoms  rising  against  kingdoms,  then  watch  and  look  for  the  footstep 
of  the  Messiah.- — Beresch.  Ralibn,  42  f.  41."1. 

°  Deceitful  and  designing  men,  under  the  pretence  of  inspiration,  plotted  innovations 
and  revolutions  in  the  government  of  the  country,  and  misled  the  multitude,  till  they 
got  them  worked  up  to  behave  like  madmen. — Joseph.  Bell.  Jud.,  ii.  13.  4. 

*  "  Hie  locus  est,  partes  ubi  se  via  Cndit  in  ambas 
Destera,  qua)  Ditis  magni  sub  mcenia  tendit; 
Hac  iter  Elysium  nobis  :  at  l.Tva  maloruni 
Esercet  poenas,  et  ad  impia  Tartara  mittit." 

—  Virg.  jSn.  vi.  542—545. 


CHAPTER    LVIII. 


•  Three  hundred  pence  is  the  very  sum  stated  by  Pliny  {Nat.  Sist.  xii.  12).  At  six 
times  their  nominal  value  in  that  day,  which  would,  perhaps,  be  near  their  equivalent 
now,  three  hundred  pence  would  be  equal  to  about  £60. — Liyhtfoot,  Hor.  Heb.  ii.  448. 
Winer,  Art.  "  Narde." 

'  yivoiiivov — in  B.  L.  X.,  <t"c.,  adopted  by  Tischendorf  and  Tregelles.  The  present 
participle  harmonizes  the  account  with  that  of  the  other  Evangelists. 

'  Charoseth — '"?''"?': — was  a  dish  composed  of  dates,  figs,  &c.,  of  a  brick  colour,  to 
remind  them  of  the  bricks  and  mortar  of  Egypt.  Bustcrf  says  it  was  of  dry  dates,  or  figs, 
or  dried  grapes,  and  the  like,  pounded  and  made  up  with  vinegar,  &c. — Lex. I'alm.  SSI. 
The  dish  itself  {rpvfiKloi/)  was  for  liquids,  and  held  about  half  a  pint. — Dicty.  of 
Antiquities. 


CHAPTER    LIX. 

"  "  Ter  limen  tetigi,  ter  sum  rovocatus ;  et  ipse 
Indulgens  animo  pes  mihi  tardus  erat. 
Saepe,  valedicto,  rursus  sum  multa  locutus, 
Sa>pe  eadem  mandata  dedi." — Vvid,  Ti-ist.  i.  3.  55  f. 

*  The  Greek  words  translated  in  our  version  "  because  I  go  to  the  Father,"  are  omitted 
by  Tischendorf  and  Tregelles.     They  are  wanting  in  B.  D.  L.  and  in  many  versiona. 


CHAPTER    LX. 

•  If  the  name  Zion  be  correctly  given  to  the  hill  west  of  Moriah.  Lieut.  Conder 
thinks  it  was  a  hill  one  and  three  quarter  miles  west  from  the  Jaffa  gate. — Pal.  Repts., 
Jatiirart/,  1S77,  p.  21. 

Dean  Stanley,  also,  has  questioned  the  correctness  of  the  present  use  of  the  name. 

'  A  cohort  was  500  men.  A  "  band  " — possibly  a  maniple,  the  third  of  the  cohort 
though  the  name  is  sometimes  given  to  even  a  smaller  number, — is  named  by 
St.  John,  xviii.  3. 

A  chiliarch — the  title  used  by  St.  John— is  the  Greek  equivalent  of  a  "tribune  of  the 
soldiers" — tribunus  militum.  It  means,  literally  "  the  commander  of  a  thousand."  There 
were  six  in  a  legion  of  from  five  to  sis  thousand  men,  bo  that  a  chiliarch  or  tribune  was 
equivalent  to  oui-  lieutenaDt-colonel. 

VOL.    II.  SO 


642  NOTES. 

It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  tbat  the  word  (nrilpa  (spoira)  translated  *'  a  band  **  in  our 
version  is  gonorally  used  as  the  equivalent  of  the  term  "cohort,"  so  that  it  is  not 
impossible  that  a  large  force  was  sent  to  Gothsemane,  under  a  superior  officer,  in  case  of 
an  attempt  at  rescue.  See  Diet,  of  Antiquities,  Art.  "Exercitua."  Also  Wahl, 
SciileuBner,  and  Robinson's  Lexicons  nf  the  Greek  Tost. 


CHAPTER    LXI. 

•  So  translated  in  the  Vuljrate,  in  Luther's  German  version,  and  in  Davidson's 
Tischcndorf.  Even  in  the  translation  used  in  our  own  versiou,  however,  it  is  the 
common  Rabbinical  form  of  clear  aflirmaticn.  The  Divine  JIajosty  is  spoken  of  by 
Josus  as  "The  Power" — an  abstraction  current  among  the  Rabbis, and  seen, yet,  in  the 
Tahuud.— Zi«x<.  Lejc.  385. 


CHAl'TER     LSIL 

•  There  is  thought  to  be  a  difficulty  in  connection  with  John's  words  (xviii.  28), which 
seem  as  if  tho  Passover  had  not  yet  come.  The  fullest  and  best  discussion  of  the  point, 
so  far  as  I  have  seen,  is  that  in  McClellan's  New  Testament,  48G,  ff.  (Slacmillan,  1875). 
Strange  to  say,  Paulus  (iii.  220)  takes  the  view  I  have  given,  though  Meyer  and 
De  Wette.  not  to  mention  Alford,  and  Canon  Westcott.  think  the  Passover  was  yet  future. 
The  old  Law  required  those  who  were  to  partake  of  a  feast  to  be  Levitically  clean  for 
three  days  before,  but  the  three  days  had  been  latterly  shortened  to  one. — EwaliTs 
Alterlliiimer,  143.     LutlumWs  Evan.  Job.  ii.  392. 

^  Herod  raised  his  "judgment  seat"  in  the  theatre. — Jos.  Ant.  xvii.  C.  3.  Philip,  on 
the  highways. — xviii.  4.  6.  Agripjia  I.  before  the  people. — Acts  xii.  4.  Pilate,  in  the 
circus. — Bell.  Jud.  ii.  9.  3.     Florus,  before  the  palace,  in  Jerusalem. — ii.  14.  8. 

<:  From  ";?? — a  hill. — Buxt.  377.  Compare  our  English  word,  gibbous— convex, 
hump- backed.  Tho  name  "Pavement"  XiOSarpuTov — was  a  tessolatod  pavement  of 
different  colours,  on  which  Roman  prastcrs  and  i>rocurators  had  their  Benia  (|S?)/ia"),  or 
official  chair,  as  judges,  set.  Caisur  caiTied  with  bim,  on  his  campaigns,  such  a 
pavement. 

''  The  word  is  \aimp6i — which  is  translated  in  onr  version — here  (Luke  xxiii.  11), 
gorgeous.  Of  angole'  robes  and  of  the  morning  star  (Acts  x.  30.  Rev.  xxii.  IG),  brit/ht. 
James  ii.  2,  good/i/  apparel.  James  ii.  3,  r/u;/  clothing.  Rev.  xv.  G;  six.  8,  tu/iite 
linen.     Rev.  xviii.  14,  i/ootl/y  fruits.    Rev.  xxii.  1,  clear  as  crystaL 

•  Bar  Abbas.     Tho  Son  of  a  Father,  i.e.,  of  a  Rabbi. 

'  In  tho  Vatican  and  corrected  Sinaitic — the  word  (xbiilcaiTes — stripped — put  off — is 
rightly  changed  into  iMaayres — clothed — put  on.  He  had  been  entirely  stripped,  to 
be  scourged. 

'  Matthew  (xxvii.  45),  Mark  (xv.  25),  and  Luke  (xxiii.  44)  agree  in  saying  that  it 
was  the  third  hour  (from  6  a.m.)  when  Jesus  was  finally  given  up  for  execution.  John, 
on  the  other  hand  (xix.  14)  says  it  was  about  the  sixth  hour  (12  noon).  But  without 
any  laboured  theory  about  difference  of  calculation,  how  easily,  as  Liicke  remarks 
(ii.  488),  might  the  Greek  numeral  r  (y)=3  have  been  changed  by  accident  into  2 
( s')=G — in  the  MSS.  of  John's  Gospel,  f  i  om  which  ours  have  been  copied.  But  even  this 
is  not  needed,  for  as  Ewald  (v.  574)  points  out,  John  likely  speaks  of  the  time  of  the 
actual  nailing  to  tho  cross,  tho  other  evangehsts  of  the  starting  to  it.  The  preparations, 
the  march,  &c.,  &c.,  may  well  have  taken  up  the  interval  till  noon. 


CHAPTER    LXIIL 


•  In  Acts  i.  18,  it  is  said  that  Judas  bought  the  field :  in  Matthew,  that  the  priests 
bought  it.  The  apparent  difficulty  is  simply  a  mistranslation  of  the  word — (KT-haaro — 
in  Acts.     Schleusner  {Lex.)  and  RosenmiiUer  {fic/iolia—Acts  i.  18)  rightly  explain  it  as 


NOTES.  643 

meaning   "Judas,   by  his   unholy   reward,  afforded   the   means   of   buying  the  spot." 
Schleusner  quotes  an  apt  illustration  from  Josephus. — Ant.  Jud.  ix.  8,  3. 

■i  (The  Jews)  first  put  the  condemned  person  to  death,  and  then  hanged  him  on  a  tree, 
but  the  custom  of  tlio  (Roman)  Empire  is  first  to  hang  (crucify)  them,  and  then  put  them 
to  death. — Sanhed.  in  Geniara,  quoted  by  Lightfoot,  ii.  3U5. 

"  Qfiinct.  Deri,  274.  Thus,  when  we  crucify  criminals,  the  most  frequented  roads  are 
selected,  where  the  multitude  may  see  everything,  and  be  struck  with  fright  at  the  lesson. 
See,  also.  Matt,  xsvii.  Si). 

■*  Ease  and  Jleyer  distrust  the  proofs  of  any  covering,  and  the  Fathers,  Athanasius, 
Ambrose,  and  Origen,  speak  of  entire  nudity.  The  body-cloth  seems  to  have  been 
restricted  to  inflictions  of  death  by  the  Jews.  The  Romans  had  no  such  tenderness. 
Polycarp  was  martyred  entirely  naked. — Eus.  iv.  5.  The  soldiers  would  hardly  lose  any 
part  of  their  perquisites  of  the  clothes  for  the  sake  of  delicacy.  The  Jews,  like  the 
Romans,  stripped  those  about  to  be  put  to  death ;  but  the  Mischna  prescribes  that  a  person 
crucified,  is  to  wear  a  cloth  round  his  loins. — i'e/)/'>  '^i-  ^^^-  Schenkel  (306)  thinks  that 
Jesus  was  stripped  entirely  naked.  Hug,  quoted  by  Winer,  was  of  Sepp's  opinion. — 
Kreiaigimg,  R.  W.  B.  Keim  (iii.  415)  also  thinks  crucified  persons  were  stripped  en- 
tirely naked. 

'  The  triple  inscription  on  the  Cross  was,  probably,  very  nearly  as  under.  The 
Aramaic — Jesus,  the  Nazarene,  King  of  the  Jews.  The  Greek — Tius  is  Jesus,  the 
King  of  the  Jews.    The  Latin — -The  King  of  the  Jews. 


Oi/Tos  finiv  Itjo-ous  o  j3o(n\fus  tuv  \o\ihamv. 
Rex  Judjeorum. 


'  It  is  impossible  to  know   in  what  sense  our  Lord  used  this  word.     The  dying  thief, 
however,  would  doubtless  understand  it  in  the  sense  in  which  his  nation  then  used  it. 


8  It  is  impossible  to  explain  the  origin  of  this  darkness.  The  Passover  moon  was  then 
at  tho  full,  so  that  it  could  not  have  been  an  eclipse.  The  earlier  Fathers,  relying  on  a 
notice  of  an  eclipse  that  seemed  to  coincide  in  time,  though  it  really  did  not,  fancied  that 
the  darkness  was  caused  by  it,  but  incorrectly.  Paulus  thinks  it  was  the  darkness 
preceding  an  earthquake.     Meyer,  that  it  was  supernatural. 

•■  For  ""r!? — He  uses  the  Aramaic  '''l-^     For  "'T'?"  3'. — the  Aramaic  "'^H?^'? 

'  Dr.  Walshe,  quoted  by  Sir  James  Y.  Simpson,  in  Hanna,  337.  See,  also,  Sepp,  vi.  394. 
Ewald's  Geschichte,  v.  584.  Stroud  on  The  Physical  Cause  of  the  Death  of  Christ,  London 
1847,  pp.  94  ff,  and  3'JU  ff. 

k  'iTa'j^y  fl"; — Baith  Olamo — his  everlasting  house. — Eccles.  xii.  5.  0^15'  ".'D — ever- 
lasting life. — Dan.  xii.  2. 


CHAPTER    LXIV. 

'  The  words  "  and  of  a  honey-comb  "  are  omitted  by  Tischendorf  and  Lachmann,  and 
put  in  brackets  by  Trcgelles. 


INDEX 


645 


IT^DEX. 


Abraham,  Christ  was  before,  ii.  307 ;  Jews 

not    children   of,    but   of   devil,   305 ; 

rejoicing  to  see  Christ's  day,  307. 
Abyss,  meaning  of  term,  ii.  621). 
Actium,  battle  of,  i.  2-17. 
Adultery,  -woman  taken  in,   ii.  296,  297, 

638. 
Age  of  children  in  schools,  i.  173  ;  respect 

to,  566. 
Agony    and    bloody-sweat    of    Christ    in 

Gethsemane,  ii.  508,  509. 
Agrippa  I.,  life  of,  in  Palestine,  i.  355. 
Akrabbim,  heights  of,  i.  5S5. 
Alexander  and  Aristobulus,  sons  of  Mari- 

amne,  at  Rome,  i.  57 ;  plots  against, 

57. 
Alexandra,   mother  of  Mariamne,  i.  45^ 

49. 
Almighty,  voice  of  the,  ii.  252,  253. 
Almsgiving,  ii.  80. 
Alphjeus,  the  name,  i.  575. 
Amestris,  wife  of  Xerxes,  i.  431 ;  shocking 

demand  of,  431. 
Andrew,  St.,  i.  464;  special  notice  of,  ii. 

49. 
Anna,  legend  of,  i.  111. 
Anna;  the  Prophetess,  i.  133. 
Anointing  with  oil  for  sickness,  ii.  631. 
Antigonus,  i.  38,  40,  41. 
Antipas,  Herod,  i.  157;  birthday  feast  of, 

429  ;   at  Tiberias,  palace  of,  ii.  182 ; 

Christ's  danger  from  superstition,  &c. 

of,  213,214;  palace  of,  in  Jerusalem, 

500  ;  Jesus  brought  before,  541,  542  ; 

intrigues  of,  ii.  622. 
Antipater,  father  of  Herod,  i.  29—33  ;  son 

of  Herod  and  Doris,  35,  58,  63. 
Antony,  Mark,  i.  30,  34,  36,  37,  41,  44— 

48. 
Apocryphal  Books,  age  of,  i.  573. 
Apologue,  Indian,  i.  479. 
Apostle,  Jewish  equivalent  of  term,  ii.  630. 
Archelaus,  and  the  people    after  Herod's 

death,  i.  263  ;  and  Antipas'  canvass  in 

Rome  for  the  honour  of  being  king, 

264  ;  made  Ethnarch  by  Cajsar,  265 ; 

cruel  nature,  &c.  of,  272. 
Aristobulus  murdered,  i.  45. 
Ariston,  the,  or  breakfast,  ii.  626. 
Ascension  of  Jesus,  ii.  607. 


Ascetic  restrictions  at  table  not  rec|.tured 

by  Christ,  ii.  129. 
Asceticism,  contrary  to  New  Kingdom  of 

God,  ii.  37. 
Asmoneans,  palace  of  the,  ii.  540. 
Astrology,   Eastern,   i.  142,   143;  Jewish, 

145;    ii.    638;     Old  English,  i.  146 ; 

Babylonian,  ii.  562. 
Astronomer,  story  of  a,  i.  563. 
Atonement,  preparation  for  day  of,  i.  235 ; 

forgiveness  of  offences  before,  ii.  636. 
Augustine,  sermon  of,  i.  561. 
Augustus,  i.  49. 

Auranitis  or  Hauran,  plateau  of,  i.  321. 
Authorities,  chief,   of   the   Synagogue,  i 

188 ;  ii.  629. 


B 

Babylon,  nranber  of  Jews  who  returned 
from,  i.  65. 

Babylonian  Jews,  i.  140. 

Balaam,  legends  of,  i.  149. 

Baptism,  introduction  of,  by  John,  i.  511. 

Baptist,  food  of  the,  i.  374 ;  motives  of  the, 
in  going  into  the  wilderness,  377, 
380 ;  elevation  of  mind,  378  ;  Life 
of  the,  in  wilderness,  379 ;  institutes 
baptism,  394.  395 ;  excitement  to 
hear  the,  397  —  399;  effect  of  his 
preaching,  400 ;  his  preparation  for 
God's  kingdom,  401 ;  rebukes  Phari- 
sees and  Sadducees,  402;  contrast  of 
his  teaching  to  the  Babinnical  doc- 
trine, 403  ;  preaching  of,  404,  408  ; 
character  of,  405  ;  still  a  Jew,  406 ; 
work  of,  407 ;  attitude  of  authorities 
towards,  409;  at  Enon,  410;  Jesus 
goes  to  the,  410;  his  Messianic  ideas, 
411;  recognizes  Jesus  as  Messiah, 
412  ;  after-life  of  the,  415  ;  imprison- 
ment of  the,  416,  419;  testimony  of, 
to  Christ,  416  ;  -Antipas'  reasons  for 
imprisoning  the,  420  ;  the,  before 
Antipas,  421  ;  Herodias'  curiosity  to 
see  the,  423 ;  execution  of,  by  Antipas, 
431 ;  witness  of,  to  Jesus,  458. 

Barabbas,  Pilate  asked  to  free,  ii.  543. 

Barley,  the  disciples  pluck,  on  Sabbath, 
ii.  103. 

Bartholomew,  ii.  49. 


G46' 


INDEX. 


BartimoeuB,  Blind,  cured,  ii.  386. 

Bath  Kol,  the,  ii.  631. 

Bathing,  euro  for  various  diseases,  ii.  92  ; 
before  eating,  ii.  148. 

Bazaar,  Great,  in  Jerusalem,  i.  222. 

Beatitudes,  ii.  58,  59. 

Beds,  Eastern,  ii.  613. 

Beelzebub,  meaning  of.  ii.  141,  623. 

Bethabara,  site  of,  i.  578. 

Bethany,  ii.309,  310;  Christ  enters,  392. 

Bethosda,  pool  of,  ii.  92,  93:  waters  of,  97. 

Bethlehem,  i.  1 19 ;  massacre  at,  149 ; 
population  of,  558. 

Bethsaida,  town  of  Philip,  Peter,  and 
Andrew,  i.  578  ;  Christ  in,  ii.  185. 

Betrothal  among  Jews,  i.  105. 

"  Bind  and  Loose,"  meaning  of,  ii.  634. 

Blasphemed,  belief  that  Christ  had,  ii. 
291,  292. 

Blasphemy,  accusation  of,  ii.  26  ;  of  Rab- 
bis against  the  Divine  Spirit,  143. 

Blind,  two,  men  receive  sight,  ii.  170; 
healed,  233 ;  man  healed,  miracle  of, 
316—318 ;  cure  of,  by  Cbeselden, 
634. 

Bottles,  leathern,  ii.  613,  614. 

Bread,  the  true,  ii.  193— 1U5. 

Brother,  patience  to  be  shown  towards 
guilty,  ii.  273,  274. 

Buri.al,  uncleanliness  of  Jews  after  a,  ii. 
576 ;  of  Christ,  578 ;  hurriedness  of 
Jewish,  623 ;  attendance  at,  a  duty, 
623 ;  ceremonies  at,  629. 


0»9ar,  Julius,  at  Catiline's  trial,  i.  28 ; 
struggle  with  Pompey,  31 ;  in  Egypt, 
31;  murder  of,  34;  immunities 
granted  to  Jews  by,  32,  56. 

Csesarea,  i.  ]!'>\  ;  capital  of  Roman  pro- 
curatorship,  586  ;  Philippi,  ii.  234, 235. 

Caiajihas  the  high  priest,  ii.  501 ;  speech 
of,  to  council,  336  ;  high  priest,  336  ; 
and  Hannas  demand  the  crucifixion 
of  Jesus,  554. 

Calendar,  Jewish  Ecclesiastical,  i.  199. 

"  Call,"  the,  to  the  first  Apostles,  ii.  1. 

Camols'  hair,  dress  of,  and  of  sackcloth,  i 
576. 

Oana  of  Galilee,  i.  468,  471,  473;  marriage 
at,  472 — 477  ;  homo  of  Nathanael,  578 ; 
site  of,  582 ;  traditions  respecting  the 
marriage  in,  582. 

Capernaum,  circuits  from,  ii.  12  ;  descrip- 
tion of,  i.  484,  485;  ii.  2,  22,  263- 
Jesus  makes  His  home  in,  i.  4S9  • 
reasons  of  Jesus  for  choosing  Caper- 
naum as  His  home,  492,  493;  stay 
of  Jesus  in,  493  ;  site  of,  582 ;  Christ's 
"  coming  down  to,"  587 ;  left  on  ac- 
count of  rage  and  intrigues  of  Rabbis, 
ij.  159;  Christ  returns  to,  165; 
crowds  waiting  to  be  healed,  190 ; 
Christ's  visit  to,  260 ;  origin  of  name! 
609.  ' 

Captivity,  revival  of  religious  earnestness 
during  the,  i.  64. 


Caravan,  Galilzean,  to  feast  in  Jerusalem, 
ii.  280. 

Carlyle  on  Jesus  Christ,  i.  2. 

Caste,  sweeping  away  of,  ii,  211. 

Caverns  of  Gadara,  ii.  163. 

Caves  used  for  houses,  i.  121,  135. 

Census  of  people  taken  by  Quirinius,  i. 
278;  of  Quirinius,  557;  of  Roman 
Empire,  i.  115  ;  of  Judea,  116. 

Centurion,  the,  believes  in  Christ's  divine 
power,  ii.  572,  573 ;  servant  of  the, 
healed.  111. 

Ceremonial  defilement,  dread  of,  i.  325. 

Ceremonial  purity,  i.  246,  249. 

Channing  on  Jesus  Christ,  i.  2. 

"  Charoseth,"  meaning  of  term,  ii.  641. 

Children  brought  to  the  Rabbis  to  be 
blessed,  ii.  373;  blessed  by  Christ, 
373 ;  Christ's  love  of,  269 ;  desire  for 
among  Jews,  i.  95. 

Chorazin,  Christ  denounces  the  perversity 
of,  ii.  119. 

Christ,  opinions  of  great  men  respecting, 
i.  1 — 4;  Mohammedan  title  of,  1; 
religious  revolution  effected  by,  5 ; 
unselfishness  of,  5  ;  never  owns  sin,  6  ; 
awful  claims  of,  6;  character  of,  6; 
conception  of  God,  6 ;  novelty  of  His 
teaching,  7;  on  God,  8  ;  on  the  brother- 
hood of  man,  9  ;  visit  to  .Jerusalem  at 
the  time  of  the  Passover,  205;  in 
temple  with  the  Rabbis,  226  ;  growth 
of,  231 ;  first  teachers  of,  238  ;  know- 
ledge of  Scrij)tures,  239 ;  sojourn  of, 
in  Xazareth,  240  ;  birth  of,  121 ;  date 
of  birth  of,  121;  legends  of  birth  of, 
122 ;  vision  of  angels  at  birth  of, 
123;  height  of,  579 ;  majestic  appear- 
ance, 579;  His  dress,  579;  our  im- 
perfect knowledge  of  '■  His  many 
mighty  works,"  o87 ;  to  be  revealed 
in  Galilee,  588 ;  prejudices  against,  in- 
difference to,  ii.  29 ;  position  of  towards 
the  Rabbis,  33 ;  the  Friend  of  sinners, 
33  ;  no  respecter  of  persons,  36  ;  king- 
dom founded  on  self-denial  and  self- 
sacrifice,  39 ;  ignores  ritual  and  cere- 
monial law,  iS9 ;  preaching,  originality 
of,  40 ;  nobility  of  character  of,  41 ; 
grace,  love,  and  kingliness  of,  42  ;  self- 
abrogation  required  by,  in  His  disciples, 
43 ;  bearing  towards  His  disciples,  50  ; 
minute  acquaintance  with  opinions  of 
different  schools,  53,  56 ;  new  religious 
era  of  universal  love  created  by,  77 ; 
spiritual  not  political  religion  of,  78, 79 ; 
universal  love,  deep  religious  ground 
for,  87 ;  warnings,  solemn,  to  beware 
of  false  teachers,  87 ;  teaching,  origin- 
ality and  independence  of,  89;  teach- 
ing, astonishment  of  the  people  at, 
89  ;  sayings  and  deeds  perverted  to 
evil,  05  ;  answer  to  the  disciples  of 
John,  114;  eulogy  of,  on  John  the 
Baptist,  115;  acknowledges  John  as 
**  the  Elias  who  was  to  come,"  116; 
much  depressed  inspirit.  117;  com- 
pares the  coming  of  John  "with  His 
own,  118;  New  Kingdom  to  rest  on 
simple  faith  and   humble  love,  119; 


647 


reveals  His  nature  and  relation  to  the 
Eternal,   120 ;    calls  the    weary   and 
heavy     laden    to     Him,    121 ;     feet 
anointed   by  the   •woman    in  Simon's 
house,     124 ;     charge    of    blasphemy 
raised   against,   for    claiming  to  for- 
give sins,  126  ;  entertained  as  a  Rabbi, 
126 ;  mission   to   tlie  towns  and  vil. 
lages  of  Galileo,  126  ;  poverty  of,  and 
His  disciples,  130 ;  supported  by  hos- 
pitality, 130 ;    always  with  disciples, 
131  ;  simplicity  of  mode   of  life,  131  ; 
yoke   of,   light,  136;  sign   demanded 
of,  as  proof  of   His   claims,  \H;   su- 
periority of,  to  Rabbis,  149  ;  rejection 
of,    by   leaders   of   tlio    nation,    151  ; 
turning  point  in  life,  ii.  153;  falls  asleep 
in  the  boat,  161 ;  charge  of  blasphemy 
against,   170;    preaches  in  Nazareth, 
174  ;  cast  out  of  the  synagogue,  175  ; 
extent  of  missionary  circuit,  176;  di- 
rections  to    the    Twelve,  when  they 
started  on  mission,  ISl,  182;  specula- 
tioi;3  concerning,  213,   214  ;  irony  of, 
to    His    tempters   for    a    sign,   221) ; 
Peter's    unconscious    temptation    of, 
245 ;  loftiness  of  spiritual  nature  of, 
277  ;  lesson  of  universal  charity,  285 ; 
dignity  and  humility  of,  287 ;  astonish- 
ing learning  of,  288 ;  proves  that  He 
was  taught  of  God,  289  ;  indignation 
of  people  at,  29 1 ;    His  testimony  re- 
fused as  without  witnesses,  299,  300; 
foretells  His  death,  301 ;  convincing 
dignity,  302,  303  ;  reference  to  spread 
of    His    Kingdom,    302 ;    attempt   to 
stone,  308  ;  openly  confessed  by  blind 
man,  320;  worshipped  by  blind  man, 
320 :     reproaches     the    Rabbis    with 
spiritual  blindness,  321 ;  enforces  the 
idea    that    the    heathen    shall    enter 
heaven,   324 ;    crosses  the  Jordan  to 
Perea,    327 ;     withdraws     from    the 
Temple,  327;    gathers  crowds  round 
Him  in  Perea,  328 ;  nature  of  assem- 
bly by  whom    tried,  335  ;  retires   to 
Ephraim,  336  ;  enthusiasm  of  the  peo- 
ple for   the  teaching  of,  3S7  ;   leaves 
Ephraim,   337;    cures  a    woman    on 
the  Sabbath,  338 ;  relates  the  Parable 
of  the  Great  Supper,  342 ;  character 
of  new   religion,   preached   by,   343  ; 
anxiety   of,   that   the   people    should 
know    nature    of    His   mission,   345 ; 
warns  those  around  to  consider  well 
before  becoming  His  followers,  345  ; 
character  of  crowds  gathered  round, 
347  ;  hailed  by  the  people  as  a  Rabbi, 
no  respecter  of  persons,  347  ;  outrages 
established  laws  of  privilege,  (fee,  348  ; 
title  of,  nailed  to  Cross,  564;  agony  of, 
on  the  Cross,  565,  oiJG  ;  death  of,  571, 
572  ;  removal  of,  from  the  Cross,  577  ; 
is   buried   in  the  tomb  of  Joseph  of 
Arimathoa,  578;  testimony  of  Scrip- 
ture respecting,  594  ;  parting  counsels 
of,  595  ;   appears  on    a   mountain  to 
the    assembled  people,    604 ;    opinion 
of  Josephus  on,  641 ;  religion  bi'foro 
advent  of,  615. 


Christian  Republic,   declaration   of   prin- 
ciples and  laws  of,  ii.  53. 
Christianity,  founded  in  direct  opposition 
to  customs,  formula),  ii.  54;    funda- 
mental principles  of,  i.  7  ;  the  noblest 
truth  of,  ii.  7d ;  Baur  on,  618 ;  origi- 
nality of,  618,  619. 
Chronology,  from  B.C.  69 — B.C.  37,  i.  548  ; 
not  strictly  followed  regarding  Christ's 
movements,  ii.  110. 
Cicero  on  Philosophy,  i.  547. 
Cipher  for  the  names  of  God  and  angels, 

ii.  139. 
Circumcision,   must    be    on    eighth   day, 

i.  176. 
Civilization,  advance  of  Roman,  i.  388. 
Class-hatreds  amongst  the  Jews,  ii.  77. 
Claudius,  famine  in  time  of,  ii.  208,  209 ; 

the  poet,  on  Jesus  Christ,  i.  2. 
Cleanliness,   Levitical,   ii.  333,   631 ;    the 

Scriptures  defiling  the  hands,  65. 
Cleopatra,  Queen  of  Egvpt,  i.  32,  36,  37, 

41,  46,  47,  48. 
"  Cloak  and  Coat,"  ii.  617. 
Coins,  value  of   Roman,  i.  571 ;    symbols 

on,  572. 

Confession,  confirmation  of  Peter's,  ii.  253. 

Conscience,  freedom  of,  taught  by  Christ, 

ii.  107 ;  right  of,  denied  in  antiquity, 

i.  10. 

Conservatism,  Jewish,  on  the  decline,  ii. 

108. 
Contrast  between  old  and  new  kingdoms, 

ii.  71. 
"  Corban,"  tho  word,  ii.  617. 
Corn,  ttie  disciples  pluck,  on  Sabbath,  ii. 

102. 
Council,  rage  of,  at  Christ,  ii.  319. 
Counsels  to  the  young,  i.  181. 
Country,  aspect  of,  in  April,  i.  494. 
Court  of  Herod  at  Jerusalem,  i.  49. 
Courts,  Jewish,  ii.  616. 
Covetousness,  caution  against,  ii.  151. 
Crassus,  Marcus  Licinius,  i.  578. 
Cross,   Christ  on  the,  ii.  563  ;    agony   of 
Christ   on   the,    563;    title   of   Jesus 
nailed  to,  564 ;  Pilate  and  tho  inscrip- 
tion on  the,  565 ;  removal  of  Christ 
from   the,   577 ;   description    of    the, 
558 ;  Simon,  the  Cyrenian,  compelled 
to  bear  the,  560 ;  inscription  on,  643. 
CrucifiSion,  history  of,  ii.  557;  Jewish  law 
in  connection  with,  573  ;  hour  of,  642  ; 
Jewish  and  Roman,  642  ;  darkness  at, 
643. 
Cure  of  boy  possessed  by  duml)  spirit,  ii. 
256 — 258 ;  of  man  with  impediment 
of  speech,  221 ;  wonderful,  in  Caper- 
naum, 138. 
Cuthites,  tradition  respecting,  i.  586. 
Cyrene,  Jews  in,  ii.  560. 
Cyrus,  i.  64. 


Danger  of  turning  any  from  Christ,  ii.  271. 
Daniel,   Jewish   interpretation   of,  i,  326, 
327. 


648 


Debtors,  treatment  of,  in  antiquity,  ii.  637. 

Debts,  enormous,  in  antiquity,  ii.  637. 

DeC'ipolis,  the,  ii.  220. 

Dotilement,  Jewish  ideas  of,  i.  128. 

Demon,  Christ  cures  man  possessed  of  a, 
ii.  5  ;  Jesus  said  to  be  in  league  with, 
141 ;  man  possessed  witli,  healed, 
164 ;  casting  out  from  dumb  man, 
170;  casiing  out,  from  daughter  of 
Canaanitish  woman,  218,  219  ;  Christ 
accused  of  having  a,  306. 

Demons,  casting  out  of,  by  Jews,  ii.  610  , 
figurative  language  respecting,  624. 

Do  Wetto  on  Christ,  i.  4. 

"  Diakonos,"  the  word,  ii.  636. 

Disciple,  desiro  of  Samaritan  to  be,  ii.  282. 

Disciples,  call  of  the,  ii.  I ;  perplexity  and 
distress  of,  at  breach  of  law,  34 ; 
necessity  of  selecting  a  larger  number 
of,  42  ;  future  work  of  Christ's,  42 ; 
reward,  no  earthly  one  held  out  to, 
43 ;  rejection  of  persons  unfit  to  be, 
43 ;  sincere  enthusiasm  necessary  in 
Christ's,  44 ;  twelve  appointed  as, 
45 ;  reasons  for  Christ's  choosing 
from  the  humbler  classes,  4.5  ;  enume- 
ration of,  46  ;  social  position  of,  47  ; 
alarm  of,  at  Christ's  doctrines,  211; 
necessity  of  confirming,  in  their  faith, 
2.36 — 238  ;  Christ's  preparation  of,  for 
His  violent  death,  243 ;  suflFering,  &i:., 
in  stove  for  Christ's,  246,  247 ;  dis- 
couragement of,  248,  249  ;  failure  of, 
to  work  miracle,  256,  257,  259 ; 
jealousy  amongst  the,  261,  262  ;  not 
to  expect  posts  in  a  temporal  kingdom, 
266—268  ;  powers  for  Church  govern- 
ment given  to  all  the,  275  ;  Christ's 
reproof  of,  for  fanaticism  towards 
Samaritans,  281  ;  complete  surrender 
of  earthly  ties  by,  282  ;  future  reward 
of  the,  378,  379;  journeys  of  the,  381  ; 
speak  of  Christ's  fate,  3S2  ;  counsels 
of  Jesus  to  His,  442— 4.j3;  Christ 
informs,  of  appro.iching  fate,  455 ; 
ask  Jesus  for  directions  respecting 
the  Passover  "Feast,  461,  462;  in- 
ability of  the,  to  interpret  Christ's 
■words,  478,  479;  flight  of  the,  at 
arrest  of  Jesus,  512;  opinions  of  the, 
respecting  Christ's  resuiTection,  589  ; 
Jesus  appears  to  the,  593  ;  astonisli- 
ment  of,  at  appearance  of  Jesus,  596  ; 
second  appearance  of  Jesus  to  tlie, 
598 ;  opinions  of  the,  respecting 
Christ's  stay  on  earth,  599  ;  last 
appearance  of  Jesus  to  the,  605,  606  ; 
equivalent  words,   630. 

Disoipleship,  strict  conditions  of,  ii.  160, 

161. 
Disobedience  to  Christ's  words,  the  foolish- 
ness of,  ii.  89. 
"  Dispersion,"  the  Jewish,  ii.  638. 
Dives,  parable  of,  and  Lazarus,  ii.  356,  357  , 
Parable  of,  explained,  357,  35S. 

Divorce,  the  facility  of,  among  the  Jews, 
ii.  68,  69 ;  debates  of  Rabbis  re- 
specting, 369 ;  Rabbis  ask  Jesus  if, 
is  lawful,  370,  371 ;  Christ  reasons 
■with  the  Pharisees  respecting,  371,372. 


Doctrine  new,  of  Jesus  respecting  obser- 
vance of  Sabbath,  ii.  103. 

Dogs,  Eastern,  ii.  620,  621. 

Doves,  sale  of  by  priests,  i.  561. 

Drag-net,  use  of  the,  ii.  628. 

Dress,  dilTerence  between  that  of  Christ  and 
the  Rabbis,  ii.  128  ;  of  Christ,  135. 

Dress  and  living,  moderation  in,  enjoined 
by  Christ,  ii.  129. 


E 


East,  difference  of  spirit  of,  from  the  West, 

L  176;  houses  of  the  wealthy  in  the, 

ii.  514. 
Ebal  and  Gerizim,  contrast  between,  i.  585. 
Edom,  prophecies  against,  i.  260. 
Edomites,  i.  548. 
Education  among  Jews,  i.  565. 
Egypt,  guilds  of  workmen  in,  i.  151    Jews, 

unpopular  in,  151 ;  iHolatry  of,  152. 
Elders  uf  Synagogue,  ii.  623. 
Elijah,   the  greatest   of   al!    the  prophets, 

ii.  116;  coming  of,  624,  634. 
Engedi,  valley  of,  i.  362 ;  spring  of,  372 ; 

town  of,  37j). 
Enocli,  book  of,  mystifying  influence  of  the, 

on  the  Jews,  i.  334. 
Entertainment  of  Chi'ist  after  day's  labours, 

ii.  131. 
Equivocation,  Christ  speaks  against,  ii.  70. 
Esdraelon,  plain  of,  i.  305. 
Esdras.  fourth  book  of,  Messaianic  ideas, 

i.  338,  339. 
Essenes,  the,  ii.  64 ;  dread  of  defilement, 

i.  863 ;  devotion  to  ceremonies,  3(i4  ; 

rules   of,  &c.,  365;  popular  influence 

of,  369. 
Ethnarch,  meaning  of,  i.  564. 
Evening,  Jewish   calculation   of,   ii.  6.32; 

meal,    manners    of    East   respecting, 

129. 
Exchequer,  Roman  system  of,  i.  571. 
Excitement,   great,  of   people   for  Christ, 

ii.  151. 
Excommunication,  ii.  318,  319. 
Exercise,  schools  of,  i.  5G8. 
Exorcism,  formula  of,  ii.  625. 
Explanations,  innumerable,  of  every  vorse 

of  Bible,  among  Jews,  ii.  89. 


Failure,  Christ's  words  of  warning  against, 

ii.  62. 
Faith,   Christ  compares   the    centurion's, 

with  that  of  the  bigoted  Judeans,  ii. 

Ill ;  want  of,  reproved  by  Jesus,  162. 
False  teachers,  danger  of,  ii.  88. 
Famine  in  Palestine,  i.  53. 
Fanaticism,  religious,  of  Christ's  day,  i. 

539. 
Fasting,  Christ's  opinions   respecting,   ii. 

38  ;  Christ  urges  secret,  82  ;  Roman 

ridicule  of  feigned  humility,  82  ;  till 

after  morning  service  in   synagogue, 

103. 
Fasts,  public  and  private,  ii.  37. 


649 


"  Father,"  applied  to  tho  Ralibia,  i.  580 ; 
*'  Father  ia  Heaven,"  in  Tahnud,  547  ; 
Father,  inquiry  who  was  Christ's,  ii. 
300. 

Feast  of  Dedication,  ii.  325. 

Fever,  endemic,  on  Lake  of  Galilee,  ii.  6. 

fig-trees,  planted  before  houses,  1.  581  ; 
barren,  ii.  401 ;  lesson  on  the  barren, 
404,  405;  different  kinds  of,  640; 
culture  of,  030. 

Fires,  illegality  of  lighting  or  extinguish- 
ing on  the  Sabbath,  ii.  9(>. 

Fish,  the  frequent  symbol  of  early  Chris- 
tian ai-t,  i.  5S8. 

Fishermen,  Christ  visits  the,  on  the  lake 
of  Galilee,  ii.  602—604 ;  on  the  lake 
of  Galilee,  47;  dress  of,  014. 

Fishes,  the  miraculous  draught  of,  ii  602. 

'■Flesh,  to  eat  one"s,"  meaning  of  phrase 
ii.  632. 

Food,  preparation  of,  for  Sabbath,  ii.  97; 
equivocation  of  the  laws  respecting, 
for  Sabbath,  9S ;  preparation  of,  before 
the  Sabbath,  103. 

"  Fool,"  sin  to  use  word,  among  Jews,  ii. 
616. 

Forced  service,  ii.  617. 

Forgiving  sins  of  paralytic,  ii.  24. 

Forty  davs,  Christ's  sojourn  on  earth 
during  the,  ii.  600. 

Fountain  of  the  Virgin,  ii.  93. 

Freedom,  Jewish,  ii.  304. 

Fugitive,  Christ  .a,  from  his  enemies,  ii.  160. 

Funeral,  descripti  n  of  Eastern,  ii.  166; 
of  Lazarus,  330 ;  of  young  man  at 
Nain,  112. 


G 


Gabinius,  Governor-General  of  Syria,  i.  572. 

Gabriel,  appearance  of  to  Zacharias,  i. 
100;  to  Mary,  106. 

Gadara,  town  of,  ii.  162  ;  visit  to,  159,  629. 

Gain  of  Rabbis  from  exorcisms,  ii,  141. 

Galilee,  descripiion  of  Sea  of,  i.  304 ;  de- 
scription of  province,  3P6, 307, 310 ;  life 
and  population  in,  30S;  colonization 
of,  311  ;  in  Christ's  day,  117;  Christ's 
last  visit  to,  ii.  260  ;  Christ's  centre  for 
work,  i.  4S2  ;  chosen  by  Christ  as  His 
future  home,  4S3  ;  description  of,  490  ; 
estimates  of  size  of,  572 ;  nearest  way 
from  to  Jerusalem,  572  ;  Judea  left,  it 
revisited,  ii.  91 ;  population  of,  i.  564; 
roads  of,  164 ;  taxation  of  by  Rome, 
278  ;  customs  and  excise  duties  of, 
280  ;  situation  of  province,  303  ;  work 
in,  virtually  over,  ii.  243. 

Galilee,  lake  of,  causes  of  storms,  ii.  162  ; 
storm  arises,  162  ;  fisheries  on,  609. 

Galilaians,  devotion  of  to  their  countrj-,  i. 
313;  poverty  of,  ii.  624. 

Gaulonit  s,  description  of.  i,  319, 

Gehenna,  meaning  of  word,  ii.  616. 

Gennesareth,  derivation  of  word,  i.  583  ; 
lake  of,  described,  486,  488 ;  valley 
of,  fruits  of  the,  487 ;  appearance  of 
the  shore  of  the,  489  ;  lake  of,  ii.  231. 

Gerizim,  the  sacred  mount,  i.  525,  526. 


Gennanicus  sent  to  Syria,  i.  282. 
Gethsemane,  Christ  in  the  Garden  of,  ii. 

506,  507 ;  foreshadowing  of,  to  Jesus, 

435,  436. 
Glajhyra,   i.    57 ;    Archelans  married  to, 

'  her  death,  273. 
"  Glory  of  the  Lord,"  meaning  of,  i.  559. 
God,  the  Jews'  idea  of,  ii.  73.  74 ;  patience 

of,   towards  all    men,  3G8 ;    new  life 

from,    spiritual  not   ritual,    198;   our 

great  debts  towards,  276,  277. 
Goethe,  on  Jesus  Christ,  i.  2. 
Golgotha,  the  place,  ii.  562. 
Gospel  of  St.  John,  authenticity  of,  i.  580. 
Governor  of  the  feast,  probable   meaning 

of,  i.  582, 
Grace  at  meals,  ii.  032. 
Grave  of  Lazarus,  description  of,  ii.  333 ; 

defilement  from  a,  627. 
Greece,  size  of,  i.  15. 
Greeks,  national  pride  of,  i.  9. 


Haircloth,  garment  of,  i.  577. 

Hannas,  intrigues  and  plotting  of  the  houso 
of,  ii.  501—504. 

Hazan,  the,  i.  565. 

Head,  uncovered,  i.  579. 

Heathenism  in  Palestine  in  Christ's  day, 
i.  51,  53. 

Heaven  Jewi.sh  ideas  of.  ii.  363,  3Gt; 
Jesus  explains  about,  364. 

Hebron,  i.  103. 

Help  g:-anted  by  God  to  those  who  ask  it, 
ii.  85. 

Herder  on  Jesus  Christ,  i.  3. 

Herod  Antipas,  successor  to  Herod  in 
Galileo,  i.  298  ;  repairs  his  kingdom, 
299 ;  strengthens  fortress  of  Jlachae- 
rus,  300  ;  relations  with  Tiberius,  301 ; 
alarmed  by  the  people  who  flocked 
after  Jesus,  and  fears  a  political  rising, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Baptist,  ii.  344  ; 
Judea  in  the  time  of,  346. 

Herod  Boethos,  the  High  Priest,  i.  425. 

Herod  the  Great,  i.  33 — 10 ;  as  king,  43— 
63,  146  ;  effect  of  the  long  reign  of,  on 
Jewish  parties,  342  ;  hatred  of  Jew3 
to,  34,  36;  size  of  his  kingdom,  50; 
marries  the  second  JIariamne,  50 ; 
false  position  of,  55 ;  bounty  in  tho 
time  of  famine,  o(i ;  date  of  death  of, 
151 ;  family  of,  570,  571  ;  successor 
to  the  throne  of ,  26 1 ;  funeral  of,  262. 

Herodians,  the,  ii.  622. 

Herodias,  marriage  of,  i.  424,  426, 427 ;  evil 
results  of  marriage  of,  427,  428. 

Hesbon,  description  of,  i.  316. 

High  Priests,  changes  of,  i.  375  ;  luxury 
and  audacity  of  tho,  345 ;  moral  cor- 
ruption of,  89 ;  robes  of,  kept  by 
Romans,  92. 

High  Priests  on  Day  of  Atonement,  descrip- 
tion of,  i.  101. 

High  Priesthood,  changed  at  Herod's  will, 
i.  150. 

Hillel,  i.  72,  77;  age  and  death  of,  569; 
narrative  of  life,  275. 


650 


INDEX. 


Hillel's  explanation  of  the  whole  law,  ii. 

8«. 
Hillel  and  Selianimai,  schools  of,  iL  205. 
Homicide,  Rabbis  on,  ii.  (ilU. 
Hosanna,  the  great,  li.  6;i8. 
Hospitality    among    .lews,    i.    120,    5.")8  ; 

of    friends    enables    Christ    to    live ; 

Christ  refused,  ii.  281. 
House-top,  uses  of,  ii.  031. 
Houses,  free  to  pilgrims  during  Passover, 

i.  oG8. 
Human  nature  perfect  in  Christ,  ii.  90. 
Humility,  Christ's  love  of,  ii.  271. 
Husbandman  and  vineyard,  parable  of  the, 

ii.  40y,  410;  explanations  of,  ii.  411. 
Hymn,  first  Christian,  ii.  3i)7. 
Hypocritical  righteousness  of  the  Pharisees, 

ii.  64. 
Hyrcanus,  i.   31 — 47,  548;  hatred  to,  for 

his  innovations,  ii.  25. 
Hyrcanus  and  Aristobulus,  civil  war  of, 

i.  207,  2GS. 


Incense  offering  in  Temple,  i.  220. 
Influence  of  the  Synagogue  on  the  people, 

i.  11)7. 
Influential  friends  of  Jesus,  ii.  183. 
Inhumanity  of  bigots,  ii,  114. 
Inquisitors   gentle   and  amiable  in  other 

relations,  ii.  94. 
Insanitv,    manner  in  whi^'h   regarded,  ii. 

103. 
Intolerance,  religions,  ii.  102. 
Irving,  Edward,  on  John,  i.  428. 
Israelite,  daily  religious  life  of,  i.  177, 178. 
Israelites,    pilgrimages,  fusts  of,  &c.,  i. 

17!). 
Iturea,  region  of,  i.  320. 


Jairus,  raising  of  daughter  of,  iL  1G6. 

James,  St.,  i.  4i>0. 

James  and  John,  dreams  of  ambition  of,  ii. 
382—384;  sketch  of  characters  of, 
48. 

Jealousy  of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities, 
ii.  IS;  danger  resulting  from,  19. 

"Jehovah,"  mighty  power  of  word,  with 
Rabbis,  ii.  139^  140. 

Jeriobo,  plain  of,  ii.  384 ;  town  of,  its 
situation,  &c.,  385  ;  a  Levitical  city, 
387. 

Jerusalem,  veneration  of  by  the  Jews,  ii. 
398 ;  siege  of  by  Herod,  i.  41  ; 
heathen  erections  in,  52 ;  appearance 
of,  127;  description  of,  207,  208; 
headquarters  of  the  great  religious 
institutions,  223 ;  during  time  of  the 
Passover,  495;  water  supply  of,  ii. 
91 ;  Christ's  last  journey  towards, 
2C0;  Christ's  love  for,  287;  lament 
of  Jesus  over,  306  ;  during  the  Pass- 
over, 455. 

Jesuits  in  France,  rules,  &c.  of  the,  i. 
570. 


Jesus,  family  of,  i.  848,  819 ;  position 
in  His  household,  350 ;  Mary's  ideas 
concerning,  351;  increasing  faculties 
of,  352;  baptism  of,  414;  baptism 
of.  His  divine  coftsocration,  433,  436 ; 
after  baptism,  434;  retirement  to 
wilderness,  437 ;  tomjitation  of,  in 
wilderncs",  433,  450;  portrait  of, 
451;  fabled  statue  of,  at  Panias, 
452 ;  earliest  conception  of  appear- 
ance of  .Tesus,  453;  images  of,  455; 
description  of,  by  Xicophorus,  455 ; 
by  Lentuhis,  45G;  by  Delitzsch,  457; 
first  disciples,  403  ;  character  of, 
478  ;  age  of,  on  entrance  into 
public  work,  4S1;  popularity  of,  498, 
499,  602 ;  expbiius  His  teaching  to 
Nicodemus,  50();  addresses  the  officers 
of  the  Sanhedrim,  S07;  originality  of 
speech  of,  508  ;  burden  of  His  preach- 
ing in  Judea,  512 ;  cave  of  nativity  of, 
558;  date  of  birth  of,  558;  time  of 
baptism  of,  583;  sojourn  in  Judea, 
315 ;  His  wortis  to  the  woman  at  the 
well,  528,  529 ;  success  in  Samaria, 
531  ;  journeys  to  Galilee,  534  ;  popular 
favour  to%vards,  535,  536 ;  heals  the 
centurion's  servant,  .53(1,537;  retires  to 
the  north,  538 ;  His  call  to  repentance, 
541 ;  first  Galila}an  tour  of,  542  ;  His 
early  disciples,  544,  545;  midnight 
prayer  of,  ii.  3,  10,  45  ;  power  of  the 
preaching  of,  56;  address  in  synagogue, 
at  Capernaum,  4;  cures  all  who  are 
sick  of  divers  diseases,  6 — 8 ;  the 
great  purpose  of,  furthered  by  His 
reniarkaldo  cures,  8  ;  miraculous 
powers  of,  first  instance  of,  10;  re- 
tires to  a  mountain  to  pray,  10,  11  ; 
first  circuit  of,  12;  attraction  of,  to 
poor  and  sorrowful.  7 ;  self-restraint 
of,  9;  life  of,  on  His  journeys,  12; 
pretence  abliorront  to,  82  ;  wish  to 
avoid  attracting  attention,  94  ;  claims 
equality  with  God  His  Fatlicr,  99; 
speaks  in  self-defence,  99 ;  commence- 
ment of  lasting  enmity  towards,  102; 
returns  to  Galilee,  102  ;  entirely 
opposed  to  Rabbinical  ideas  of  a 
Messiah,  108;  withdraws  from  Caper- 
naum, 109  ;  popularity  of,  109  ;  leaves 
Capernaum  for  Xain,  112;  a  "Great 
Habbi."  151 ;  not  a  judge  or  divider 
in  worldly  affairs,  151 ;  sadness  of 
heart  of,  ii.  231,  2,S5;  look-out  kept 
for,  at  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  286 ; 
leaves  Ephraim,  337  ;  cures  a  palsied 
woman,  337,  338  ;  silences  a  Rabbi 
who  opposes  Him  in  His  good  work, 
338;  cures  a  man  ill  of  dropsy,  339; 
refuses  the  popular  sujjport,  345  ; 
great  acts  of  kindness  of,  347;  warns 
His  disciples  of  their  weaknesses, 
358,  359 ;  resolves  to  enter  Jeru- 
salem publicly,  and  on  an  ass,  394, 
395 ;  enters  the  Temple,  399  ;  entry 
of,  into  Jerusalem,  400 ;  composure, 
&c.,  of,  408,  414 ;  parties  unite 
against,  420,  421  ;  judgment  of, 
asked  concerning  a  woman  who  had 


INDEX. 


651 


had  BBTen  husbands,  421,  422 ; 
attempts  to  entrap,  423,  426 ;  denun- 
ciation of  Scribes  and  Pharisees  by, 
427,  430 ;  moral  grandeur  of, 431,  432; 
Decalogue,  Jesus  questioned  respect- 
ing the,  424 ;  addresses  the  multitude 
on  faith,  439,  440;  sign  demanded  liy 
disciples  from,  442  ;  addresses  His 
disciples  respecting  the  end  of  Jerusa- 
lem, 442,  445  ;  meeting  of  conspira- 
tors against,  45G ;  in  Bethany,  456, 
457;  anointed  by  Mary,  457,  458; 
dangers  of,  in  Jerusalem,  464  ;  washes 
disciples'  feet,  46G,  467 ;  explains  His 
doing  so,  467;  tolls  of  Judas'  treachery, 
468  ;  tells  of  His  betrayal  and  death, 
470  ;  converse  with  Peter  respecting 
his  faith,  470, 472 ;  warns  His  disciples 
of  their  coming  hardships,  472 ;  pro- 
mises the  disciples  eternal  life,  480, 
481 ;  final  discourse  of,  to  disciples, 
482 — 499  ;  Spirit  of,  on  the  near 
approach  of  death,  505,  506 ;  and  the 
three  disciples  in  Gethsemane,  508 ; 
betrayal  and  arrest  of,  in  Gethsemane, 
510,  511 ;  brought  before  Hannas, 
514  ;  trial  of,  before  Caiaphas,  516 — 
526;  illegality  of  trial  of,  517,  518; 
accused  of  blasphemy,  525  ;  meeting 
of  judges  of,  529  ;  trial  of,  by  Pilato, 
533 — 538 ;  brought  again  before  Pilate, 
542—547;  scourging  of,  547,  548; 
mocked  and  scoffed  by  the  soldiers, 
649;  delivered  over  to  the  people, 
551 ;  is  brought  out  to  be  crucified, 
559 ;  ascension  of,  607  ;  how  long  in 
the  grave,  625. 

Jew,  ancient,  pride  of,  i.  9. 

Jews,  hatred  of  other  races,  i.  CO ; 
enthusiasm  of,  for  education,  172  ; 
dress  of,  190 ;  religious  excitement 
of,  284 ;  war  against  Rome,  280  ; 
devotion  of  to  the  Holy  City,  295 ; 
Galilasan,  faithful  to  the  law,  312; 
population  of,  in  Iturea,  &c.,  321  ; 
purchase  of  freelom  by,  327  ;  treat- 
ment of,  by  the  Romans,  328 ;  early 
admiration  of  the,  for  the  Romans, 
328  ;  under  Pompey's  rule,  329  ;  Mes- 
sianic enthusiasm  of  the,  331 — 333; 
Samaritans,  hatred  of,  by,  522 — 524  ; 
conservatism  of,  ii.  25 ;  deputation  of, 
■wait  on  Jesus,  1 10;  indignation  of,when 
Christ  contrasls  them  with  heathen, 
111;  kingdom  of  God,  as  imagined 
by,  1 12  ;  sacred  money  of,  appropriated 
for  water  conduits,  177;  burial-places 
of  criminal,  575  ;  future  hopes  of  re- 
surrection of,  577. 

JewUh  education,  i.  67  ;  husband,  relation 
of  to  his  wife,  168;  tribal  divisions, 
557  ;  hatred  of  all  races,  ii.  77. 

Jewish  exclusivenoss,  rise  of,  i.  65 ;  de- 
nounces Greek,  66  ;  no  Gentile  to 
learn  Hebrew,  67. 

Jezr^el,  plain  of,  ii.  113. 

Joaz'r,  high  priest,  aids  Quirinius,  i.  285  ; 
death  of,  290. 

John  the  Baptist,  early  life  of,  i.  356,  357  ; 
fate  of,  &c.,  oil ;  opinions  respecting, 


514,  515;  probable  time  of  baptism 
by,  577 ;  Irving's  lectures  on,  577 ; 
mode  of  baptism  by.  577 ;  locality 
•where  he  baptized,  578;  lying  in 
prison,  ii.  113;  sends  disciples  to 
Jesus,  114;  prisoner  in  Maehaerus, 
179;  murdered,  183. 

John  St.,  i.  464  ;  was  he  of  priestly  race  ? 
ii.  614. 

Jordan,  the  river,  i.  24 ;  description  of  the, 
390 ;  great  plain  of  the,  39 1 ;  valley 
of  the,  576;  description  of  the,  576. 

Joseph,  husband  of  Mary,  i.  105  ;  death 
of,  348  ;  legend  of  body  of,  ii.  634. 

Joseph  and  Mary,  route  of,  from  Nazareth 
to  Jerusalem,  i.  117. 

Joseph  of  Arimathea,  a?ks  Pilate  for 
Christ's  body,  ii.  575.  576. 

Jot  or  tittle,  origin  of  term,  ii.  615,  616. 

Jubilees,  Book  of,  i.  560. 

Judah,  prayer  of  Rabbi,  ii.  620. 

Judaism,  "  Hedge ''  round,  i.  68 ;  revival 
of,  under  Ezra,  243 ;  first  steps  to- 
wards open  separation  from,  ii.  52. 

Jurlas  the  Gaulonite,  devotion  of,  i.  287. 

Judas  Iscariot,  first  apparent  thought  of 
treachery  in,  ii.  200;  speaks  respecting 
Christ's  anointing,  458 ,  disappointment 
of,  459  ;  betrays  Christ  to  the  autho- 
rities, 460;  eats  the  sop  with  Jesus, 
469 ;  effects  of  conduct  of,  on  the 
disciples,  477  ;  furthers  his  treacherous 
schemes,  509 ;  remorse  and  anxiety  of, 
555 — 557;  suicide  of,  557. 

Judas  ThaddiBUS,  belief  of,  in  the  Messiah, 

ii.  481,  482. 
Judea,    size   of,  i.  88,509;  barrenness  of, 
118;  wilderness  of,  371.  372  ;  strength 
of  caste  in,  ii.  346. 


Khans  or  Caravanserais,  i.  120,  588. 

Kidron,  valley  of  the,  i.  211. 

Kingdom  of  God,  Israel  as  the,  i.  84;  sno- 

cessive  developments  of,  ^5, 
Knots,   illegality   of    tying,   ifcc,    on  the 

Sabbath,  ii.  95. 


Lamb,  Passover  offering  of,  i.  215. 

Lamb  of  God,  title  of  Jesus,  i.  459,  460, 
462. 

Last   Supper,  place  of  Jesus  at,  ii.  465_; 
Jesus  eats  the,  with  disciples,  4  75,  ' 
476. 

Law,  reading  of  the,  i.  194;  the,  ex- 
plained by  the  Rabbis,  245  ;  Chris1;'s 
not  wishing  to  destroy,  bat  fulfil  it, 
ii.  62 ;  sacred,  the,63  ;  "  food  or  drink," 
metaphor  for  study  of,  195  ;  contents 
of,  61 6 ;  reading  of,  616  ;  superstitioua 
reverence  for  letter  of,  616. 

Lawyer's  question  as  to  inheriting  eternal 
"life,  ii.  311,  312. 

Lawyers,  Christ's  speaking  against  prac- 
tices of,  ii.  150,  151. 


652 


Laying  on  of  hands,  i.  55fi. 

Lazarus,  raiaini;  of,  ii.  331 ;  legends  re- 
specting, 334. 

Leaven,  parable  of  three  measures  of,  ii 
157  ;  of  Pharisees,  remarks  concern- 
ing, 232. 

Lebanon,  ii.  219;  valley  of,  259. 

Lepor,  Christ  cureth  a,  ii.  13;  ceremo 
nios  for  the  purification  of  a,  15 — 17. 

Lepers,  Christ  heals  the  ton,  ii.  284,  285. 

Leprosy,  ii.  13;  cleansing  of,  15,  IG;  con- 
tagiousness of,  U12  ;  pmification  from 
G12. 

Life  of  Christ,  difficulty  of  writing  a,  i.  15G. 

Light,  Christ  the,  of  the  world,  ii.  299. 

Literature,  heathen,  the  Golden  Rule 
found  in  all,  ii.  8C. 

Loaves,  miracle  of,  and  fishes,  ii.  221. 

LongsufTering,  patience  towards  offenders, 
ii.  275. 

'*  Lord,"  meaning  of  title,  ii.  612. 

Lord's  Prayer,  the.  and  Talmud,  ii.  G19. 


M 


Machaorus,   fortress   of,   i.   417 — 419;   ii. 

114  ;  meaning  of,  i.  578. 
Mackintosh,  Sir  James,  on  Christ,  i.  6. 
Madness,  insinuation  of  Christ's,  accepted 

apparently  by  Mary,  ii.  14G. 
M.igdaln,  description  of,  ii.  127. 
Magi,  the.   i.  142,  144  ;    legends  of,  153 ; 

derivation  of  word,  552. 
Magic,  vast  iiabbinical  science  of,  ii.  140. 
Magistrates,  meeting  of,  to  condemn  Christ, 

ii.  529,  530. 
Malachi,  his  prophecies  concerning  Jesus, 

i.  394. 
Mammon,  the  god,  ii.  620. 
Man  lame  for  thirty-eight  years  cured,  ii.  94. 
Manaen,  allusion  to  in  Act*,  i.  5s7. 
Mangers,  used  as  cradles,  i.  5G0. 
Manna,  legends  respecting,  ii.  192. 
Mariamno,  the  first,  wife  of  Herod,  i.  35 — 

48. 
Marriage,  Pharisaic  doctrine  of,  ii.  G7. 
Marriage  ceremonies  in  East,  i.472. 
Martyrs  under  Herod,  i.  3)3. 
Mary,  the  Virgin,  i.   lOG ;  her  character, 

108  ;  Mwinijii-at,  109  ;  in  temple,  113  ; 

appearance   of,    114;    rebuke   of,    by 

Jesus,  228 ;  family  of,  468 ;  controversy 

as    to    the    cliildren    of,    674,    575  ; 

anxiety   of,   to    withdraw    Christ    to 

Nazareth,  ii.  147 ;  visits  Capernaum, 

171;  interview  of,  with  Christ,  173; 

goes  to  800  Christ  on  the  Cross,  569, 

570. 
Mary  Magdalene,  healing  of,  ii.  132 — 134, 

624 ;  and  other  women  go  to  emb.ilm 

Jesus,  583 ;  they  find  the  stono  rolled 

away  from  the   tomb,  and   an  angel 

sitting  within,  584. 
Mary,  Martha,  and  Lazarus,  ii.  310,  311. 
Matthew,  St.,  ii.  30;  made  a  disciple,  31  ; 

feast  in  house  of,  3'2 ;    sees  in  Jesus 

the  fultilment  of  Isaiah's  prophecy,  1 09; 

invitation  of,  great  principle  involved 

in  it,  33. 


Mechanical  piety  of  Pharisees,  ii.  63. 

Medical  treatment,  Jewish,  ii.  167. 

Memory,  feats  of  one  of  the  Rabbis,  i.  255. 

Messiah,  ideas  respecting,  among  Jews,  i. 
79,  80  ;  expected  advent  of,  80 ;  birth- 
place of,  81,  148;  to  appear  first  in 
(jalilee,  81 ;  Jewish  ideas  of  kingdom 
of,  82,  83;  to  be  of  tribe  of  Judah, 
147;  idea  concerning  the,  in  Psalms 
of  Solomon,  335 — 338  ;  ia  Fourth  Book 
of  Esdras,  3;!8,  339 ;  vision  of  the,  to 
Ezra,  340  ;  heralds  of  the,  341 ;  e-a- 
citeraent  at  the  near  approach  of  the, 
341,346;  John's  expectation  of,  382, 
383 ;  Rabbinical  interpretation  of, 
573;  expectation  of,  general,  141, 
562  ;  Christ's  divine  consciousness  of 
being  the,  ii.  88;  Jewish  conception 
of,  117,  187;  Rabbis'  conception  of, 
196 — 198;  ideas  of  Pharisees  about 
the,  225 ;  Jesus  proclaimed,  240 ; 
Peter's  confession  of  the,  240 ;  diffi- 
culty to  instil  idea  of  sutTering,  244, 
245;  ideas  respecting,  291;  Christ's 
public  declaration  that  Ho  was,  291  ; 
feeling  of  some  that  Christ  was  the, 
294  ;  punishment  for  acknowledging 
Christ  as,  31 8 ;  kingdom  of,  355 ; 
advice  to  the  disciples  respecting  the 
coming  of,  362,363  ;  opinions  respect- 
ing tho,  437,  438 ;  Davidio  descent, 
625 ;  Jewish  ideas  of,  623,  640. 

Messialirt,  doctrine  of  two,  i.  460. 

Messiunic  dreams  still  surviving,  i.  576. 

Metretes,  different  opinions  respecting,  i. 
582. 

Middle-age  preacher,  i.  408. 

Military  terms,  Roman,  ii.  641. 

Miracle  of  five  loaves  and  two  fishes,  ii. 
186  ;  of  coin  in  fish's  mouth,  266. 

Miracles,  beginning  of,  at  Cana,  i.  477, 
478 ;  reasonableness  of,  479  ;  of  heal- 
ing, ii.  5 — 7 ;  as  a  religious  in- 
fluence, 8 ;  curiosity  to  see  dis- 
couraged, 8 ;  Christ  did  not  lay  stress 
on  them  alone,  145;  wrought  by  dis- 
ciples, 256 ;  others  besides  disciples 
permitted  to  work,  270 ;  Luther's  es- 
timate of,  ^2*j. 

Miraculous  conception,  not  a  Jewish  idea, 
i.  107. 

Misconceptions  of  Mary  concerning  Christ, 
ii.  146. 

Mission,  Christ  sends  the  Seventy  on  a, 
ii.  283. 

Monebazus,  Prince  of  Adiabene,  ii.  620. 

Months  of  the  Hebrew  year,  ii.  5()7,  278. 

Moral  worthlessness  of  Pharisaic  righteous- 
ness, ii.  05. 

Morning  meal,  ii.  148. 

Moses,  almost  deified,  ii.  192. 

Mother  and  brethren,  Christ  explains  who 
are  His,  ii.  147. 

Mountain,  Christ  retires  to,  to  escape 
people,  ii.  188. 

"  Mountains,  to  remove,"  meaning  of,  ii. 
635. 

Mourning  for  dead,  ii.  160. 

Multitudes  taught,  ii.  135. 

Murder,  Christ's  definition  of,  ii.  66,  67. 


653 


Mustard-plant,  great  sizo  of  in  Palestine, 

ii.  627. 
Mustard-seed,  parable  of,  ii.  157. 
Mystery,  love  of  in  Rabbinical  teaching, 

i.  257. 


N 


Nablous,  town  of,  i.  518. 

Nain,  the  '•  beautiful,"  ii.  112;  young  man 
restored  to  life  at,  113. 

Names,  Hebrew,  i.  560. 

Napoleon,  on  Jesus  Christ,  i.  3,  14. 

Nathanael,  i.  468 — 470 ;  thought  to  be 
John  or  Matthew,  582. 

Nation,  division  of,  into  Haberim  and  Am- 
ha-aretz,  i.  251 ;  rejoicing  of,  oa  death 
of  Herod,  259. 

Nations,  Jewish  idea  of  number  of,  ii.  283. 

National  emuity,  ii.  76. 

Nationalities,  gathering  of,  in  Jerusalem, 
at  Passover  time,  i.  206. 

Nativity,  the  cave  of  the,  i.  135. 

Nazai-ene  Rabbis  accuse  Christ  of  de- 
moniacal possession,  ii.  171. 

Nazarenes,  Christ  grieves  over  their  unbe- 
lief, ii.  175. 

Nazareth,  characteristics  of  life  in,  L  184  ; 
description  of,  230,  157;  people  of, 
160;  a  view  from,  162,  163;  Christ 
visits,  ii.  172 ;  meaning  of  name,  i. 
564. 

Nazarito  rules,  i.  358,  359 ;  legend  of  a, 
360. 

Nero,  interpretation  of  name  of,  i.  570. 

Net,  gathering  good  and  bad  fish,  paiable 
of,  ii.  158. 

New  Moon,  time  of  the,  i.  199,  200  ;  varia- 
tions in  date  of,  567. 

Nicanor's  Gate,  i.  128. 

Nicephorus,  Greek  historian,  i.  579. 

Nicodemus,  the  Pharisee,  i.  503,  504 ;  a 
rich  benefactor,  584 ;  speaks  timidly 
for  Christ,  ii.  295. 

Nobleman,  meaning  of,  i.  587. 


0 


Oaths,  sacredness  of,  i.  578  ;  the  use  of,  ii. 

69;  Christ  of,  617. 
Old  families,  English  and  other,  decay  of, 

i.  104. 
Ovid,  banishment  of,  i.  547. 


Palestine,  climate  and  vegetation  of,i.  18, 19 ; 
physical  geography  of,  19  ;  fertility  of, 
20 ;  ancient  popiilousness,  22  ;  history 
of,  in  the  generation  before  Christ,  29  ; 
climate  of,  504 ;  northern  boundary 
of,  585  ;  sniallness  of,  15  ;  position  nf, 
on  map  of  the  ancient  world,  15; 
spring  in,  547;  fertility  of,  547; 
ii.  627;  rheumatic  diseases  of,  622; 
scenery  of,  628  ;  winds  of,  633 ;  winter 
in,  i.  557. 


Palsy,  man  sick  of  the,  cured,  ii.  339. 

Pan,  legend  of  death  of,  i.  354. 

Parable,  application  of,  to  Jewish  pre- 
judice, ii.  343  ;  first  to  a  great  mul- 
titude from  fishing-boat,  ii.  153;  of 
the  debtors,  125 ;  the  prodigal  son, 
350,  351 ;  rich  man  suddenly  sum- 
moned before  God,  152;  the  lost  sheep, 
349;  a  familiar  way  of  instructing, 
153;  peculiar  adaptability  of,  to  the 
people,  322 ;  the  unjust  steward,  352  ; 
the  woman  with  the  lost  silver,  349. 

Paralytic,  healing  of,  ii.  28. 

Paralyzed  man,  ii.  22. 

Parents,  duty  of  honouring,  ii.  208,  209. 

Parthians,  the,  i.  38,  39,  389. 

Passover,  ceremony  of,  i.  215 — 217 ;  feast  of 
the,  201 ;  length  of,  567;  meaning  of 
in  Hebrew,  567  ;  number  of  sacrifices 
at,  567 ;  ceremony  of  the,  described, 
568 ;  order  of  eating  the,  ii.  473 ; 
singing  of  psalms  at  the,  504 ;  pre- 
parations of  the  disciples  for  the, 
462,  463 ;  time  of,  102. 

Paul  attacked  by  the  people,  i.  567. 

Peace,  the  Roman,  i.  389. 

Pearl  of  great  price,  parable  of,  ii.  158. 

People,  agitation  of  the,  respecting  Jesus, 
ii.  504 ;  Jesus  consoles  the,  on  His 
way  to  execution,  561,  562  ;  the,  scoff 
at  Christ  on  tlie  cross,  566,  567; 
listened  standing,  Christ  sat,  135. 

Perea,  description  of  district  of,  i.  315 ; 
Jesus  urged  to  leave,  ii.  365  ;  meaning 
of  name,  i.  572. 

Perjury,  sanctioned  by  Rabbis  if  purified 
by  an  offering,  ii.  69. 

Persian  religion,  the,  i.  137  ;  influence  of, 
on  Judaism,  139. 

Peter,  St.,  special  mention  of,  ii.  47;  i. 
465 ;  first  interview  with  Christ,  466 ; 
enjoined  by  Christ  to  teach  His  flock, 
ii.  603;  Christ's  blessing,  241  ;  Christ's 
charge  to,  242;  cuts  off  a  servant's 
ear,  511,512;  and  John,  follow  Christ 
after  His  aiTest,  513,  527 ;  denies 
Christ  thrice,  528, 529 ;  his  impulsive- 
ness, 544;  mothei-in-Iaw,  illness  of, 
cured,  5 ;  house  of,  Jesus  in,  155 ; 
612  ;  death  of,  i  4  ;  as  "  the  Rock," 
ii.  634. 

Pharisaic  conception  of  righteousness,  ii. 
64  ;  hypocrisy  denounced,  209,  210. 

Pharisee,  invites  Christ  to  his  house,  ii. 
122;  Jesus  dines  with  a,  339 — 341  ; 
the  word,  gradual  disuse  of,  6Q;  and 
Publican,  parable  of  the,  .'H69. 

Pharisees,  and  Herodians,  alliance  of,  ii. 
222;  disloyaltv  of  tbe,  417;  craft  of 
the,  417;  6.000  in  Christ's  day,  i.  69; 
numbers  through  the  empire,  70  ;  and 
Sadducees,  different  opinions  of,  ii. 
223 — 228;  &c., attempt  to  arrestChrist 
by,  i92 — 294;  demand  proof  from 
Christ  of  His  true  Messiahsliip,  326 ; 
Jesus  alludes  to  maxims  of,  104; 
jealousy  of  the,  i.  516  ;  nolle  principles 
of,  70,  71;  different  classes  of,  72; 
ii.  626;  decay  of,  i.  73;  rebuked  by 
Jesus,  ii.  354;   strict  rules  respecting 


654 


those  with  vrbom  they  ate,  122 ;  hatred 
between,  and  Saddueeos,  G37 ;  cor- 
ruption of.  0o3. 

Phasael,  i.  38,  39. 

Phenicians,  famous  as  traders,  i.  583. 

Phenomena,  natural  explanations  of  ordi- 
nary, unknown,  ii.  US. 

Philip,  his  reign,  government,  &c.,  i.  322 ; 
mention  of,  ii.  411 ;  tomb  of,  233. 

Philistia,  plain  of,  i.  547. 

Phylacteries,  countless  rules  for  the 
straps,  &c.  of,  ii.  128,  129,  G24. 

Physiciau,  Christ  the,  of  souls,  ii.  199. 

Pilate,  palace  of,  in  Jerusalem,  ii.  500,  301 ; 
character  of,  531 ;  trial  ot  Jesus 
by,  533 — 538;  Jesus  again  before, 
542 — 547;  endeavours  to  save  Jesus 
from  the  cross,  530 — 352  ;  public 
worksof,  for  Jerusalem,!. 291);  govern- 
ment of,  381. 

Pilate's  offences  to  tho  Jews,  ii.  177. 

Pilgrimage  to  Gerizim,  i.  386. 

Pilgrimages,  abuses  dui'ing,  ii.  20(>. 

Pilgrims  to  Jerusalem,  ii.  221  ;  approach 
of,  toward.s  Jerusalem,  i.  393 ;  de- 
parture of,  from  Jerusalem,  225; 
journey  of,  to,  232,  233. 

Pins  Scipio,  proconsul  of  Syria,  i.  281. 

Places  at  feasts,  order  of  taking,  ii.  339, 
340. 

Plain  of  Esdraelon,  people  of,  i.  IGl. 

Polycarp's  mai  tyrdom,  i.  4. 

Pompey  and  tho  Jews,  i.  329 ;  murder  of, 
573 ;  triumph  of,  574  ;  takes  Jeru- 
salem, 570  ;  notices  of,  29 — 31. 

Pool  of  Bethesda,  Clirist's  mooting  with 
the  man  healed  at,  ii.  98. 

Poor,  the,  and  Christianity,  i.  11;  in 
Heathen  antiiiuity,  12;  in  Jewish,  12. 

Possessed,  cure  of  man,  ii.  5. 

Possession  by  spirits,  ideas  of,  in  Christ's 
day,  ii.  5. 

Potter's  Field,  Judas  and  the,  iu  IJ42. 

Prayer,  eflieacy  of  united,  ii.  275 ;  earnest, 
heard,  parable  to  prove,  314;  fre- 
quency of,  by  Pharisees,  80 ;  Jewish, 
antiquity  of,  i.  307 ;  special,  for  feasts, 
507;  superstitions  concerning,  ii.  37, 
38;  the  Lord's,  81,  82;  Rabbis  on, 
612,  (>13;  alpluibetical,  616;  repeti- 
tions in, 019. 

Preaching,  Christ's,  to  bo  the  sign,iL  145  ; 
differences  between  that  of  Chiist 
and  of  Rabbis,  50 ;  remarks  on 
Christ's,  56. 

Prescriptions,  some  Jewish,  ii.  109. 

Priesthood,  Jewish,  decay  of,  i.  89;  Jewish, 
80 ;  number  of,  87,  88  ;  dignitaries  of, 
88  ;  poor  members  of,  89. 

Priests,  fears  of  the  chief,  as  to  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus,  ii.  579  ;  genealogy  of, 
i.  90 ;  legal  ago  for  consecration,  90  ; 
consecration  of,  91 ;  dress  of,  91  ; 
duties  of,  92 ;  marriage  of,  93  ;  priestly 
towns,  93 ;  support  of,  93. 

Princes,  Asmoneau,  friends  of  tho,  i.  574. 

Procurators  of  Roman  provinces,  i.  571. 

Property,  the  disciples  retained  enough  to 
provide  for  their  daily  wants,  ii.  130. 

Prophet,  Jewish  idea  of  a,  i.  393. 


Prophets,  Galiltean,  ii.  295 ;  false,  mis- 
leading the  people,  i.  583 ;  decay  of 
the,  332. 

Proselytes,  foreign,  in  Jerusalem,  i.  434; 
number  of,  140. 

Proverbs,  last  chapters  of,  date  of,  i.  505. 

Proverbs  and  parables  of  the  Jews,  i.  182. 

Publican,  making  a,  a  disciple,  astounding 
novelty  of,  ii.  31 ;  apparent  imprudence 
of  admitting  a,  as  disciple,  32 ;  de- 
rivation of  word,  013. 

Publicans,  at  Capernaum  many,  ii.  28 ; 
greed  and  tyranny  of,  29 ;  hatred  to, 
intense,  29  ;  outcasts  from  society,  29 ; 
and  people  receive  eulogy  of  John 
with  joy,  117;  good,  013. 

Publicity  shunned  by  Jesus,  ii.  15,  234. 

Publius  Sulpicius  Quirinius,  governor- 
general  of  Syi'ia,  i.  277. 

"Purification"  indifferent  religions,  i.oGl. 

Pui'ification,  tho  feast  of,  i.  127,  129;  ii. 
039. 

Purim,  feast  of,  i.  237. 


Question  raised,  if  Jesus  were  the  Messiah  ? 
ii.  138. 

Quiet  home  life  of  Jesus  with  His  disciples, 
ii.  130. 

Quintilius  Varus  comes  to  Jerusalem,  i. 
268  ;  plunders  Jerusalem,  209 ;  the 
Temple,  269;  advances  again  on  Jeru- 
salem, 271. 

Quiriuius,  Legate  in  Syria,  i.  372. 

Quotations  from  Old  Testament  in  Now,  i. 
154. 


Rabbi,  ancient  sermon  of,  i.  195 ;  different 
professions  of  a,  240 ;  meaning  of 
title,  380 ;  to  follow  a,  588 ;  things  un- 
becoming in  a,  ii.  613. 

Rabbinical  custom  to  teach  a  form  of 
prayer,  ii.  81. 

Rabbinical  rules,  strict  observance  of,  i. 
252 ;  working  of,  in  Jewish  daily  life, 
253. 

Rabbinical  schools  as  old  as  Jacob,  i.  74  ; 
in  heaven,  75. 

Rabbinism,  Jesus  a  dangerous  enemy  to, 
ii.  104. 

Rabbis,  accepted  money  from  their  scholars, 
ii.  130  ;  activity  of  the,  21  ;  anxiety  of 
the,  respecting  Christ's  rcsuiTection, 
597 ;  anxiety  of,  and  dread  of  Jesus, 
95  ;  Christ's  attack  on,  for  not  keeping 
law,  289,  290;  bigotry  and  fanaticism 
of  the,  84;  Christ  proclaims  them  a 
hindrance  to  time  knowledge,  108 ; 
condemnation  of  conduct  of,  150; 
custom  of,  with  regard  to  offenders, 
274 ;  deputations  of,  sent  to  crush 
Christ,  200,  201 ;  difficulty  of  learning 
endless  precepts  of,  207 ;  disciples  of,  i. 
4G3  dispute  of  Jesus  with  the,  569; 
hostile  feelings  of,  ii.  27 ;  hostility  of 


INDEX. 


655 


the,  to  Jesus,  i.  3G1 ;  demand  a  sign  of 
Jesus,  ii.  360  ;  in  danger  of  losing  au- 
tliority,  137  ;  indignation  of,  at  Christ, 
194  ;  "infuriated,  provoking  Christ  to 
commit  Himself,  153;  insurrection  of, 
in  Jerusalem,  i.  61 ;  laws  of  the,  530  ; 
and  the  common  i)oople,  347 ;  manners 
of  the,  ii.  348 ;  denounced  by  Jesus, 
34'J ;  miracles  of,  i.  75 ;  inordinate 
pride  of,  7G  ;  slavery  of  nation  to,  76 ; 
any  may  be,  78;  noted,  of  Christ's 
day,  2'26,  'I'll  ;  oii'er  to  be  dis- 
ciples, ii.  160;  national  pi-eachers 
of  the,  i.  344 ;  overawed,  ii.  146 ; 
passages  from,  respecting  the  Slessiah, 
i.  586 ;  pedantry  of,  563  ;  persecuting 
spirit  of  the,  ii.  489;  place  of  the, 
at  feasts,  340 ;  public  addresses  of,  i. 
543  ;  questions  of  importance  referred 
to,  ii.  151 ;  reverence  shown  to,  21  ; 
seek  to  arrest  Jesus,  336 ;  self- 
righteousness  of,  26 ;  sermons  of,  4 ; 
training  of,  i.  67  ;  use  of,  as  an  order, 
67 ;  dignity  of,  71 ;  importance  of, 
77;  unpaid,  77;  and  their  disciples, 
ii.  628  ;  classes  of,  627;  mock  purity 
of,  617  ;  titles  of,  612  ;  how  conferred, 
613. 

"Raca,"  use  of  word,  ii.  616. 

Rachel,  weeping  for  her  cbildi'en,  i.  1 1 8, 557. 

Redemption-money,  i.  561 ;  of  first-born, 
130;  modern  ceremony  of,  131. 

Reed,  the,  of  Palestine,  ii.  623,  624. 

Reform,  much  needed  amongst  Jewish 
leaders,  ii.  So. 

Reformations,  always  begin  with  the  ob- 
scure, ii.  120  ;  temporary,  under  John, 
146. 

Religion  acted  for  gain,  ii.  80  ;  comparison 
of  Roman  and  Jewish,  i.  326  ;  in  an- 
tiquity, 547. 

Renounce  anything  that  hinders  a  godly 
life,ii.  272. 

Respect,  ancient  sense  of  familiarity  de- 
stroying, i.  587. 

Restlessness  of  Jews,  politically,  in  Christ's 
day,  i.  61, 141. 

Resurrection,  Christ  appears  to  Mary  after 
His,  ii.  5S5,  586 ;  to  Peter,  588  ;  to 
the  Two,  on  the  road  to  Emmaus, 
589 — 592;  Jewish  ideas  respecting, 
254,  255 ;  opinions  of  Ewald  re- 
specting the,  581;  prophecy  of  by 
Jesus,  i.  500,  501. 

Retaliation,  doctrine   of  repudiated,  ii.  71, 

Retreat  of  Antony  from  Media,  i.  44. 
Roveugo,  sanctioned  by  Old  Testament,  ii. 

78 ;  the  idea  of,  cherished  by  Jew  and 

heathen,  71. 
Richter,  Jean  Paul,  on  Jesus  Chiist,  i.  1. 
Righteous,  meaning  of  word  amongst  the 

Jews,  i.  132. 
Riot,  dreadful,  in  Jerusalem,  ii.  1 77. 
Risings     in     Galilee,     under    Athronges, 

Simon,  &c.,  i.  270. 
Rites  and  fomis,  Christ's  vindication  of  the 

disuse  of,   by    the    disciples,   ii.   52; 

only   necessary  when  religion  was  in 

its  childhood,  63. 


Rivals,  meaning  of  the  word,  i.  10. 

Roman  Emperor,  omnipotence  of,  i.  26; 
empire,  at  the  birth  of  Christ,  25,  27 ; 
feeling  of  superiority  and  aversion  to 
the  conquered,  ii.  76 ;  generals,  cor- 
ruptness of.  i.  40 ;  religion  at  the  time 
of  Christ,  28. 

Romans,  contempt  of,  to  other  nations,  i.  9. 

Rome,  assimilating  power  of,  i.  324 ;  de- 
putation sent  to,  293 ;  friends  of,  ii. 
107;  tribute  of  Judea  to,  i.  115;  in 
Christ's  day.  353  ;  its  size,  25,  26. 

Roofs,  Eastern,  ii.  23. 

Rose  gardens  in  Jerusalem,  i.  568. 

Rousseau  on  Jesus  Christ,  i.  2. 

Rule,  heathen  overthrow  of,  ideas  of 
Esdras  concerning  the,  i.  340,  341. 

Ruler,  the  young,  and  Jesus,  ii.  374 — 377. 


Sabbath,  commencement  of,  ii.  96 ;  Jesus 
charged  with  violation  of  the  Sabbath, 
for  curing  the  man  at  the  Pool  of 
Bethesda,  98 ;  David  violates,  by 
eating  holy  bread,  183 ;  duration  of, 
96;  facts  respecting  Jewish  observa- 
tion of,  318;  grand  fidelity  of  Jews 
to,  103 ;  Jesus  cited  before  tribunal 
for  desecration  of,  98 ;  Jewish,  2,  7  ; 
maxims  of  Pharisees  concerning,  98 ; 
miracle  wrought  on  the,  317;  obser- 
vance, extraordinary  strictness  of, 
95,  96,  622,  630,  639 ;  preparation 
for,  2  ;  service  in  synagogue,  3 ;  re- 
velation respecting  observance  of, 
97  ;  rules  concerning  food,  &c.,  96  ; 
strict  observance  of,  97;  the,  a  day  of 
peace,  joy,  and  refreshment,  104 ; 
violation  of  laws  by  Pharisees,  98. 

Sabbath-day's  journey,  ii.  622. 

Sabbath  laws,  Jesus  places  himself  higher 
than,  ii.  104. 

Sacrifices  for  empire  and  emperor,  standing 
grievance,  ii.  177. 

Sadducees,  i.  68 ;  doctrines  of  the,  ii.  222 
—224,  226. 

Salim,  locality  of,  i.  578. 

Salome  (daughter  of  Herodias)  dancing  of, 
at  the  feast,  i.  430  ;  her  request,  430. 

Salome  (mother  of  James  and  John),  was 
she  related  to  the  Virgin?  i.  467. 

Siilt,  loss  of  savour  of,  ii.  615. 

Salutations,  ii.  180,  181 ;  to  house,  631. 

Salvation  of  Israel,  ii.  107. 

Samaria,  Christ's  journey  through,  ii. 
280,  281;  description  of,  516—518; 
rebuilt  by  Herod,  51. 

Samaritan  woman,  different  opinions  as  to 
the  city  from  which  she  came,  i.  585. 

Samaritans,  land  of  the,  i.  323  ;  parable  of 
the  good,  ii.  312,  313. 

Sandals,  ii.  631. 

Sarepta,  Phenician  village  of,  ii.  113. 

Satan  under  the  feet  of  Christ's  servants, 
ii.  315  ;  in  New  Testament,  i.  442 ; 
temptations  by,  of  Jesus,  i.  443. 

Schleiermacher  on  the  Virgin  Mary,  1. 
125. 


656 


Schools  in  Inrael,  i.   171 — 175;    in  Jeru- 
salem, 243. 
Scribe,  title  of,  explained,  i.  5G9. 
Scribes,   indignation   of,   ii.   26;    discom- 
fiture of,  28, 
Scrip  or  wallet,  or  "  basket,"  meaning  of, 

ii.  G31,  G32. 
"  Scythians,"  city  of  the,  i.  572. 
"  Sealing  "  by  God,  meaniug  of,  ii.  632. 
Sejanus,  fall  of,  i.  353;    influence  of,   in 

Judea,  294. 
Semicha,  laying  on  of  hands,  i.  577. 
Seneca  spoke  of  tho  gods  almost  like   a 

Christian,  ii.  74. 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  ii.  51,  62  ;  scene  of, 

615. 
Servant,  parable   of  the  wicked,   ii.  275, 

276. 
Servants,  various  duties  of,  i.  189. 
Service,  Jesus  accused  because  of  bimpli- 

city  of  teaching,  ii.  128. 
Seventy,  Christ's  instructions  to  the,   ii. 

284 ;  significance  of  the  appointment 

of  the,  283 ;    success    of  mission    of 

the,  314. 
Sbammai,  typo  of  Rabbi,  ii.  25. 
Shechem,  meaning  of,  i.  585 ;  description 

of  valley  of,  i.  519,  627. 
Sheep,  shepherd's  anxiety  for  lost,  ii.  273. 
Shefelab,  meaning  of  word,  i.  647. 
Shekel,  the,  i.  561. 
Shunem,  village  of,  ii.  113. 
Sick,  Saljbatli  rules  concerning,  ii.  104. 
Sign,  demanded  for  by  authorities,  i.  429  ; 

ii.  228. 
Siloam,  fall  of  tower  in,  ii.  178. 
Simeon,  tho  aged,  i.  132. 
Simon  Boethus,  ii.  223. 
Simon  the  Canaanite,  ii.  614. 
Simon  the  Cyrenian,   compelled  to   bear 

the  cross,  ii.  560. 
Simon  tho  Just,  i.  548. 
Bimon  JlaccaKuus,  i.  69. 
Simon  the  Zealot,  ii.  49. 
Sin,  belief  in  earthly  punishments  of,  ii. 

316;  the  conception  of,  unknown   iu 

antiquity,   i.  7  ;  no  idea  of,   in  anti- 
quity, 647. 
Sinceritv,   Christ's   fundamental    demand 

of,  ii.  61. 
Slanders  bv  Rabbis,  Christ's  refutation  of, 

ii.  142] 
Slaves,  prisoners  sold  as,  i.  43. 
Slavery,    condemned  by  Christ,  i.  11;  in 

antiquity,  11  ;  ii.  623. 
Socrates'  remarks  on  the  soul,  i.  584, 
Sohar,  The,  i,  563, 
Soldier    pierces    Christ's    side    with    his 

spear,  ii.  574. 
Soldiers  cast  lots  for  Christ's  garments,  ii. 

564,  oljD. 
Solomon,  legends  of,  ii.  626. 
Solomon,  Psalms  of,  i.  329 ;  on  advent  of 

the  Jlessiah,  335—338. 
Solomon's  porch,  ii.  325. 
Son  of  JIan,  i.  81  ;  familiarity  of  expression, 

581;  ii.  614. 
Sower,  parable  of  the,  ii.  154;  explained, 

loo. 
Spies,  Christ's  steps  dogged  by,  ii.  95. 


Spiritual  Head,  Christ,  of  a  new'  family, 

ii.  147. 
Stanley,  Dean,  remark  of,  on  old  English 

manner  of  mourning,  i.  577. 
Star  in  the  East,  i.  144,  562 ;   legends  of 

the,  153. 
Stater,  the  coin,  ii.  636. 
Stephen,  St.,  trial  of,  ii.  99. 
Steward,  parable  of  the  unjust,  ii,  352,  363. 
Stoicism,  creed  of,  i,  8. 
Stole,  use  and  description  of,  i,  579, 
Storm  calmed  by  Christ  on  the  Lake  of 

(ialilee,  ii.  162, 
Stranger,  position  of,  in  first  ages  of  Rome, 

ii,  75. 
Strangers  allowed  to  enter  during  meals, 

ii.  123. 
Suffering,  associated  by  Christ  with  true 

disciploship,  ii.  60. 
Superstitions  regarding  the   Temple   &c., 

i.  202. 
Supper,  parable  of  the  great,  ii.  342,  343. 
Swine  in  Palestine,  ii.  621. 
Synagogue    in    Capernaum,    ii.    110;   the 

great,   i.   71,   567 ;    Christ   visits,  ii. 

174  ;  service,  ii.  3. 
Synagogues,  closing  of,  against  Christ,  ii. 

215;  importance  of,  i.  184;   erection 

of,  186  ;  opening  of,  for  services,  187; 

arrangement    of     interior    of,    187; 

worehip  in,  192- — 194:  size  and  form 

of,  666;   ruler  of,  office  of,  iL  629, 


Tabernacles,  feast  of,  ii,  ?86,  278,279,285, 
286,  296  ;  great  rejoicings  on  last  day 
of  feast  of,  293. 

Table,  manner  of  sitting  at,  ii.  122 ;  various 
ceremonies  connected  with  eating  at, 
123. 

Tabor,  Mount,  ii.  250. 

Talents,  parable  of  the  ten,  ii.  389—391 ; 
lessons  on  tho  parable  of  the,  391. 

Tallith,  the,  i.  566. 

Talmud,  first  collection  of  traditions,  &c., 
resulting  in,  ii.  205;  extracts  from, 
i.  254  ;  contents  of  the,  ii.  618  ;  pearls 
from  the,  619,  620,  623,  627,  631. 

Tares,  parabla  of,  ii.  158  ;  among  wheat, 
627. 

Tax  for  temple  paid  by  Christ,  ii.  265. 

Teacher,  reverence  due  to,  i.  244. 

Teaching,  Christ's,  denounced  as  revolu- 
tionary, ii.  207 ;  no  reward  to  be 
taken  for,  by  disciples,  631. 

Temple,  Christ  greater  than,  ii,  104; 
Christ  teaching  in,  286,  287;  com- 
parison of  tho  body  to,  i,  584 ;  court 
of  women  in,  ii.  298 ;  desecration  of 
the,  i.  496 ;  buyers  and  sellers,  &c.,  ex- 
pelled from,  497 ;  iiyht  in,  at  feast  of 
tabernacles,  ii.  638;  gates  of,  i.560,561 ; 
heathen  gifts  to,  52 ;  Herod,  descrip- 
tion of,  95,  97  ;  Herod  proposes  to  re- 
build, 54  ;  Herod's  service  at,  87,  97; 
Jesus  questioned  resi>ecting  destruc- 
tion of  the,  ii.  440,  441 ;  signs  of  de- 
struction of  the,  454,  455  ;    morning 


INDEX 


657 


service,  &c.,  i.  218  ;  Jesus  in,  with  the 
Rahbis,  226 ;  defiled  by  Samaritans, 
292  ;  plunder  of  treasury,  ii.  2B3,  264 
regulations  for  priests  in  the,  i.  203 
rending  of  the  veil  of  the,  at  Christ's 
death,  ii.  572  ;  scene  in  the  temple  on 
the  arrival  of  Jesus,  402 ;  buyers  and 
sellers  turned  out  of,  402 ;  deputation 
of  authorities  of  the,  come  to  Jesus, 
406 ;  second,  inferiority  of,  to  first, 
i.  87 ;  tax  towards  treasury  of  the,  ii. 
263,  264 ;  the,  on  the  day  after  the 
crucifi.\ion  of  Jesus,  582 ;  illumina- 
tion at  feasts,  638  ;  immense  cisterns 
of,  621  ;  shekel  of,  635. 

Temptation,  incident  to  man,  i.  438  ;  of 
Christ,  characteristics  of,  439. 

Temptation  to  Christ  to  use  His  power  for 
Himself,  ii.  145. 

Ten  tribes,  traces  of,  in  Christ's  day,  i. 
561. 

Teruma,  separation  of,  i.  250. 

Testimony  of  two  men  received,  ii.  300. 

Theatre,  Herod's,  in  Jerusalem,  i.  209. 

Theologians,  Christ's  change  of  conduct 
toward,  ii.  201. 

Theology,  the  staple  of  conversation  in 
Nazareth,  ii.  55. 

Theudas  and  others  promised  the  people 
great  miracles,  ii.  144,  145. 

Thief,  the  penitent,  on  the  cross,  ii.  567, 
668. 

Thieves,  the  two,  are  put  to  death,  ii. 
574. 

Thomas,  Christ  shows,  the  marks  of  cruci- 
fixion, ii.  598. 

Threshing-floors,  arrangement  of,  i.  557. 

Tiberias,  made  capital  of  Galilee,  and 
fortified,  i.  302. 

Tiberius,  reign  of,  i.  387. 

Time,  Jewish  mode  of  reckoning,  ii.  625. 

Toil,  exhausting,  of  Christ,  ii.  137. 

Towers,  watch,  for  shepherds,  i.  559. 

Trade,  respect  for,  among  Jews,  i.  78. 

Trades,  proscribed,  among  Jews,  i.  560; 
from  which  neither  priest  nor  king 
could  rise,  587. 

Traditions  of  more  authority  than  Scrip- 
tures, ii.  205,  206. 

Traffic,  in  doves  and  sheep,  i.  583. 

Training,  early,  of  Christ  by  Mary  and 
Joseph,  ii.  54,  55. 

Transfiguration,  supposed  scene  of,  ii.  250 ; 
witnesses  of,  250. 

Travelling,  restrictions  on,  ii.  97. 

Treacherous  invitation  to  morning  meal 
with  Rabbi,  ii.  148. 

Treasure  hidden  in  field,  parable  of,  ii. 
158  ;  on  earth  not  to  be  sought  after, 
83 ;  custom  of  hiding,  628. 

Treasury  of  Temple,  abuses  with  regard 
to,  ii.  208  ;  the  widow  casts  her  mite 
into  the,  433. 

Tribute,  Pharisees  question  Jesus  respect- 
ing, ii.  417  ;  answer  of  Jesus  to  ques- 
tion of,  417 — 419. 

Troops,  sent  to  Jerusalem  for  the  feast 
months,  i.  588. 

True  purity  and  cleanliness,  ii.  149. 

Trust  in  God  and  Faith,  ii.  83,  84. 


Twelve,  sent  forth  to  preach,  the,  ii.  179; 

the,    ask   Jesus    to    strengthen    their 

faith,  359;  self-denial  of  the,  367;  left 

all  to  follow  Jesus,  378. 
Tyre   and   Sidon,   description   of,   ii.   216; 

heathenism  of,  119. 


IT 


Unbelief  of  the  Gadarenes,  ii.  165. 
Unclean  spirit,  Christ  said  to  be  possessed 

with,  ii.  142. 
Uncleanness,  purifying  of,  i.  247. 
Union   of  hostile   factions   of    the   nation 

against  Jesus,  ii.  107. 
Universal   religion,   first   proclamation   of, 

ii.  75  ;   idea  of,  scouted  by  antiquity, 

i.  9. 
Unleavened  bread,  feast  of,  i.  213 — 215. 


Veronica,  legend  of,  i.  454. 

Vessels,    burial    of    Tabernacle,    i.     384, 

385. 
Vineyard,  parable  of  the,  ii.  379,  380. 
Voice,  a,  heard  from  heaven  by  Jesus,  ii. 

436,  437. 


W 

War,  relation  of  Christ  to,  i.  11. 

Washing  of  feet,  &c.,  Christ  conformed  to 

such  forms  as,  ii.  129  ;  of  hands,  &c., 

202—204  ;  of  vessels,  &c.,  204,  205. 
Water,    promise    of   living,   i.    524,    525 ; 

restrictions  of  uses  of  different  kinds 

of,  248  ;  wish  for,  ii.  293,  298  ;  walking 

on,  188,  189. 
Wealth,  unjust  uses  of,  ii.  354. 
Wedding,    parable   of  the,   feast,   ii.   413, 

414. 
Well,  Jacob's,  at  Gerizim,  i.  520 ;  woman  at, 

621. 
Widow,  parable  of  the  importunate,  ii.  367, 

368. 
Wine,  use  of,  among  Jews,  i.  475 ;  Christ 

is  offered,  on  the  Cross,  ii.  563. 
Withered  hand,  man  with,  healed  bv  Jesus, 

ii.  104. 
Woman,  in  antiquity,  i.  12 ;  dress  of  Jew- 
ish, 191. 
Women,  those  who  followed  Christ,  ii.  127  ; 

position  of,  in  Israel,  i.  166. 
Word  of  God,  frequent  use  of  expression, 

i.  578. 
Words,  explanation  of,  by  figures,  &c.,   i. 

256. 
Work,  excessive,  of  Christ,  ii.  185. 
World,  centre  of,  believed  to  be  Jerusalem, 

i.   15  ;    ready  for  teachings  of  Jesus, 

ii.  75. 
"  World    to  come,"    meaning    of  Jewish 

phrase  of,  ii.  625. 


VOL.  II. 


81 


658 


INDEX. 


Tod.  legend  of  the  letter,  ii.  61G. 
Youth,    precocity    of,   in    Judoa,  i.    221; 
spring  of  unfading,  ii.  I'JS. 


Zacchxus,  the  publican,  ii.  3S7, ; 


Zacharias  and  Elisabeth,  i.  9-t ;  at  Temple, 

•JO. 
Zealots,  title  of,  i.  572. 
Zebedee,  origin  of  name  of,  ii.  G14. 
Zobulon,   country   of  and   Naphthali,    i. 

588. 
Zerubbabel,  i.  548. 
Zion,  ii.  641. 
Zuz,  the  coin,  value  of,  ii.  CI 7. 


INDEX   OF   TEXTS. 


659 


INDEX    OF    TEXTS, 


OLD  TESTAMENT. 


Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

verse. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

GEN'ESIS. 

ESODUS- 

-contd. 

LE\^TICU 

■3 — contd. 

ii.  20 — 22 

I.  IfiS 

iii.  14 

II.  308 

iv.  3,  16 

1.91 

i.i.  15 

L573 

iv.  20 

1.587 

iv.  15 

1.188 

vi.  2 

11.139 

iv.  21—26 

I.  553 

vi.  15 

1.98 

ix.  25 

I.  1G9 

iv.  22 

L338 

vi.  20 

1.91 

XV.  17 

1.587 

V.  1 

1.289 

vii.  10 

L94 

xvii.  6 

I.  439 

vli.  24 

1.94 

vii.  24 

n.  224 

xvii.  7 

1.111 

X.  18 

L93 

vii.  31,  33 

1.94 

xviii.  2 

1.120 

xii.  1—28 

1.213 

ix.  24 

1.87 

xviii.  19 

1.171 

xii.  4 

1.216 

X.  6 

1.93 

xix.1,5 

L  120 

xii.  16 

1.217 

X.  13,  U 

1.94 

XX.  18 

1.94 

xii.  26 

1.217 

X.  17- 

1.580 

xxii.  3 

L587 

xiii.  7 

1.213 

xi.  22 

1.374 

xslii.  16 

I.  58G 

xiii.  8,  9 

1.238 

xii.  4 

L  127,  130 

xsiv.  15 

1.472 

xiii.  13 

I.  130 

xii.  5 

I.  127 

xxiv.  25 

L120 

XV.  16 

I.  84,  109 

xiii.  9 

1.238 

xxiv.  50 

I.  105 

xvi.  4 

11.  192 

xiii.  45 

n.  13 

xxT.  15,  IG 

L319 

xviii.  7 

I.  169 

xvi.  1—34 

I.  235 

XXV.  27 

1.566 

xix.  8 

I.  83,  549 

xvi.  12 

1.98 

xxvi.  3 

1.578 

xix.  17 

I.  83,  549 

xvi.  17 

1. 100 

y\i\  22 

1.474 

xix.  22 

1.92 

xviii.  5 

U.  96 

XXX.    1 

1.94 

XX.  12 

I.  168 

xviii.  16 

1.424 

xsx.  2,  3 

L94 

XX.  18 

I.  83,  549 

xix.  3 

1.168 

XXX.  13 

1.109 

xxi.  24 

n.  71 

xix.  9 

U.  102 

xxxii.  12 

1.278 

xxiii.  4,  5 

IL78 

xix.  12 

n.  69 

xxxii.  30 

1. 100 

xxiii.  15 

1.217 

xix.  18    II.  77, 

86,  312,  424 

xxxiii.  19 

1.586 

xxiv.  1 

I.  188 

xix.  19 

1.213 

xxxiv.  11 

I.  105 

xxiv.  8 

1L475 

xix.  32 

1.169 

XXXV.  19 

I.  119 

xxviii.  41 

1.91 

xx.  10 

I.  297 

XXXV.  21 

1.573 

xsis.  1—37 

1.91 

XX.  21 

I.  424, 427 

xxxviii.  14, 13 

1.472 

XXX.  11,  12 

II.  2C3 

xxi.  5 

1.93 

xxxix.  2 

1.578 

XXX.  13 

L279 

xxi.  7 

1.93 

xli.8 

1.587 

XXX.  18 

L  97 

xxi.  10 

1.91 

xlvi.  29 

1.168 

xxxiii.  20 

1.100 

xxi.  11 

1.359 

xlvii.  IG 

1.586 

xxxiv.  7 

II.  25,  580 

xxiii.  5 — 14 

I.  211 

xlviii.  12 

L  168 

XXXI V.  16 

1.256 

xxiii.  7 

1.217 

xlix.  10       L  148, 

JC3,  573 

xxxiv.  21) 

I.  130 

xxiii.  26—32 

I.  235 

xlix.  11                 I 

81,  549 

xxxiv.  21 

U.  206 

xxiv.  6 

1.552 

xlix.  2G 

1.519 

xl.  13—15 

1.91 

xxiv.  9 

n.  94,  103 

1.2 

1.587 

xl.  27 

I.  'JS 

xxiv.  16 
xxvii. 

11.26 
L  92,  93 

EXODUS 

LEVITICUS. 

xxvii.  6 

1.130 

I.  120 
L  92 

ii.  1  £f. 
ii.  3,  10 

1.98 
1.94 

NUMBERS. 

1.578 

ii.  14 

1.93 

iii.  12 

I.  130 

660 


INDEX   OF   TEXTS. 


NUJIBERS— <:on^(/. 


iv.  7 

Ti.  1—21 

vi.  4,  5,  7 

vi.  24— 2G 

s.  10 

sii.  1 

xiii.  IG 

XV.  31 

XV.  37—41 

XV.  38,  SO,  I. 

xvi.  5 

xviii.  3 

xviii.  14—10 

xviii.  15,  II! 

sviii.  2G— 28 

xix.  13 

six.  17 

XX.  13 

XX.  14—21 

xxiii.  21 

xxiv.  17      I.  144, 

xxvi.  9 

xxviii.  !lf 

ixviii.  !l.  10 

xxviii.  11 — 15 

xxviii.  18 

xxix.  7 — 11 

xxxi.  2.") — 47 

xxxiii.  4'J 

xxxiv.  11 


I.  .552 
1.358 
1.358 
1.221 
L200 
I.  25G 
1.554 

n.  .->5y 

I.  5(!7 

190,  5(iG 

I. 'J2 

1.92 

1.93 

I.  130 
I.  93 

I.  235 
II.  576 

I.  244 

I.  259 
I.  578 

148,  140 
1.  244 

II.  103 
1.99 

I.  200 
I.  217 
I.  235 
I.  93 
I.  388 
I.  583 


DEUTERONOMY— eon^c?. 


DEUTERONOMY. 


iii.  17 
iv.  7 
iv.  9,  10 
T.  IG 
Ti.  4,  5 
vi.  4— 6 
vi.  4— 9 
vi.  4—10 
vi.  5 
vi.  7,  21 
vi.  8,  9 
Ti.  13 
vi.  16 
vii.  3,  4 
vii.  G 
viii.  3 
viii.  7,  8 
viii.  15 
X.  12,  20 
xi.  13—21 
xi.  13—22 
xi.  18 
xi.  19 
xiii.  1 
xiii.  4 
xiii.  9,  10 
xiv.  2,  21 
xiv.  28 
xvi.  6,  7 
xvii.  6—26 
xvii.  6 
xvii.  7 
xvii.  8ff 
xvii.  10 


I.  583 
I.  144 
I.  171 

I.  Ifi8 
n.  424 

1.238 
I.  5G7 
1.238 
n.  87,  312 
I.  171 

I.  238 
1.439 
1.439 
1.256 

1.84 
I.  439 

II.  235 
I.  373,  492 

1.439 

I.  5G7 

1.238 

1.238 

1.171 

I.  75 

I.  439 

n.  297 

1.84 

I.  93 

1.216 

I.  385 

II.  300 
n.  297 

1.92 
I.  75 


xviii.  5 
xviii.  15 
xix.  15 
xxi.  17 
xxi.  18—21 
xxi.  23 
XX  ii.  12 
xxii.  24 
xxiii.  3 
xxiii.  21 
xxiii.  25 
xxiv.  1. 
xxiv.  19—22 
XXV.  5 
XXV.  5,  6 
XXV.  G 
XXV.  9 
xxvi.  3,  10 
xxvi.  12 
xxvi.  19 
xxvii.  16 
xxvii.  21 
xxvii.  2G 
xxviii. 
XXX.  G 
xxxii.  3 
xxxii.  7 
xxxii.  9 
xxxii.  10 
xxxii.  14 
xxxii.  39 
xxxiii.  10 


xiii.  27. 
xxi.  1—43 
xxii.  24 


I.  587 
I.  332,  398 
II.  274 
II.  350 
I.  IGS 
n.  573 
I.  190 
II.  224,  297 

I.  256 

II.  G9 
II.  102 

n.  69,  111 

II.  102 

n.  424,  421 

I.  95 

I.  95 

II.  224 

I.  234 

1.93 

L  84 

I.  1G8 

II.  348 

II.  563 

U.  377 

I.  505 

I.  194 

1.217 

I.  84 

1.373 

1.82 

II.  100 

1.98 


I.  120 
1.576 
1.583 
1.583 
I.  93 
I.47G 


V.  15 
T.  18 
Ti.  18 
vi.  22 
vii.  1 
ix.  7 
ix.  13 
xi.  12 
xi.  17,  18 
xiii.  15 
xiii.  22 
xiv.  10 
xiv.  12,  15 
xvi.  17 
xvii.  10 
xviii.  30 
xix.  G 
xix.  15 
xix.  20,  23 


Chapter  and 

nUIR—contd. 


Vol.  aud 
page. 


JUDGES. 


i.  1,  19 
i.  3 
i.  11 
ii.  1 


-10 


I.  211 

II.  102 

1.211 


ii.  1- 

ii.  4 

ii.  5 

ii.  G 

ii.  8 

ii.  10,  35 

ii.  22  ff. 

ii.  24 

iv.  20 

vii.  6 

X.  8 

xii.  3,  5 

xii.  12 

xiv.  25 

xiv.  47 

XV.  25 

xvi.  4 

xvi.  6 

xvi.  U 

xvii.  42 

XX.  5,  24 

xxi.  1 

xxi.  6 

xxiii.  19,  24 

xxiv.  2 

xxiv.  7,  11 

xxvi.  9,  11,  23 

xxxi.  8,  12 


n.  575 

I.  118 

1.94 

I.  109 

I.  555 
I.  109 
I.  109 

II.  100 

I.  109 

I.  573 

1.574 

1.84 

1.95 

I.  118 

I.  118 

1.573 

1.84 

L518 

I.  260 

1.580 

1.189 

.  85,  573 

1.227 

I.  227 

n.  122 

II.  103 
1.552 
1.371 
1.372 
1.573 
1.573 
1.307 


i.  12 
i.  14,  16 
vi.  21 
X.  37,  33 
xvi.  16 
xviii.  6 
xix.  11 
xix.  22 
xxi.  9 
xxiii.  1 
xxiv.  1 


viii.  53 
ix.  11,  13 
xiii.  20 
XV.  20 
xvii.  18 
xviii.  29,  36 
xxi.  13 
xxi.  27 


I.  » 

i.  9—18 
iii.  13 
iv.  8 
iv.  23 
iv.  42 


n.  84 
II.  573 
11.84 
II.  558 
1.476 
1.518 
II.  189 
I.  476,  573 
1.211 
1.573 
1.278 


I.  16 
I.  310 
II.  122 
1.583 
I.  47G 
1.99 
II.  559 
1.392 


1.392 
II.  281 
1.476 
1.307 
L  200,  550 
n.  186 


INDEX   OF  TEXTS. 


661 


Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

verse. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

n.  KIXGS— con(</. 

PSALMS— con^rf. 

PSALMS- 

— contii. 

T.  10 

I.  395 

ii.  6—35 

L329 

cxiii.  1—8 

n.  .397 

vi.30 

I.  392 

ii.  9 

I.  337 

cxiii.  7 

I.  109 

ix.  G 

LS4 

ii.  35 

L  331 

cxviii.  15,  16 

L  109 

X.  1. 

I.  189 

vii.  5 

11.78 

cxviii.  22 

n.  410 

xi.  9 

1.8- 

vii.  6. 

IL  78 

cxxii.  1 

L233 

XV.  29 

1.310 

vii.  6,  7 

IL  78 

cxxii.  2 

1.233 

xvii.  24 

1.521 

viii.  1—24 

L  329 

cxxvi.  2,  3 

I.  109 

xvii.  26 

L  521 

viii.  3 

n.  399 

cxxvii.  3 

L95 

xvii.  33 

L  521 

viii.  4 

II.  525 

cxxxii.  11,  12 

L336 

xxii.  6 

L  151 

viii.  5 

L5S1 

cxxxvii. 

L  203 

ix.  3 

L5S1 

cxli.  2 

L99 

I.  CHRONICLES. 

xi.4 

I.  581 

cxliv.  14 

L193 

vii.  27 

I.  554 

xi.  17 

L335 

cxlv.  15 

L6 

xi.  17 

L  120 

xvi.  8 

L177 

c.xlvi.  10 

L194 

xvi.  10—37 

I.  5G7 

xvi.  10 

n.  585 

cxlix.  0—9 

L342 

xri.  22 

I.  578 

xviii.  51 

I.  573 

cL 

L234 

xsiii.  24 

I.  90 

xix.  4,  5 

I.  105 

xxiii.  31 

L  550 

XX.  7 

L  573 

PROVERBS. 

xxiv.  1—18 

L86 

xxii.  18 

II.  505 

i.  8 

L168 

xxiv.  2,  3 

1.549 

XXV.  22 

L  111,  331 

iv.  1 

L168 

xxiv.  10 

I.  549 

xxvi.  6 

IL  540 

vi.  20 

L168 

xxix.  5 

I.  l.-il 

xxviii.  8 

I.  573 

vii.  1 

L168 

xxix.  10—13 

I.  193 

xsx.  4 

L  110 

X.  27 

L345 

n.   CHRONICLES. 

xxxi.  19 
xxxii.  2 — 5 

I.  196 
IL  25 

xi.  16 
xiv.  1 

L166 
L166 

xvi.  12 

L587 

xxxiii.  13 

I.  581 

XX.1 

L475 

xxiii.  8 

L87 

xsxiv.  3 

L  109 

XX.  20 

L168 

xxiv.  6 

n.  2C3 

XXXV.  9 

L  109 

xxiii.  1 

n.  123 

xxiv.  20 

n.  430 

XXXV.  19 

IL488 

xxiii.  29,  30 

L475 

xxvi.  10 

L559 

xxxvi.  8 

L581 

xxiv.  17 

n.  78 

XXX.  1 

L575 

xii.  11 

1.234 

XXV.  21 

IL78 

XXX.  17 

1.215 

xlii.  1—4 

L204 

xxix.  7 

L575 

XXXV.  1—20 

I.  215 

xliv. 

L  453 

xxxi.  10 

L  166 

XXXV.  5 

1.215 

xlv.  8 

L  473 

XXXV.  C,  14 

I.  215 

Ii.  2 

L  395 

ECOLESIASTES. 

XXXV.  22 — 25 

1.300 

Ii.  10 

L505 

i.  1 

L343 

Ii.  15 

I.  194 

ix.  17 

L587 

EZRA. 

liv.  7 

II.  78 

ii;  64 

L65 

Iv.  17 

L106 

SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

iii.  5 

L550 

lxix.4 

n.  488 

iii.  6 

L98 

V.  3 

L  188 

Ixxi.  19 

L  109 

iii.  11 

L474 

ix.  2 

n.  222 

Ixxii.  16 

n.  82,  192 

vii.  4 

L  316,  393 

Ixxiii.  13 

IL  546 

vii.  18 

L  393 

NEHEUIAH. 

Ixxiv.  8 

I.  560 

ii.  13 

IL  93 

Ixxviii.  5,  6 

L  171 

ISAIAH. 

viii.  8 

n.  555 

Ixxix.  1 

I.  325 

L6 

n.  313 

viii.  15,  16 

1.471 

Ixxx.  8 

L552 

i.  15 

L  106 

X.  32 

n.  203 

Ixxxi.  3 

L  550 

i.  16 

L395 

X.  33 

n.  550 

Ixxxii.  6 

n.  327 

i.  16,  17 

L402 

xii.  4—17 

L  549 

Ixxxiv.  9 

L  573 

L  31 

L379 

xiii.  7 

n.  222 

Ixxxiv. 

L  118 

ii.  2 

L82 

Ixxxix.  10 

L  109 

ii.  3 

L  172,  313 

ESTHER 

Ixxxix.  39 

L  573 

iii.  14 

II.  409 

i.  13 

L  587 

xci.  11 

L439 

V.  1 

n.  153 

ii.  18 

L474 

xciii.  1 

L  195 

V.  1.  £f. 

IL409 

xcvii.  12 

I.  110 

V.  7 

L379 

JOB. 

xcviii.  1 

L  109 

V.  24 

L379 

xii.  10 

L6 

c. 

L567 

vi.  1 

L  539 

xvi.  15 

L  392 

civ.  1 

L  195 

vi.  6 

L98 

xxiv.  21 

L94 

civ.  15 

L475 

vi.  7 

L580 

xxxi.  29,  30 

n.  78 

cv.  15 

L573 

vi.  13 

L379 

xxxi.  32 

L  120 

cvi.  40,  41 

I.  325 

viii.  23 

L540 

ex.  1 

n.  525 

ix.  1          I.  310,  482,  485, 

■PSMMS. 

ex.  1,  2,  5,  6 

L  445 

540, 

572;  n.206 

ii.  2                     L  329,  573 

ex.  4 

U.  437 

ix.  10 

n.  409 

ii.  2—5 

I.  329 

cxi.  9 

L109 

ix.  18 

L  379,  518 

662 


INDEX   OF  TEXTS. 


Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vnl.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

verae. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

ISAIAH- 

—contd. 

ISAIAB 

CO 

nld 

DANIEL— con(f/. 

X.  15 

1.379 

Ixi.  10         I. 

196, 

473,  474 

ix.  21 

I. 

100,  106 

X.  17 

1.379 

Ixiii.  2 

I. 

196,  451 

ix.  26 

1.573 

xi.  1 

I.  81,  148 

Ixv.  5 

II.  34 

ix.  27 

n.  445 

xi.  2 

1.414 

Ixvi.  24 

n.  272 

X.  8 

I.  100 

xi.  3 

I.  392,  393 

xi.  36 

1.331 

xi.  4 

L  337,  340 

JEREJUAH. 

xii.  7 

1.382 

xi.  12. 

1.460 

i.  35 

I.  587 

xiii.  4. 

1.577 

ii.  21 

I.  552 

HOSEA. 

xiii.  9,  10 

n.  446 

ii.  32 

I.  473 

i.  10 

L278 

xviii.  :i3 

I.  379 

iv.  4 

I.  505 

iv.  11 

1.475 

XX.  2 

1.577 

iv.  28 

I.  376 

vi.  6 

n 

35,  104 

xxi.  10 

I.  379 

vii.  2  £f. 

It  403 

vi.  9 

L517 

xxii.  22 

n.  242 

Til  34 

1.474 

ix.  14 

1.94 

xxviii.  I 

1.518 

viii.  22 

1.587 

xxviii.  1,  7 

1.585 

xii.  5 

I.  391 

JOEL. 

xxviii.  7 

1.475 

XV  i.  9 

1.474 

i.  7 

1.552 

xxviii.  27 

1.379 

XXV.  10 

1.474 

ii.  28 

I.  367,  404 

xxix.  13 

n.2io 

xxix.  32 

I.  94 

iii.  1 

1.83 

XXX.  24 

1.379 

xxxi.  34 

II.  25 

ili.  1,  2 

II.  605 

XXX.  29 

n.  504 

xxxi.  40 

II.  575 

iii.  1—23 

II.  294 

xxxi.  9 

1.552 

xxxiii.  8 

11.25 

iii.  15 

II.  446 

xxxiii.  24 

1.404 

xxxiii.  17 

I.  336 

iii.  19 

1.260 

XXXV.  4,  5 

1.423 

XXXV.  6,  7 

I.  359 

XXXV.  5 

11.  115 

XXXV.  19 

1.94 

Alios. 

XXXV.  5,  6 

1.83 

xxxix.  3 

I.  144 

i.2 

L539 

xxxviii.  12 

I.  584 

xli.  17 

I.  558 

i.  11,  12 

I.  260 

xl.  10 

I.  151 

xlix.  7—22 

I.  260 

ii.  11 

L  360 

xl.  21) 

I.  151 

xlix.  19 

I.  391 

vi.  4,  7 

II.  122 

xl.  24 

I.  379 

1.44 

I.  391 

vii.  14 

I.  539 

xli.  8 

I.  110 

viii.  5 

I.  550 

ili.  15 

1.379 

LAMENTATIOXS. 

xiii.  1—3 

n.  110 

ii.  10 

I.  189 

OBADIAH 

xiii.  7 

1.535 

Verso  10 

I.  260 

xiii.  19 

1.577 

EZEKIEL. 

xliv.  3 

n.  294,  404 

ii.  1 

I.  581 

MICAH. 

xliv.  12 

I.  151 

ii.  3G-,'!9 

1.87 

i.  7 

II.  133 

xlv.  1 

L  673,  574 

iii.  1,  4,  10,  17 

I.  581 

v.  2 

I  81.  148 

xlv.  7 

I.  562 

iii.  12 

I.  194 

vi.8 

L857 

xlv.  21 

I.  575 

iv.  1 

I.  581 

vii.  20 

LllO 

xlvi.  3 

1.200 

vi.  17 

I.  553 

xlvii.  13 

1.200 

vi.  20 

1.215 

HAGGAL 

xlvii.  14 

1.379 

xiii.  11 

II.  153 

i.  1 

L200 

xlix.  18 

I.  473 

xiv.  1  ff. 

I.  137 

ii.  3,  9 

I.  55 

lii.  5 

I.  325 

xix.  10 

I.  552 

ii.  13 

n.  576 

lii.  13 

I.  460 

xxiii.  40 

I.  395 

lii.  14 

L451 

XXTi.    1 

1.200 

ZECHARIAII. 

liii.  2 

I.  105 

xxix.  17 

1.200 

ix.  1 

L82 

liii.  4 

n.  8 

xxxi.  1 

I.  200 

ix.  9 

II. 

400,  587 

liii.  7 

I.  460,  476 

XXXV.  13 

I.  260 

X.  3 

L148 

lui.  12 

n.  472 

xxxix.  20 

1.404 

X.  3,  4 

LSI 

liv.  12 
liv.  13 

L  82 

xl.  46 
xlvii.  1,  12 

II.  222 
n.  294 

xii.  11- 

-12 

I.  307 

n.  194 

xiii.  1 

n!294 

Iv.  1 

11.294 

xlvii.  12 

1.83 

xiii.  7 

IL  471 

Iv.  7 

1.404 

xiv.  8 

II.  294 

Ivi.  7 

n.  403 

DAXIEL 

xiv.  10 

L82 

Iviii.  6—9 

L403 

ii.  2 

I.  144 

xiv.  20 

L82 

Iviii.  7 

1.379 

ii.  44 

II.  437 

Iviii.  11 

n.  294 

vi.  U 

I.  106 

M.VLACHI 

lix.  5 

1.379 

vii.  9 

I.  195 

i.6 

I.  168 

lix.  IG,  17 

I.  578 

vii.  13 

II.  434,  525 

i.  8,  U 

L89 

lix.  17 

L  196 

vii.  13,  14 

I.  577 

ii.  7 

L  92,  577 

Ix.  1,  5 

1.444 

vii.  14 

II.  22.5,  437 

ii.  14 

L  105 

Ix.  1—6 

L  153 

vii.  19 

1.326 

iii.  1 

L405 

Ixi. 

I.  195 

vii.  23 

1.331 

iii.  9 

1.89 

Ixi.  1 

L414 

vii.  25 

I.  382 

iv.  1 

L394 

Ixi.  1,  2 

I.  423 

viii.  16 

I.  100 

iv.  5 

L332 

INDEX   OF   TEXTS. 


663 


APOCRYPHA. 


Oliapter  and 

Vol  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  ana 

verte. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

n.  ESDRAS. 

ECOLESIASTICUS. 

L  MACCABEES. 

(Otherwise  IV.  Esdras.) 

vii.  27, 28 

I.  169 

i.  56,  57 

L238 

xi.  14—22 

1.101 

ii.  27—38 

L325 

ii.  1 

1.329 

xsvi.  1 — 4 

I.  168 

ii.  50 

I.  285 

ii.  38—46 

I.  327 

xsvi.  2,  3 

I.  168 

iv.  52—59 

I.  236,  237 

vi.  55,  59 

I  327 

xlviii.  1—11 

n.  116 

xii.  6 

I.  188 

Ix.  24,  25 

L366 

xlviii.  10 

L393 

xiv.  9 

I.  188 

xiii.  32 

1.462 

xlviii.  12 

I.  394 

xiv.  41 

1.549 

xiv.  9 

1.462 

1.  5-8 

1.101 

n.  JIACC^UiEES. 

TOBIT. 

BARUCH. 

i.  18—36 

L552 

i.  17, 19 

n.  576 

iii.  14—22 

n.  21 

ii.  1 

1.552 

il.  20 

I.  474 

vi.  53 — 56 

lL22d 

ii.  4,  8 
ii.  17 

1.384 
L70 

JUDITH. 

SUSAXXAH 

iv.  2 
is. 

1285 
L500 

ii.  2—17 

I.  553 

Verse  3 

I.  170 

X.  6 

1.237 

NEW  TESTAMENT. 


MATTHEW. 


i.  1 
i.  15 
i.  23 
ii.  1 
ii.10 
ii.  15 
ii.  16 
ii.  23 
ii.  23 
iii.  1—3,  i 


iii.  6 


L  555 
I.  oh^ 
1.155 
n.  291 
1.134 
L  155 
1.250 
I.  134 
1.115 
1.394 
1.512 
1.393,576 
1.396 


iii.  7  L  379, 397,  404,  510. 


iii.  9 
iii.  11 
iv.  7,  10 
iv.  12 
iv.  U 
iv.  15 
iv.  17 
iv.  18  . 
iv.  18—22 
iv.  19 


1.403 
1.395 
1.569 
1.538 

I.  155,  482 
I.  311,485,  535 

I.  512,  540 
L543 
L542 
n.  56 


iv.  23  H.  12,  20, 303 


Chapter  and 
verse. 

MATTHEW- 
v.l 

v.  2,  11 
V.  3—12 
v.  5 

T.  10—12 
v.  13—16 
T.  17—48 
V.  18 
V.  19 
V.  20—26 
v.  25  I 

V.  27—30 
T.  28 
V.  31 
V.  31,  32 
V.  38 
vi.  1—15 
vl  5 
vi.  6  ff. 

Ti.  7  I 

vi.  13—20 
vi.  13—23 
vi.  16  n 

vi.  lft-18 
vi.  19—23 


Vol.  and 
page. 

-contd. 

n.  40 

I.  196 
n.  59 
n.  452 

n.  39 
n.  62 
n.  62 

1.350 
I.  198 

n.  67 

282.  566 
n.  67 
I.  541 
n.  369 
n.  69 
1.276 

n.  80 

I.  193 

n.  80 

:.  37,  197 
n.  239 
H.  87 
37,  129 
n.  82 
n.  83 


Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

page. 

MATTHEW- 

-contd. 

vi.  22 

L541 

Ti.  23                  I 

.  541,  569 

Ti.  24—34 

H.  83 

Ti.  26 

I  569 

vi.  28 

n.  75 

Tii.  1 

I.  182 

vii.  1—12 

n.  84 

Tii.  9—11 

1.241 

Tii.  10 

n.  129 

Tii.  11 

1.541 

Tii.  17 

1.541 

Tii.  18—27 

H.  160 

Tii.  24—27 

n.  89 

Tii.  25 

1.308 

Tii.  28 

n.  56 

Tiii.  2 

1.198 

Tiii.  2—4 

H.  13 

Tiii.  4 

1.92 

Tiii.  5—13 

ILllO 

Tiii.  11 

n.  217 

viii.  15 

n.  6,  129 

Tiii.  17 

1.155 

Tiii.  18 

n.131 

Tiii.  19       I.  580 ; 

n.33,43 

Tiii.  20          L  23t 

;  IL129 

664 


INDEX   OF   TEXTS. 


Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

verse. 

page 

verse. 

pn«e. 

verse. 

page. 

SUTTHEW— con^rf. 

MATTHEW— coni'f/. 

MATTHEW— con^rf. 

Tiii.  22 

1.541 

;  n.  56 

xii.  1 

II.  128 

XV.  20 

1.541 

Tiii.  23— is.  1 

II.  161 

xii.  1—8 

11.  103 

XV.  21-28 

n.  218 

Tiii.  28 

1.317 

xii.  3 

L239;  IL33 

XV.  25 

L  569 

viii.  29 

I.  476 

xii.  4 

1.94 

XV.  32—38 

11.  221 

ix.  1 

I.  4S3 

xii.  5 

I.  569 

xvi.  1 

11.40 

ix.  2—9 

I.  54 

;  II.  19 

xii.  7 

II.  207 

xvi.  1—4 

n.  229 

ix.  3 

I.   198 

xii.  9 

II.  318 

xvi.  2 

1.490 

jx.  4 

I. 

510,  .-)69 

xii.  9—14 

n.  105 

xvi.  3 

1.490 

ix.  6, 12 

II.  33 

xn.  12 

1.569 

xvi.  .5,  7 

n.  131 

ix.  9 

I.  4S4 

xii.  15—21 

II.  109 

xvi.  5— 12    . 

n.  232 

ix.  10     I. 

288  ;n 

32,  129 

xii.  19 

1.499 

xvi.  6            I. 

541;  n.  131 

ix.  11 

I.  250 

xii.  21 

II.  233 

xvi.  7 

IL50 

ix.  11— U 

II.  35 

xii.  22—37 

11.  139 

xvi.  13,  14 

I.  198 

ix.  13 

1.569 

II.  207 

xii.  23 

I.  485,  583 

xvi.  14          I. 

458;  n.  213 

ix.U 

1.406,421; 

xii.  25 

I.  442,  569 

xvi.  16 

I.  512 

II.  128 

xii.  26 

I.  569 

xvi.  18 

II.  603 

iz.16 

1.4 

■2,  514  : 

xii.  33 

1.541 

.xvi.  19 

I.  77 

11.  3S,  liO 

xii.  35 

1.241 

xvi.  21 

I.  461 

ix.  IG,  17 

I.  407 

xii.  38 

I.  580 

xvi.  21—28 

n.  L'44 

ix.  17 

11.56 

xii.  38 — 15 

II.  145 

xvi.  22 

U.  197 

ix.  18—26 

II.  166 

xii.  39 

L  37<i,  541 

xvi.  25 

1.541 

ix.  20 

I.  492 

xii,  40 

I.  569 

xvii.  1—13 

II.  249 

ix.  27—84 

n.  170 

xii.  41 

I.  37li 

xvii.  10 

11.33 

ix.  33 

I.  198 

xii.  46 

I.  575 

xvii.  11 

I.  392 

ix.  34 

II.  141 

xii.  46—50 

n.  147 

xvii.  12 

1.420 

ix.  35 

I.  303 

xii.  49 

II.  53,  56 

xvii.  14—21 

IL2.56 

X.  1— xi.  1 

II.  179 

xiii.  1—23 

II.  154 

xvii.  17 

1.541 

X.3 

I.  349 

xiii.  1,  36 

1.483 

xvii.  22,  23 

a  260 

X.  4 

I.  290 

xiii.  14,  15 

1.569 

xvii.  24 

I.  491,  580 

X.5 

1.311 

xiii.  16 

I.  196 

xvii.  24—27 

n.  263 

Z.6 

1.541 

xiii.  16,  17 

II.  156 

xvii.  27 

II.  130 

Z.8 

n.  130 

xiii.  24--33 

II.  157 

xviii.  1. 

II.  131,  268 

X.  9 

n.  129,  130 

xiii.  29 

1.442 

xviii.  1 — 35 

n.  261,  266 

X.  10 

II.  50 

xiii.  34 

II.  155 

xviii.  6 

n.  50 

X.  11 

11.  131 

xiii.  .35 

II.  446 

xviii.  16 

1.569 

X.  11,  U 

II.  131 

xiii.  36— 43, 

44—53  II.  158 

xviii.  17 

1.288 

X.  13 

U.  155 

xiii.  40 

U.  485 

xviii.  18 

n.  243 

X.  15 

1.376 

xiii.  44 

I.  282 

xviii.  23 

1.282 

X.  16—25 

U.  39 

xiii.  46 

I.  282,  491 

xviii.  25 

I  282 

X.  17 

11.  489 

-xiii.  52    1.239,580;  U.  56 

xviii.  29 

II.  217 

X.24 

L580 

xiii.  54      I. 

185,  198,  567; 

xviii.  47 — 49 

L588 

X.29 

II.  129 

n.  .54 

xix.  1,  2 

II.  337 

X.  35 

I.  569 

xiii.  54—58 

n.  175 

xix.  3—12 

n.  370 

X.  3S,  39 

U.  39 

xiii.  55 

1.348 

xix.  3,  13,  10 

I.  198 

X.  40 

1.121 

xiii.  57 

I.  483 

xix.  4 

1.239 

X.  42 

n.  131 

xiv.  1          I 

428,  432,  535 

xix.  4,  5 

I.  569 

xi.  1 

U.  183 

xiv,  1,  2,  6—12         II.  183    1 

xix.  13— 15    I 

238; n.  373 

xi2 

I.  422 

xiv.  4 

1.423 

xix.  16 

n.  33 

xi.  2ff 

I.  421 

xiv.  9 

II.  542 

xix.  16—30 

n.  374 

xi.  2—19 

II.  115 

xiv.  12 

I.  421 

xix.  21 

n.  130 

xi.  5 

I.  379 

xiv.  13—21 

n.  184 

xix.  23—30 

IT.  377 

xi.  7 

I.  392 

xiv.  14 

II.  185 

xix.  27 

n.  130 

xi.  8 

n.  129 

xiv.  17 

n.  IL'6,  129 

XX.  1—16 

n.374 

xi.  9 

I.  398 

xiv.  18,  27 

1.198 

XX.  3 

1.309 

xi.  9, 10 

1.392 

xiv.  21 

n.  186 

XX.  8 

I.  308,  535 

xi.  10 

1.569 

xiv.  22—33 

n.  188 

XX.  17—19 

IL382 

xi.  U 

1.401,406    1 

xiv.  33 

II.  240,  512 

XX.  20 

n.  237 

xi.  14 

I.  392 ; 

n.  255 

xiv.  34—36 

n.  190 

XX.  20—28 

II.  383 

xi.  16 

[.  198,  : 

38,  309 

xiv.  54,  05 

1.506 

XX.  24 

n.  131 

xi.  16-30 

n.  117 

XV.  1 

II.  128 

X.X.  29—34 

n.386 

xi  18 

1.406 

XV.  1—20 

IL  201,  209 

xxi.  1 

U.  131 

xi.  19     I.  288, 289 ; 

IL129 

XV.  4 

1.569 

x.Ki.  1—11 

n.  393 

xi.  20,  24 

1.494 

XV.  8,  9 

L  22,  569 

xxi.  11 

.     1. 483 

xi.  24 

1.376 

;  II.  40 

XV.  11 

II.  207 

XXL  12 

I.  129 

xi.  25 

U.  45 

XV.  13 

n.  212 

xxi.  12,  13 

n.  401 

xi29 

L196 

XV.  14 

I.  375,  541 

xxi.  14—17 

n.  393 

INDEX   OF   TEXTS. 


665 


Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  ufld 

verso. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

MATTHEW— con((/. 

MATTHEW— 

contd. 

MARK— con  <(/. 

xxi.  Ifi,  42 

I. 

239,  569 

XXV.  31 — 16 

II.  552 

i.  27 

I.  198 

xxi.  18,  19 

n.  401 

XXV.  35,  43 

I.  121 

i.  29 

I.  484,  491 

ssi.  20—32 

ir.  404 

XXV.  36 

L403 

i.  32 

n.  6 

xxi.  22 

n.  410 

XXV.  40 

n.  50 

i.  35,  45 

I.  308 

xxi.  23         I. 

398 

II.  406 

xxvi.  1—16 

n.  456 

i  39 

n.  12 

xxi.  25 

I.  398 

xxvi.  2 

n.  309 

i.  40^5 

II.  13 

xxi.  26 

I.  397,  398 

xxvi.  6 

U.  129 

i.  44 

I.  02 

xxi.  28 

1.308 

XXVL    7 

n.  311 

ii.  1                 I 

483 ;  n.  40 

xxi.  28—32 

11.407 

xxvi.  9 

II.  130 

ii.  1—14 

n.  19 

xxi.  31 

I.  288 

xxvi.  17 — 19 

II.  461 

ii.  2 

1.401 

xxi.  32 

I.  397 

xxvi.  18 

1.580 

ii.  4 

1.491 

xxi.  33 

I.  400 

xxvi.  20 

n.  465 

ii.  13               I. 

491 ;  n.  40 

xxi.  33—46 

n.  409 

xxvi.  21 — 25 

11.468 

ii.  14 

I.  484 

xxii.  1—10 

1.474 

xxvi.  23 

I. 

217,  577 

ii.  15—22 

H.  32 

xxii.  1— U 

n.  412 

xxvi.  25, 49 

L5S0 

ii.  16—18 

11.35 

xxii.  4 

1.474 

xxvi.  26—29 

II.  473 

ii.  17 

1.542 

xxii.  9 

11.40 

xxvi.  30. 

n.  504 

ii.  18 

1.510 

xxii.  11 

n.  413 

xxvi.  31 

1.569 

ii.  19—22 

n.  38 

xxii.  15—22 

n.  416 

xxvi.  31—35 

n.  470 

ii.  21,  22 

1.407 

xxii.  17 

I.  2SS 

xxvi.  36—46 

U.504 

ii.  23 

1.308 

xxii.  21 

II.  29 

xxvi.  39 

I.  440 

ii.  23—28 

II.  102 

xxii.  23    I.  94,  95 

n.  226 

xxvi.  45 

L541 

ii.  27 

n.  207 

xxii.  23—33 

n.  421 

xxvi.  47—56 

n 

500,  510 

iii.  1—6 

II.  105 

xxii.  24 

1.580 

xxvi.  49 

II.  131 

iii.  7,  12 

II.  109 

xxii.  31 

1.239 

xxvi.  54 

I.  569 

iii.  8 

11.20 

xxii.  32 

I.5G9 

xxvi.  57,58,69 

—75.  n.520 

iii.  11 

1.512 

xxii.  34—40 

n.  423 

xxvi.  63 

H.  524 

iii.  13 

n.  42 

xxii.  35 

I.  5C9 

xxvi.  69,  73 

I.  482 

iii.  13,  14 

11.45 

xxii.  36,  38 

I.  5C9 

xxvi.  73 

1.311 

iii.  14 

11.44 

xxii.  41—46 

n.426 

xxvii.  1,2,  11- 

-14 

U.531 

iii.  18 

I.  290 

xxii.  42 

I.  555 

xxvii.  3 — 10 

n. 

555,  557 

iii.  19— .",0 

II.  139 

xx.ii.  1—12 

II.  427 

xxvii.  11 

11.537 

iii.  10,  31 

I.  483 

xxiii.2    1.255,398 

;  n.  206 

xxvii.  12 

U.  534 

iii.  21               I. 

108,  U.  27 

xxiii.  4 

L  245 

xxvii.  12—14 

H.  539 

iii.  22              I 

312, n.  40 

xxiii.  5  1. 101 

222 

;  n.  128 

xxvii.  15 — 26 

II.  542 

iii.  30 

II.  142 

xxiii.  6,  25 

II.  129 

xxvii.  19 

1.476 

iii.  31—35 

II.  147 

xxiii.  8,  10 

U.  580 

xxvii.  20 

II.  534 

iv.  1 

1.491 

xxiii.  9 

I.  580 

xxvii.  26—30 

II.  547 

iv.  1—25 

n.  154 

xxiii.  13,  28 

11.64 

xxvii.  27 

II.  533 

iv.  3 

L  308 

xxiii.  13—39 

H.  428 

xxvii.  31—34 

II.  561 

iv.  4 

I.  308 

xxiii.  14 

n.  149 

xxvii.  31—38 

n.  557 

iv.  11 

n.155 

xxiii.  15 

1.71 

xxvii.  35 — 38 

II.  562 

iv.  12 

n.  155 

xxiii.  16  f.      I 

541 

;  n.  69 

xxvii.  39 

II.  559 

iv;  13,  40 

n.  50 

xxiii.  23 

I  250 

xxvii.  39—44 

11.  566 

iv.  21 

II.  155 

xxiii.  24 

n.  64 

xxvii.  46 

1.509 

iv.  23 

n.  156 

.xxiii.  27     I.  - 

13, 

308,  485 

xxvii.  51 

I.  97 

iv.  24 

n.  156 

xxiii.  28 

n.  27 

xxvii.  51 — 56 

II.  572 

iv.  26—34 

II.  157 

xxiii.  37       I. 

400; 

II.  103 

xxvii.  54. 

II.  572 

iv.  33,  34 

II.  155 

xxiv.  1—14 

II.  440 

xxvii.  56 

II.  127 

iv.  35—41 

n.  160 

xxiv.  2 

11.  441 

xxvii.  57 — 66. 

II.  575 

iv.  36— V.  21 

II.  161 

xxiv.  3 

n.  441 

xxvii.  64 

11.  522 

v.  1 

1.317 

xxiv.  15 

I.  569 

xxviii.  16. 

n.  601 

V.  22—43 

II.  166 

xxiv.  15 — 42 

n.  445 

xxviii.  16—20 

n.  604 

V.  34 

II.  197 

xxiv.  17 

n.  22 

xxviii.  18      I. 

156 

;  n.452 

vi.  1 

n.  40 

xsiv.  24,  26 

I.  142 

vi.  1—6 

n.  175 

xxiv.  26 

I.  393 

MARK. 

vi.  2 

n.  172 

xxiv.  31 

II.  452 

i.  4 

1.404 

vi.  3  1.184,348,5 

38;  n.  174  • 

xxiv.  33 

II.  447 

i.  5 

I. 

303,  306 

vi.  6 

II.  175 

xxiv.  42 

n.  448 

i.  8 

1.395 

vi.  6,  36,  56 

1.308 

xxiv.  45 

n.  44S 

i.  13 

1437 

vi.  7—13 

II.  179 

xxiv.  48 

II.  446 

i.  14 

1.538,540    1 

vi.  12 

n.  182 

xxiv.  51 

n.  449 

i.  15 

I.  512 

vi.  14—10,  21— 

20   11.  183 

XXV.  1 

I.  473,  514    1 

i.  16—20 

1.542 

vi.  15 

H.  213 

XXV.  1 — 46 

n.  449 

i.  20 

1.467 

vi.  18 

1.423 

XXV.  5 

n.  446 

i.  22 

n. 

4,  40,  56 

vi.  20          I.  42 

1,  538,  539 

XXV.  10 

1.474 

i.'24 

I.  476 

vi.  22 ;  22,  29 

I.  429 

666 


INDEX   OF   TEXTS. 


Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

verse. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

MARK- 

—con 

td. 

MARK— coiKrf. 

LUKE- 

-contj. 

vi.  24 

1.429 

xii.  9 

I.  308 

i.  15 

I.  357 

vi.  30—44 

n.  184 

xii.  13— 17 

II.  416 

i.  17 

1.383 

vi.  31 

n.  184 

xii.  18—27 

IL  421 

i.  26 

I.  106 

Ti.  36 

n.  131 

xii.  28            I 

551  ;  II.  33 

i.  32,  33,  35 

1.  IOC 

vi.  4,5—52 

U.  188 

xii.  28—34 

II 

.  87,  423 

i.  71 

1.375 

vi.  52 

II.  50 

xii.  35—37 

n.  426 

i.  72,  73 

L375 

vi.  53— 5G 

II.  190 

xii.  38 

L  457 

i.  74,  75 

1.375 

vii.  1—23 

II. 

200,  209 

xii.  38,  39 

n.  427 

i.  76 

I.  101 

vii.  4            I 

577 

;  n.  148 

xii.  40 

n.  428 

i.  77 

1.461 

vii.  9 

n.  5C 

xii.  41 

I.  496 

i.  79 

1.375 

Tii.  10 

I.  5U9 

xii.  41—44 

II.  433 

i.  80 

I.  175,  201 

vii.  11 

IL  149 

xiii.  1—13 

U.  440 

ii.3 

I.  556 

viL  15 

II.  207 

xiii.  9 

II.  489 

ii.  4 

1.557 

Tii.  17 

L  480  :  II.  50 

xiii.  14 

I.  569 

ii.  8 

L  557 

vii.  24—, SO 

II.  218 

xiii.  14—37 

n.  445 

ii.  11 

1574 

vii.  32—37 

n.  221 

xiii.  29 

IL  447 

ii.  23 

L131 

vii.  34 

I. 

470,  478 

xiii.  35 

U.  448 

ii.  25 

L132 

viii.  1—9 

II.  221 

xiv.  1—11 

IL  456 

ii.  25—38 

I.  100 

viii.  10—12 

II.  228 

xiv.  3 

n. 

129,  309 

ii.  34 

L461 

viii.  14—21 

U.  232 

xiv.  5,  9 

L539 

ii.  35 

IL  172 

viU.  17,  18,  21 

,33 

U.50 

xiv.  12—16 

n.  461 

ii.  37 

I.  134 

viii  22—26 

II.  233 

xiv.  14 

L  121 

ii.  40 

L  201,  210 

viii.  27—30 

II.  239 

xiv.  17 

IL  465 

ii.  40—52 

L175 

viii.  28          I. 

514 

;  U.  213 

xiv.  18—21 

n.  468 

ii.  40           L  1 

74,  226,  255 

viii.  31 

11.  254 

xiv.  22—25 

II.  473 

ii.  49 

L218 

viii.  31—38 

n.  244 

xiv.  25 

L  492 

ii.  50 

L108 

viii.  34,  35 

IL  39 

xiv.  26,  32—34 

IL  504 

ii.  52           I.  2 

30,  413,  434 

viii.  38 

I.  376 

xiv.  27 — 31 

IL  470 

iii.3 

1.404 

is.  1 

II.  244 

xiv.  38 

n.  41 

iii.  7 

L  515 

ix.  2—13 

11.  249 

xiv.  40 

IL  50 

iii.  10  £f. 

I.  397 

ix.  3 

I.  161 

xiv.  43 

L  188 

iii.  12 

L  289,  398 

ix.  5 

I  580 

xiv.  43—52 

n. 

509,  510 

iii.  15 

1. 393 

ix.  6,  19,  32,  34 

U.  50 

xiv.  45 

I.  580 

iii.  16 

L395 

ix.  12 

I.  392 

xiv.  53,  54,  66 

-72  II.  ,529 

iii.  19 

1.423 

ix.  14—29 

n.256 

xiv.  58 

U. 

501,  522 

iiL  21 

L  405,  410 

ix.  30 

n.  250 

xiv.  60 

11.  522 

iii.  23 

L481 

ix.  30—32 

II.  260 

XV.  1—5 

U.  531 

iv.  4,  8,  12 

I.  569 

ix.  33 

n 

263,  268 

XV.  2 

II.  537 

iv.  6 

I.  189 

ix.  33,  50 

n. 

261,  266 

XV.  3—5 

n.  539 

iv.  7  ff. 

L379 

ix.  42 

1.308 

XV.  6—15 

II.  542 

iv.  16 

n.  40 

ix.  49 

I.  569 

XV.  10 

II.  534 

iv.  16—30 

n.  175 

X.  1 

n.  337 

XV.  11 

IL  522 

iv.  22 

n.  174,  198 

X.  2—12 

n.  370 

XV.  1.5-19 

IL  547 

iv.  28,  31 

L  185 

X.  .") 

1.551 

XV.  20—23 

II.  561 

iv.  29 

n.  40 

X.  C, 

I.  569 

XV.  20—28 

IL  557 

iv.  32 

1L4 

X.  13—16 

II.  373 

XV.  21 

II.  560 

iv.  33 

IL  4 

X.  17 

II.  41,  374 

XV.  24—28 

II.  562 

iv.  34,  41 

L512 

X.  17—31 

11.  374 

XV.  29 

n. 

501,  559 

iv.  40 

II.  6 

X.  ID 

1.551 

XV.  29-31 

II.  220 

V.  1 

L542 

X.  23—31 

II.  377 

XV.  29—32 

n.  566 

V.  1— 11 

L543 

X.  24,  32,  35 

n.  50 

XV.  31 

n.  566 

V.  3 

L489 

X.  32 

n.  131 

XT.  34 

L569 

V.  4 

L489 

X.  33,  34 

n.  382 

XV.  38—41 

II.  572 

V.  4—10 

1.588 

X.  33—45 

II.  383 

XV.  39 

IL  572 

V.  10 

I.  467 

X.  35 

II  50,  237 

XV.  40 

L4G7 

V.  12—16 

11.13 

X.  46— 52 

II.  386 

XV.  42-47 

II.  575 

V.  14 

L92 

X.  51 

1.580 

XV.  43 

IL  575 

V.  17 

L  812,  569 

xi.  1—11 

n.  393 

xvi.  1 

L  467 

V.  17—28 

n.  19 

xi.  12—14 

11.401 

xvi.  5 

L  100.  579 

V.  27 

L484 

xi.  15—19 

II.  401 

xvi.  12 

L579 

V.  29 

1.406 

xi.  17 

1.375 

xvi.  14—18 

n.  593 

V.  29—39 

n.  32 

xi.  20—23 

II.  404 

xvi.  15 

11.  446 

V.  30—33 

IL  35 

xi.  21 

I.  580 

xvi.  19,  20 

IL  607 

V.  33 

n.  128 

xi.  25 

I.  193 

V.  36,  37 

1.407 

xi.  27ff 

II.  406 

LUKE. 

V.  37 

1.490 

xii.  1—13 

U.  409 

i.  C 

I 

.  94,  357 

vi.  1—5 

IL  102 

INDEX   OF   TEXTS. 


667 


Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol  and 

verse. 

paao. 

verso. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

LUKE- 

—  conid. 

hUKE—contd. 

LUKE- 

—contii. 

vi.  6—11 

ir.  105 

s.  30 

L  290,  527 

XV.  22 

I.  579 

vi.  12 

11.45 

X.  31 

L  93 

XV.  25 

1.309 

vi.  1.3 

11.42 

X.  38—42 

n.  311 

XV.  31,  32 

t  428 

Ti.  17 

U.  44,51 

X.  40 

n.  129 

xvi.  1- 13 

It  353 

Ti.  37^2 

n.  84 

xi.  1—13 

n.  313 

xvi.  3 

t  283,  303 

vi.S'J— 41 

11.  85 

xi.  12 

n.  8G 

xvi.  6 

t283 

Ti.  44— 4G 

11.87 

xi.  14,  15,  17 

-23     n.  139 

xvi.  14—31 

It  354 

Ti.  45 

11.87 

xi.  15 

n,  40 

xvi.  19  £f. 

It  356 

Ti.  46 

n.  88 

xi.  15,  27,  37 

I.  198 

xvi.  22 

I.  101 

Ti.  47—49 

n.  89 

xi.  17 

I.  442 

xvii.  1 — 4 

11.358 

Tii.  1 

I.  489 

xi.  23 

n.  56 

xvii.  5—10 

n.  359 

Tli.  1—10 

n.  110 

xi.  24—26 

n.  145 

xvii.  5— U 

It  361 

Tii.  5 

I.  186 

xi.  27 

L  196 ;  n.  56 

xvii.  7 

t309 

Tii.  9 

I.  205 

si.  27,  28 

n.  147 

xvii.  11-19 

n.  278, 284 

Tii.  18—35 

n.  115 

xi.  29—32 

n.  145 

xvii.  15 

t  527 

Tii.  25 

I.  420 

xi.  37 

It  129 

xvii.  20 

1.512 

Tii.  26,  27 

I.  392 

xi.  37—54 

II.  149 

xvii.  20,  21 

n.  79 

Tii.  27 

I.  5G9 

xi.  39 

n.  207 

xvii.  20—37 

n.  361 

Tii.  29—35 

II.  117 

xi.  52 

t  398 

xvii.  29 

I..  309 

Tii.  30 

I.  402,  569 

xi.  53 

It  153 

xvii.  33 

t  441 

Tii.  30,  33 

1.511 

xii.  1 

It  153 

xviii.  1 

n.  446 

Til.  33 

1.402 

xii.  13  £P 

n.  151 

xviii.  1—8 

It  367 

Tii.  36 

n.  120 

xii.  13,  31 

t  198 

xviii.  9 

n.  27,  35 

Tii.  30-50 

II.  123 

xii.  16          I. 

282;  n. 186 

xviii.  9—14 

It  369 

Tii.  39 

11.34 

xii.  17,  18 

1.308 

xviii.  11 

L  193,  403 

Tii.  41 

I.  2S2 

xii.  24  . 

t  490 

xviii.  14 

t  183 

Tii.  44,  120,  1 

21        II.  129 

xii.  27,  28 

I.  490 

xviii.  15,  17 

n.  373 

Tii.  47 

II.  56 

xii.  38 

It  446 

xviii.  30 

n.  377 

Tiii.  1 

II.  130 

xii.  50 

t  449 

xviii.  31—34 

n.  383 

Tiii.  2 

I.  521 

xii.  54 

t  490 

xviii.  35—43 

It  386 

Tiii.  3        I.  314,  4G7,  535  ; 

xii.  54—57 

II.  229 

xix.  I 

It  386 

II.  130 

xii.  55 

t  490 

xix.  2—28 

n.  387 

Tiii.  4 — 18 

n.  154 

xii.  58 

t  282,  289 

xix.  5 

It  126 

viii.  12 

II.  126 

xiii.  1 

t  297,  538 

xix.  8 

L289 

Tiii.  19—21 

II.  147 

xiii.  1—9 

U.  178 

xix.  9 

1.241 

Tiii.  21 

II.  56 

xiii.  7 

t490 

xix.  11—27 

t  273 

Tiii.  22—25 

II.  160 

xiii.  10—21 

It  337 

xix.  12        t 

264 ;  n.  446 

Tiii.  23—40 

n.  161 

xiii.  16 

t241 

xix.  23 

I.  283 

Tiii.  28 

I.  476 

xiii.  18—30 

n.  374 

xix.  29—44 

It  393 

Tiii.  41 

I.  489 

xiii.  19 

I.  490 

xix.  45—48 

n.401 

Tiii.  41 — 5G 

II.  166 

xiii.  22—30 

n.  364 

XX.   1  ff. 

II.  406 

ix.  1—6 

II.  179 

xiii.  25 

I.  309 

XX.  1—8 

It  404 

ix.  6 

II.  182 

xiii.  26 

n.  40,  233 

XX.  1—19 

n.  409 

ix.  7—9 

II.  183 

xiii.  31—35 

n.  3G5 

XX.  6 

1397 

ix.  10—17 

II.  184 

xiii.  33 

n.  56 

XX.  14,  29  f. 

U.  129 

ix.  18—21 

U.  239 

xiv.  1 

It  129 

XX.  20—26 

n.  416 

ix.  20 

1.512 

xiT.  1—6 

n.  337 

XX.  22 

I.  288 

ix.  22—27 

II.  244 

xiT.  1—24 

It  339 

XX.  27—40 

n.  421 

ix.  28—36 

II.  249 

xiT.  7 

t  509 

XX.  41 

1569 

ix.  31 

I.  461 

XiT.  8 

t474 

XX.  41—44 

n.  426 

ix.  37—43 

U.  256 

xiv.  13 

t  121 

XX.  45,  46 

n.  427 

ix.  43—45 

II.  260 

siT.  15 

t  198 

XX.  47 

n.  423 

ix.  46 

11.  268 

xiv.  15,  24 

It  342 

xxi.  1 

t  569 

ix.  46— 50   I. 

261 ;  II.  266 

xiv.  18 

t309 

xxi.  1—4 

n.  433 

ix.  50 

11.  5G 

xiv.  23 

t309 

xxi.  5 

1.53 

ix.  52 

II.  131 

xiv.  25 

n.  352 

xxi.  5—19 

It  440 

ix.  53 

1.517 

xiv.  25 — 35 

It  344 

xxi.  12 

It  489 

ix.  00             I 

44 ;  IL  160 

xiv.  29 

t  282 

xxi.  20—36 

It  445 

ix.  G2            L 

308 ;  It  44 

xiv.  30 

t308 

xxi.  30 

It  447 

X.  1-16 

n.  278 

xiv.  33 

n.  62 

xxi.  36 

n.  448 

X.  13—15 

I.  494 

XV.  1 

It  352 

xxi.  37,  38 

It  404 

X.  17—24 

n.  314 

XV.  1—32 

n.  348 

xxi.  38 

n.  406 

X.  23 

I.  196 

XT.  2 

t  250 

xxii.  1— G 

It  456 

X.  24 

n.  51 

XT.  4 

t490 

xxii.  7—13 

It  461 

X.  25 

1.569 

XT.  10 

I.  101 

xxii.  8 

1213 

X.  25—37 

n.  311 

XT.  12 

L238 

xxii.  11 

1.121 

668 


INDEX   OF   TEXTS. 


Chapter  and 

Vol.  and     1 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

Chapter  and 

Vol.  and 

verse. 

l«ge. 

verse. 

page. 

verse. 

page. 

LUKE- 

-conti-h              I 

JOHN— coTi 

td. 

JOHX- 

-conld. 

sxii.  U 

II.  129 

ii.  8 

I.  502 

vi.  55 

1.9 

xxii.U— 18,  24—30  II.  iC.r, 

ii.  9,  10 

1.474 

vi.  59 

II.  190 

xxii.  19,  -JO 

II.  473 

ii.  10 

1.474 

vi.  02 

II.  435 

xxii.  21—23 

n.  408 

ii.  U 

I.  413 

vi.  03 

II.  476 

xxii.  25 

I 

18,  491 

ii.  12 

I.  484, 

491,493 

vi.  69            1. 512 

;■  II.  241 

xxii.  28 

11.50 

ii.  13 

I 

434  491 

vii.  1             I. 

200 

;  II.  215 

xxii.  31—38 

n.  470 

ii.  13,  25 

1.493 

vii.  1—10 

II.  280 

xxii.  35 

II.  130 

ii.  14 

I.  129 

vii.  2—10 

II.  278 

xxii.  35—38 

U.  472 

ii.  17 

I.  499 

vii.  5 

1.108 

xxii.  37 

I.  509 

ii.  19 

11.254 

vii.  7 

n.  213 

xxii.  3'.)— 4G 

II.  50 1 

ii.  20 

1.481 

vii.  15 

II.  54 

xxii.  43 

II.  509 

ii.  21 

1.502 

vii.  20 

II.  290 

xxii.  47—53 

n.  509,  510 

ii.  22 

1.502 

vii.  22,  23 

L  126 

xxii.  54 — G2 

U.  529 

ii.  23 

I. 

502,  509 

vii.  27           I. 

148 

II.  194 

xxiii.  1 — 5 

n.  531 

ii.  25 

I.  400 

vii.  31 

II.  138 

xxiii.  2 

n. 

101,  522, 

iii.  I 

I.  434 

vii.  32 

1.566 

530 

iii.  2 

I.  580 

vii.  37 

n.  286 

xxiiL  2,  5 

n.  522 

iii.  4 

1.584 

vii.  41,  42 

I.  555 

xxiii.  3 

n.  537 

iii.  5 

1.434 

vii.  41,  52 

1.311 

xxiii.  4,  5 

n.  539 

iii.  10—21 

1.507 

vii.  40 

n.  56 

xxiii.  ft— 12 

n.  540 

iii.  10 

I.  7 

vii.  49 

L548 

xxiii.  8 

L  423 

iii.  18 

n.  407 

vii.  50 

L503 

xxiii.  13—25 

II.  542 

iii.  19 

U.  193 

vii.  51 

n.  517 

xxiii.  20—38 

II.  557 

iii.  24 

I.  415 

vii.  52 

1.482 

xxiii.  27—32 

II.  501 

iii.  25 

1.510 

viii.  1—11 

n.296 

xxiii.  33,  34,  38 

II.  562 

iii.  25—36 

I. 

410,513 

viii.  0 

I.  350 

xxiii.  35 — 37, 

39- 

-43 

iii.  26 

I.  421, 

465,  515 

viii.  8 

1.239 

n.  500 

iii.  29 

I.  472 

viii.  12 

11.01 

xxiii.  4.5,  47- 

-49 

II.  572 

iii.  32        I.  515, 

510,527; 

viii.  14 

ILSG 

xxiii.  47 

II.  572 

II.  200 

viii.  21 

n.  301 

xxiii.  50—56 

n.  575 

iv.l 

I.  510, 

510,  538 

viii.  46 

1.156 

xxiv.  13 

I.  579 

iv.  8 

II.  120 

viii.  47 

n.  194 

xxiv.  21 

I.  108 

iv.  9—30 

I.  .524 

viii.  48 

1.523 

xxiv.  25 

I.  108 

iv.  19 

n.  238 

viii.  57 

1.481 

xxiv.  2G 

II.  244 

iv.  31 

I.  580 

ix.  1—41 

II.  315 

xxiv.  36—49 

n.  593 

iv.  35 

1.515 

ix.  2 

I.  580 

xxiv.  42 

IL  129 

iv.  42 

II.  498 

ix.  22,  34    I. 

215 

IL  489 

xxiv.  51 

n.  007 

iv.  44 

1.534 

X.  1—21 

n.  322 

iv.  45 

L515, 

534,  535 

X.  7,  9 

11.478 

JOHN. 

iv.  52 

1.537 

X.  16 

n.  498 

i-n 

n.  193 

V.  1 

n.  200 

X.  20 

II.  142 

i-  14 

I.  502 

V.  1-47 

n.  91 

X.  22 

n.  188,  325 

1.  1.5 

1.413 

V.  19 

a  99 

X.34 

L  569 

j.l9 

I.  397,  402 

V.  22,  27 

n.  452 

X.  15,  16 

II.  435 

i  19  £f. 

I.  398 

V.  29 

1.584 

X.  22—42 

U.  325 

i.  19,  24 

I. 

398,  510 

V.  31 

a. 50 

X.  40—42 

II.  328 

i.  22 

L398 

V.  35 

1. 4ir 

;  II.  115 

xi.  1— 4S 

II.  328 

i.  27 

1.412 

V.  30 

1.476;  II.  191 

xi.  8 

n.  580 

i.  28 

1.409 

V.  40 

n.  193 

xi.  27 

U.  457 

i.  29 

I.  413,  458 

vi.  2 

1.302 

xi.  33 

n.  311,  457 

i.  31 

L578 

vi.  4 

n.  184 

xi.  38 

n.  311 

i.32 

1.414 

vi.  7 

n.  180 

xi.  43,44 

n.  336 

i.  33 

1.415 

vi.  U 

n.  180 

xi.  55 

1.214 

i.  34 

I.  415,  402 

vi.  15 

I.  482 

xi.  55,  56 

1.213 

i.  35 

L407 

vi.  15—21 

n.  188 

xi.  55 — 57 

n.  392 

i.  35— iv.  54 

L4.58 

vi.  18 

n.  50 

xii.  1 

n. 

126,  309 

i.  39              I 

580 

;  n.  388 

vi.  22—71 

II.  190 

xii.  1,  9—11 

IL392 

i.  42 

n.  003 

vi.  23 

II.  184 

xii.  2,  3 

n.  311 

i.  44 

I. 

407,  578 

vi.  25 

I.  580 

xii.  2—8 

n.  456 

i.  45 

I. 

409,  408 

vi.28 

n.  191 

xii.  5 

n.  126 

i.  4fi 

I. 

105,  482 

vi.  35 

n.  187 

xii.  16—19 

n.  .393 

i47             I. 

311. 

313,  132 

vi.  39 

n.  511 

xii.  24—26 

II.  435 

i  50             L  580 

;  II.  240 

vi.  42 

I.  582 

xii.  26 

n.  487 

L  51 

1.434 

vi.  45 

L509 

xii.  27 

1.449 

ii.  1 

1.434 

vi.  47 

n.  194 

xii.  272. 

II.  435 

u.  4 

I.  108 

vi.  51 

1.8 

xii.  34 

n. 

197.  437 

Chapter  and  Vol.  and 

verse.  page. 

JOBS— contd. 

xii.  35—43  n.  438 
xii.  42     I.  89,  503;  n.  215 

xii.  44—50  n.  439 

siii.  1—20  II.  465 

xiii.  4  n.  5G 

siii.  4,  5,  12  I.  216 

xiii.  13  n.  487 

xiii.  16  n.  488 

xiii.  18  I.  569 

xui.  20  n.  468 

siii.  21  n.  215 

xiii.  21—35  U.  468 

xui.  22  IL  50 

xiii.  26  I.  217 

xiii.  26—37  IL  4G9 
xiii.  29          L  130    II.  126 

xiii.  33  n.  50 

xiii.  36  n:  478 

xiv.  1—31  n.  477 

xiv.  4  n.  485 
xiv.  5            I.  485 ;  n.  478 

xiv.  8  n.  479 

xiv.  9  n.  194 

xiv.  10,  20  n.  468 

xiv.  17  n.  480 

xiv.  18  n.  481 

xiv.  19  n.  481 

xiv.  20  n.  481 

xiv.  21  IL  587 
xiv.  22          L  481 ;  n.  45 

xiv.  23  n.  482 

xiv.  24  n.  482 

xiv.  27  n.  483 

xiv.  29  n.  483 

XV.  1  n  484 
XV.  3           L  485 ;  n.  467 

XV.  7  n.  485 

XV.  9  n.  486 

XV.  11  n.  486 

XV.  12  n.  486 

sv.  14,  15  n.  50 
XV.  16          L160;  XL.  487 

XV.  18  n.  487 

XV.  20  n.  488 

XV.  22  n.  488 

XV.  23  n.  488 

xvi.  1  n.  489 

xvi.  4  n.  489 

xvi.  5  n.  490 

xvi.  8  n.  491 
xvi.  12              n.  491,  599 

xvi.  12—14  n.  493 

xvi.  13  n.  491 

xvi.  14  n.  492 

xvi.  15  n.  492 

xvi.  16—19  n.  492 

xvi.  23—27  n.  493 

xvi.  28—33  n.  494 

xvii.  1—6  n.  495 
xvii.  5                IL  435,  470 

xvii.  7—18  n.  496 

xvii.  12  n.  511 

xvii.  16—19  n.  497 

xvii.  22—26  H.  498 

xviii.  1.  II.  504 
xviii.  2—12       IL  500,  510 


INDEX   OF  TEXTS. 

Chapter  and  Vol.  and 

verse.  page. 

JOBS— contd. 
xviii.  6  L  410,  579 

xvni.  12  n.  510 

xviii.  13—18,  25—27 

IL529 
xviii.  28  L  213,  214,  581 
xviii.  28—38  H.  531 

xviii.  29—30  H.  534 

xviii.  31—32  U.  535 

xviii.  34,  36,  37        H.  537 
xviii.  36  L  386,  512 ; 

n.  50 
xviii.  38  n.  538 

xviii.  39,  40  IL  542 

six.  1—3  n.  547 

xix.  4-10  IL  5.50 

xis.  7  II.  553 

xix.  14  L  214,  581 

xi.\.  16,  17  n.  561 

xix.  16—22  n.  557 

xix.  18—24  II.  562 

xix.  19  I.  482 

xix.  19—23  n.  593 

xix.  25      L  108,  467,  575  ; 

IL  127 
xix.  25—30  n.  566 

xix.  31—42  n.  573 

xix.  38 — 42  n.  575 

xix.  39  L  503 

XX.  8  n.  585 

XX.  16  L  580 

XX.  21  n.  587 

XX.  22  II.  595 

XX.  24—29  IL  598 

xxi.  1—24  n.  601 

xxi.  2  L  578 

xxi.  4  I.  579 

xxi.  7  n.  47 

xxi.  13  n.  129 


669 

Vol.  and 
page. 


ACTS— contd. 


iv.  8,  19 
iv.  32 
iv.  36 
V.  3,  29 
V.  34 
V.  37 


n.  243 
n.379 
L470 
n.  243 
L569 
L287 


vi.  7      L  89,  550;  n.  228, 
573 

vi.  9  n.  560 

vi.  U  n.  62 

V).  13     .  n.  522 

vii.  54,  57  H.  99 

vii.  55  L  100 

vii.  56  I.  581 

vii.  58  n.  297,  559 

viii.  9  L  144 

viii.  20  n.  243 

ix.  2,  20  I.  185 

ix.  23  1.  327 

X.  5  U.  243 
X.  9                L  lOG  ;  IL  34 

X.  30  I.  106 

X.  35  n.  36 

X.  37  L  509 

X.  37,  38  L  433 

xi.  2  n.  243 

xii.  1.  L  571 

xii.  4  n.  564 

xii.  5  n.  243 

xii.  12  n.  462 

xiii.  1  I.  299,  535 

xiii.  5  I.  185 

xiii.  6  L  144 

xiii.  45,  50  L  327 

xiv.  1  L  327 

XV.  10  n.  17 

xvi.  13  L  185,  186 

xvi.  16  n.  141 

xvi.  19  L  327 

xvii.  5  L  327 

xvii.  6  n.  103 


i.  3 

n.  599 

xvii.  17 

L  185 

i.  3— 8. 

n.  605 

xviii.  4 

L  183 

i.  6 

n.599 

xviii.  6 

L567 

i.  9—11 

n.  607 

xviii.  12 

I.  327 

i.  15 

n.243, 

396,  598 

XX.  2 

L462 

i.  18,  19 

n. 

555,  557 

xxi.  23,  24 

L358 

i.  23 

L582 

xxi.  28 

I.  284 

ii.  7 

1482 

xxi.  29 

L567 

ii.  7,  8 

L311 

xxi.  30 

L327 

ii.  9 

L  71 

xxi.  31 

L  210 

ii.  9,  U 

I.  205 

xxi.  40 

L  569 

ii.  9—12 

L  141 

xxii.  3         L 

255,  290,  373 

ii.  14.  37, 

38 

n.  243 

xxiii.  8 

n.  227 

ii.  15 

I.  106 

xxiii.  12 

n.  551 

ii.  16 

II.  605 

xxiv.  1 

n.  534 

ii.  22—36 

n.  491 

xxiv.  23        I 

421;  n.ll3 

ii.  30 

L555 

xxiv.  24 

L423 

ii.  46 

n.  598 

XXV.  13 

L  423,  571 

iii.  1 

L  106 

XXV.  13,  23 

L571 

iii.  1,  4, 

2 

n.243 

xxvi.  24 

n.27 

iii.  14— L 

6 

n.  491 

iii.  17 
iv.  1—3 

n.  530 
11.222 

ROMAXS 

iv.  .5,  17 

n.  222 

1.2,  3 

L  555 

iv.  6 

n.  503 

1  i-i 

IL491 

G70 


INDEX   OF   TEXTS. 


Vol .  and 


ROJIANS — contil. 


i.  2G,  27 
i.  31 
ii.  3  _ 
Tii.  15 
xiii.  4 
xiv.  17 
xvi.  13. 


I.  3.^0 

1.584: 

I.  5Si 
L584 
I.  584 
11.37 
n.  5G0 


L  CORINTHIAXS. 


i.  17 
j  22 
i!23 
i.  28 
ix.  5 
xi.  4 
xi.  5 
xi.  10 
xi.  23—25 
xi.  25 
xu.  10 
xiv.  30 
sv.  5 
XV.  6 
XV.  7 
XT.  52 


I. 

n. 

I. 
n. 
II. 

I. 

I. 

I.  101, 

II. 
II. 
n. 
I. 
II. 

n.  39G, 

II. 
n. 


n.  CORIXTHIAXS. 


V.  1  ff. 
V.  13 
V  14 


1.584 
n.  27 
n.  238 


GALATUXS. 
ii  1 1  n.  34 


npter  and  Vol.  and 

verse.  page, 

PHILIPPIANS. 
.  G  n.  22G 


COLOSSIANS. 


i.  19 
i.26 
ii.  9 
ii.  16 


1.602 
I.  84 
I.  502 
1.550 


THESSALONLANS. 
i.  4,  15,  IG  II.  447 


I.  TIMOTHY. 


I.  5G9 
1.133 
n.  491 
I.  133 
L  120 


n.  TIMOTHY, 


ii.  8 
iii.  15 


iv.  15 
V.  7 
vii.  3 
vii.  14 
vii.  2G 
ix.  1 
ix.  10 
X.  4 
sii.  2 


I.  171 

I.  555 

I.  171,238 


I.  I5G, 
11.449, 
II. 
I. 
. 15G :  n. 
I. 
I. 

n. 

IL 


Chapter  and 

JAMES. 


Vol.  aaJ 
page. 


II.  PETER. 
.18  II.  253 


REVELATION. 


i.  10 

i.  13—20 

ii.  17 

ii.  27 

viii.  3 
ix.  14  £f. 
ix.  17f. 
xi.  3 
xi.  15. 
xi.  19 
xii.  5 
xii.  G,  14 
xii.  9 
xiv.  14 
xvi.  IG 
xix.  7 
xix.  8 
xix.  10 
xix.  15 
XX.  2 — 4 
xx>.  11,  23 
ixii.  16 


II.  598 
1.681 
I.  385 
I.  337 
I.  555 
I.  101 
1.389 
1.39 
1.393 

n.  451 
1.385 
L337 
1.317 
I.  443 
I.  .581 
I.  307 
I.  514 
1.472 
1.80 
1.337 
1.342 
1.559 
L565 


i 

DATE  DUE 

"^^t^n^iiig 

' 

CAVLOMO 

'"'""-""•*■ 

